Pleuron (; , ''Plevrona'' or Ασφακοβούνι, ''Asfakovouni'') was a city in ancient Aetolia, Greece. The name refers to two settlements, the older of which was at the foot of Mount Curium between the river Acheloos and the river Evenos, See ''The Geography of Strabo'', Book X, Ch.

and Ch.

at LacusCurtius. and was mentioned by

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient 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. Despite doubts about his autho ...

in the

Catalogue of Ships The Catalogue of Ships (, ''neōn katálogos'') is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's ''Iliad'' (2.494–759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. The catalogue gives the names of the leaders of each conting ...

in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

''. The territory of Pleuron was called Pleuronia. The ruins of this more ancient city are 1.5 km to the southeast of the newer one. The circuit wall exhibits "the large roughly shaped stones and small stones in the interstices which are the characteristics of

Cyclopean masonry Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...

Old Pleuron

Old Pleuron (ἡ παλαιὰ Πλευρών) was situated in the plain between the Achelous and the Evenus, west of

Calydon Calydon (; , ) was a Greek city in ancient Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus, 7.5 Roman miles (approx. 11 km) from the sea. Its name is most famous today for the Calydonian boar that had to be overcome by heroes of ...

, at the foot of Mount Curium, from which the Curetes are said to have derived their name. Pleuron and Calydon were the two chief towns of Aetolia in the heroic age, and are said by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

to have been the ancient ornament (πρόσχημα) of Greece. Pleuron was originally a town of the Curetes, and its inhabitants were engaged in frequent wars with the Aetolians of the neighbouring town of Calydon. The Curetes, whose attack upon Calydon is mentioned in an episode of the ''Iliad'', appear to have been the inhabitants of Pleuron. At the time of the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

, however, Pleuron was an Aetolian city, and its inhabitants sailed against

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

under the command of the Aetolian chief Thoas, the grandson of

Oeneus In Greek mythology, Oeneus (; ) was a Calydonian king. He introduced wine-making to Aetolia, which he learned from Dionysus and the first who received a vine-plant from the same god.Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Apollodorus1.8.1/ref> Family ...

Ephorus Ephorus of Cyme (; , ''Ephoros ho Kymaios''; 330 BC) was an ancient Greek historian known for his universal history, now lost. Biography Information on his biography is limited. He was born in Cyme, Aeolia, and together with the historia ...

related that the Curetes were expelled from Pleuronia, which was formerly called Curetis, by Aeolians; and this tradition may also be traced in the statement of

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

that the district, called Calydon and Pleuronia in the time of the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

, formerly bore the name of Aeolis. Since Pleuron appears as an Aetolian city in the later period of the heroic age, it is represented in some traditions as such from the beginning. Hence it is said to have derived its name from Pleuron, a son of Aetolus; and at the very time that some legends represent it as the capital of the Curetes, and engaged in war with Oeneus, king of Calydon, others suppose it to have been governed by the Aetolian

Thestius In Greek mythology, Thestius (; Ancient Greek: Θέστιος) was a king of Pleuronians in Aetolia. He is not to be confused with Thespius, who was sometimes referred to as "Thestius". The patronymic "Thestias" may refer to one of his daughters ...

, the brother of Oeneus. Thestius was also represented as a descendant of Pleuron; and hence Pleuron had an heroön or a chapel at

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

, as being the ancestor of Leda, the daughter of Thestius. However, there are many variations in these traditions. Thus we find in

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

Oeneus, and not Thestius, represented as king of Pleuron. One of the tragedies of Phrynichus, the subject of which appears to have been the death of

Meleager In Greek mythology, Meleager (, ) was a hero venerated in his '' temenos'' at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Homer. Meleager is also mentioned as o ...

, the son of Oeneus, was entitled Πλευρώνιαι, or the "Pleuronian Women;" and hence it is not improbable that Phrynichus, as well as Sophocles, represented Oeneus as king of Pleuron. Pleuron is rarely mentioned in the historical period. It was the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet Alexander Aetolus. It was abandoned by its inhabitants, says Strabo, in consequence of the ravages of Demetrius Aetolicus, king of

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

, who reigned 239-229 BCE. The ruins of Old Pleuron are located near modern Gyphtokastro/Petrovouni at . Pleuron general view from N

New Pleuron

It is uncertain whether New Pleuron (ἡ νεωτέρα Πλευρών) was founded only after the destruction of the old city by Demetrius Aetolicus, or whether it was pro-actively created as a defensible fortress prior to an anticipated attack. Strabo's account in ''Geographica'', the only available source, may be read either way. The founder of the new city, situated at the foot of Mount Aracynthus, was probably Pantaleon of Pleuron, ''strategos'' of the

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League () was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in Central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellenistic era, in opposition to Macedon and the Ac ...

in 242/41, 235/34, 228/27, 222/21 and 214/13 BCE. Some time after the defeat of the

in the

Roman–Seleucid War The Roman–Seleucid war (192–188 BC), also called the Aetolian war, Antiochene war, Syrian war, and Syrian-Aetolian war was a military conflict between two coalitions, one led by the Roman Republic and the other led by the Seleucid Empi ...

, the citizens of Pleuron asked the Roman Senate for a special permission to join the

Achaean League The Achaean League () was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era confederation of polis, Greek city-states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea (ancient region), Achaea in the northwestern Pelopon ...

. After the Achaean defeat and the destruction of Corinth in 146 BCE, Pleuron became part of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. During the Imperial age the uprisings in Aetolia continued. New Pleuron has been identified in the locality of the castle of Κυρίας Εἰρήνης. The remains"Pleuron: recent archaeology!", http://eu.camperistas.com/1139/pleuron-kalidona/ are located a few kilometers north of the modern city of

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Mesolongi (, ) is a municipality of 32,048 people (according to the 2021 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis Mesolongiou (). Missolon ...

(and just west of the ancient city of

, with which is it sometimes associated). The ruins of New Pleuron are located at . The city occupies a terrace at over 200m altitude, and is linked to the sea by a defence wall that also encircles the ancient port of Elaius. The city wall is rectangular with 7 gates and 31 towers. The masonry is well preserved almost everywhere and partly trapezoidal, partly pseudo-isodomic with squared faces and datable to . The acropolis occupies the upper part of the site, but little remains. A Byzantine chapel was built on the remains of the Temple of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

. The civil buildings are to the south. The theatre is in the south-west part of the city with the proscenium built against the city wall. The central part of the building housing the skena is a tower. The proscenium had six columns, and the parascenia must have been elevated above it and must have leaned against the wall. The circle of the orchestra is tangential to the skena. The cavea, well preserved at the north, had five sections and six staircases. The construction of the theatre is contemporary with the walls. Other areas recognisable in the city include the site of the agora, with a long

stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually ...

, and the gymnasium. To the south-east was a large communal cistern () with five rectangular basins. There are also remains of unidentifiable public buildings and extensive remnants of houses and cisterns. The necropolis extends to the south of the city.

References

Available online at the Perseus Digital Librar

{{coord, 38.414413, N, 21.409739, E, format=dms, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/21994.html, display=title Populated places in ancient Aetolia Cities in ancient Greece Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Former populated places in Greece Places in the Iliad