Tanagra ( el, Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
in
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...
, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town
Schimatari
Schimatari ( el, Σχηματάρι) is a town and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tanagra, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area ...
.
It is not far from
Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The
Tanagra figurine
The Tanagra figurines were a mold-cast type of Greek terracotta figurines produced from the later fourth century BC, named after the Boeotian town of Tanagra, where many were excavated and which has given its name to the whole class. However, the ...
s were a mass-produced, mold-cast and fired type of
Greek terracotta figurines
Terracotta figurines are a mode of artistic and religious expression frequently found in ancient Greece. These figurines abound and provide an invaluable testimony to the everyday life and religion of the ancient Greeks. The so-called Tanagra fig ...
produced from the later fourth century BC, primarily in Tanagra.
Government
The municipality Tanagra was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:
[
*]Dervenochoria
Dervenochoria ( el, Δερβενοχώρια) is a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tanagra, of which it is a municipal unit. In 2011 its population was 1,869. The municip ...
*Oinofyta
Oinofyta (Greek: Οινόφυτα) is a village and former municipality in eastern Boeotia, Greece. Following the local government reform of 2011 it is now part of the municipality of Tanagra, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ha ...
*Schimatari
Schimatari ( el, Σχηματάρι) is a town and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tanagra, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area ...
*Tanagra
History
Ancient
Anciently, Tanagra ( grc, Τάναγρα), sometimes written Tanagraea, was a town of ancient Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...
, situated upon the left bank of the Asopus
Asopus (; grc, Ἀ̄σωπός ''Āsōpos'') is the name of four different rivers in Greece and one in Turkey. In Greek mythology, it was also the name of the gods of those rivers. Zeus carried off Aegina, Asopus' daughter, and Sisyphus, who h ...
, in a fertile plain, at the distance of 130 stadia
Stadia may refer to:
* One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums"
* The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes'').
* Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey
* Stadi ...
from Oropus
Oropus or Oropos ( grc, ὁ Ὠρωπός, or rarely ἡ Ὠρωπός) was a town on the borders of ancient Attica and Boeotia, and the capital of a district, called after it Oropia (ἡ Ὠρωπία.) This district is a maritime plain, through ...
and 200 from Plataeae
Plataea or Plataia (; grc, Πλάταια), also Plataeae or Plataiai (; grc, Πλαταιαί), was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes.Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. “Plataea.” '' Webst ...
. Several ancient writers identified Tanagra with the Homeric Graea
Graea or Graia ( grc, Γραῖα, Graîa) was a city on the coast of Boeotia in ancient Greece. Its site is located near modern Dramesi in Paralia Avlidas.
History
Graea is listed under Boeotia in Homer's Catalogue of Ships in the ''Iliad''. ...
; but others supposed them to be distinct places, and Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
regarded Oropus as the ancient Graea. Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
* Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
mentions in Tanagra's location the ancient city of Graea
Graea or Graia ( grc, Γραῖα, Graîa) was a city on the coast of Boeotia in ancient Greece. Its site is located near modern Dramesi in Paralia Avlidas.
History
Graea is listed under Boeotia in Homer's Catalogue of Ships in the ''Iliad''. ...
, eponymous of the '' Graikoi'', a Boeotian tribe whose name gave rise to the Latin ''Graecus
__NOTOC__
In Greek mythology, Graecus (; grc, Γραικός, Graikos) was the son of Pandora of Thessaly and Zeus. His mother was the daughter of Deucalion and Pyrrha, and sister of Hellen who together with his three sons Dorus, Xuthus (with his ...
'' "Greek". Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
, while reciting the Boeotian forces in the ''Iliad''s Catalogue of Ships, provides the first known reference to the Boeotian city of Graea.
Tanagra was also called Poemandria or Poimandria (Ποιμανδρία), and its territory Poemandris, from the fertile meadows which surrounded the city, or after its founder Poimandros, who took part in the Trojan campaign.[ The most ancient inhabitants of Tanagra are said to have been the Gephyraei, who came from ]Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
with Cadmus, and from thence emigrated to Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
.[ From its vicinity to ]Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...
the territory of Tanagra was the scene of more than one battle. In 457 BC the Lacedaemonians
Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...
on their return from an expedition to Doris, took up a position at Tanagra, near the borders of Attica, with the view of assisting the oligarchical party at Athens to overthrow the democracy. The Athenians, with a thousand Argeians and some Thessalian
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thess ...
horse, crossed Mount Parnes
Mount Parnitha ( ell, Πάρνηθα, , Katharevousa and grc, Πάρνης ''Parnis''/''Parnes''; sometimes Parnetha) is a densely forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m, and ...
and advanced, against the Lacedaemonians. In the First Battle of Tanagra, both sides fought with great bravery; but the Lacedaemonians gained the victory, chiefly through the treacherous desertion of the Thessalians in the very heat of the engagement. At the beginning of the following year (456 BC), and only sixty-two days after their defeat at Tanagra, the Athenians under Myronides Myronides ( grc, Μυρωνίδης) was an Athenian general of the First Peloponnesian War. In 458 BC he defeated the Corinthians at Megara and then in 457 BC he defeated the Boeotians at the Battle of Oenophyta. Myronides' victory at Oenophyta l ...
again invaded Boeotia, and gained at Oenophyta, in the territory of Tanagra, a brilliant and decisive victory over the Boeotian League
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its la ...
, which made them masters of the whole country (see Battle of Oenophyta). The walls of Tanagra were now razed to the ground. The Second Battle of Tanagra was fought in 426 BC. the Athenians made an incursion into the territory of Tanagra, and on their return defeated the Tanagraeans and Boeotians.
Dicaearchus
Dicaearchus of Messana (; grc-gre, Δικαίαρχος ''Dikaiarkhos''; ), also written Dikaiarchos (), was a Greek philosopher, geographer and author. Dicaearchus was a student of Aristotle in the Lyceum. Very little of his work remains exta ...
, who visited Tanagra in the time of Cassander
Cassander ( el, Κάσσανδρος ; c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and ''de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death.
A son of Antipater and a conte ...
, says that the city stood on a rugged and lofty height, and had a white chalky appearance. The houses are adorned with handsome porticoes and encaustic paintings. The surrounding country does not grow much corn, but produces the best wine in Boeotia. Dicaearchus adds that the inhabitants are wealthy but frugal, being for the most part landholders, not manufacturers; and he praises them for their justice, good faith, and hospitality. In the time of Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, Tanagra and Thespiae
Thespiae ( ; grc, Θεσπιαί, Thespiaí) was an ancient Greek city (''polis'') in Boeotia. It stood on level ground commanded by the low range of hills which run eastward from the foot of Mount Helicon to Thebes, near modern Thespies.
Histo ...
were the two most prosperous cities in Boeotia. Tanagra is called by Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
a free state; it is mentioned by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
; and it continued to flourish in the sixth century.
Its public buildings are described at some length by Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
* Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...
. The principal temple was that of Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...
, which contained a celebrated statue of Parian marble, by Calamis, and a remarkable Triton
Triton commonly refers to:
* Triton (mythology), a Greek god
* Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune
Triton may also refer to:
Biology
* Triton cockatoo, a parrot
* Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails
* ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...
. Near it were temples of Themis
In Greek mythology and religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, fai ...
, Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...
and Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
, and two of Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...
, in one of which he was worshipped as Criophorus, and in the other as Promachus. Near the latter was the theatre, and probably at no great distance the gymnasium, which contained a picture of Corinna
Corinna or Korinna ( grc, Κόριννα, Korinna) was an ancient Greek lyric poet from Tanagra in Boeotia. Although ancient sources portray her as a contemporary of Pindar (born ), not all modern scholars accept the accuracy of this tradition ...
, who was a native of Tanagra. There was also a monument of this poet in a conspicuous part of the city. Pausanias remarks as a peculiarity in Tanagra, that all their sacred buildings were placed by themselves, apart from the houses of the town. He likewise notices that Tanagra was famous for its breed of fighting-cocks, a circumstance which is mentioned by other writers. Tanagra possessed a considerable territory; and Strabo mentions four villages belonging to it, Eleon or Heleon, Harma, Mycalessus
Mycalessus or Mykalessos ( grc, Μυκαλησσός) was a town of ancient Boeotia, mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the ''Iliad''. It was said to have been so called, because the cow, which was guiding Cadmus and his comrades to T ...
, and Pharae
Pharae ( grc, Φαραί), otherwise known as Phara (Φᾶρα), and Pherae, was a town and polis (city-state), situated by the Peiros River, approximately from the sea and from the town of Patras, in what is now southern Greece. It was one of ...
.
Modern
In the early 2000s, a military plane which was on a training flight crashed on the runway during bad weather. There were no survivors.
On Sunday 18 September 2005, the Archangelos air show, the largest ever organized in Greece, took place in Tanagra. It attracted a crowd of more than 200,000.
Geography
The municipality has an area of 461.023 km2, the municipal unit 122.527 km2, the community 27.814 km2. Tanagra is located SE of Thiva
Thebes (; ell, Θήβα, ''Thíva'' ; grc, Θῆβαι, ''Thêbai'' .) is a city in Boeotia, Central Greece. It played an important role in Greek myths, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus, Heracles and others. Archaeolo ...
and Arma, SW of Schimatari
Schimatari ( el, Σχηματάρι) is a town and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tanagra, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area ...
and NW of Agios Thomas. Farmlands surround the rest of Tanagra, and the Asopus
Asopus (; grc, Ἀ̄σωπός ''Āsōpos'') is the name of four different rivers in Greece and one in Turkey. In Greek mythology, it was also the name of the gods of those rivers. Zeus carried off Aegina, Asopus' daughter, and Sisyphus, who h ...
River along with the Parnitha mountains to the south.
Demographics
Arvanites
Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settl ...
settled in Tanagra in the Middle Ages, but today they only make up a linguistic minority.
Economy
Since 1956, the 114th Combat Wing of the Hellenic Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 8 November
, equipment =
, equipment_label ...
has been based in Tanagra Air Base
Tanagra Air Base is a large military air base situated in Tanagra, Greece. The air base is adjacent to Hellenic Aerospace Industry facilities. It is used as the home-base of the 114th Combat Wing (114 Πτέρυγα Μάχης, 114 ΠΜ) of the He ...
. The base is one of Greece's largest military airports and its runway is about 3 km in length.
In the area it is located also the Hellenic Aerospace Industry
Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) ( el, Ελληνική Αεροπορική Βιομηχανία - ΕΑΒ) is the leading aerospace company of Greece. The company headquarters is located in Tanagra, 65 kilometers north-west of Athens, with the ...
.
Transport
Tanagra can be accessed by GR-1 in the north and by a provincial road linking Thiva (Thebes) in the west.
Tanagra is served by two interchanges, a partial southbound exit, a northbound entrance to the northwest and an almost-full to the east, serving access to highways 44 and 77 to the island of Euboea
Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...
. Its service road lies to the south and is linked with the southeast bypass and to the military base.
See also
*List of settlements in Boeotia
This is a list of settlements in Boeotia, Greece.
* Agia Anna
* Agia Triada
* Agios Dimitrios
* Agios Georgios
* Agios Spyridonas
* Agios Thomas
* Agios Vlasios
* Akontio
* Akraifnio
* Alalkomenes
* Aliartos
* Alyki
* Ampelochori
* A ...
*Graia
Graea or Graia ( grc, Γραῖα, Graîa) was a city on the coast of Boeotia in ancient Greece. Its site is located near modern Dramesi in Paralia Avlidas.
History
Graea is listed under Boeotia in Homer's Catalogue of Ships in the ''Iliad''. ...
*Graïke
Graea or Graia ( grc, Γραῖα, Graîa) was a city on the coast of Boeotia in ancient Greece. Its site is located near modern Dramesi in Paralia Avlidas.
History
Graea is listed under Boeotia in Homer's Catalogue of Ships in the ''Iliad''. ...
*Cerycius Mount Tanagra is a mountain in Greece
Mount Tanagra was known as Mount Cerycius in Ancient Greece. It was the place in which the Greek hero Orion's tomb was buried in. It has been said to be the birthplace of Hermes.
References
Tanagra
Tanag ...
* Darmok
* Jalad
References
External links
{{Tanagra div
Municipalities of Central Greece
Populated places in Boeotia
Boeotian city-states
Populated places in ancient Boeotia