Thyrea (), also Thyraea, Thyreae or Thyreai (Θυρέαι), was a town of

Cynuria Cynuria ( – ''Kynouria'' or – ''Kynouriake'') is an ancient district on the eastern coast of the Peloponnese, between the Argolis and Laconia, so called from the Cynurians, one of the most ancient tribes in the peninsula. It was believed to ...

, and was fought over between

ancient Argolis The regions of ancient Greece were sub-divisions of the Hellenic world as conceived by the ancient Greeks, shown by their presence in the works of ancient historians and geographers or in surviving legends and myths. Conceptually, there is no cl ...

and

ancient Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

. Its territory was called the Thyreatis (Θυρεᾶτις). According to Pausanias, Thyrea was named after a mythological figure: Thyraeos, the son of Lycaon.

History

Thyrea enters history as the location of the Battle of the Champions () between Argos and

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 ...

. According to

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, Sparta had surrounded and captured the plain of Thyrea. When the Argives marched out to defend it, the two armies agreed to let 300 champions from each city fight, with the winner taking the territory. In 464 BCE when we hear of the Thyreans assisting the

Spartans 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 valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern P ...

put down the

helot The helots (; , ''heílotes'') were a subjugated population that constituted a majority of the population of Laconia and Messenia – the territories ruled by Sparta. There has been controversy since antiquity as to their exact characteristics ...

uprising. When the Aeginetans were expelled from their own island by the

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, at the commencement 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 ...

(431 BCE), the

allowed them to settle in the Thyreatis, which at that time contained two towns, Thyrea and

Anthene ''Anthene'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae, commonly called the ciliate blues or hairtails. The genus was erected by Edward Doubleday in 1847. ''Anthene'' are small to medium-sized (wingspan 16–40 millimetres), slender but ...

or Athene, both of which were made over to the fugitives. Here they maintained themselves till the 8th year of the Peloponnesian War, when the Athenians made a descent upon the coast of the Thyreatis, where they found the Aeginetans engaged in building a fortress upon the sea. This was forthwith abandoned by the latter, who took refuge in the upper city (ἡ ἄνω πόλις) at the distance of 10 stadia from the sea; but the Athenians followed them, took Thyrea, which they destroyed, and dragged away the inhabitants into slavery.

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

, the father of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

, gave back the Thyreatis to the

Argives Argos (; ; ) is a city and former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center in the same pr ...

, and extended their territory along the coast as far as Glympeis and

Zarax Zarax () or Zarex (Ζάρηξ) was a town on the eastern coast of ancient Laconia, with a good harbour, situated upon a promontory, which is a projection of Mount Zarax. Like Prasiae and some other places on this part of the Laconian coast, it pa ...

. It continued to belong to the Argives in the time of Pausanias; but even then the ancient boundary quarrels between the Argives and Spartans still continued.

Territory

The Thyreatis, or territory of Thyrea, was a district of Cynuria, and was one of the most fertile plains in the

Peloponnesus The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the ...

. It extends about 6 miles (10 km) in length along the coast, south of the pass Anigraea and the mountain Zavitsa. Its breadth is narrow, as the projecting spurs of Mount Parnon are never more than 3 miles (5 km), and sometimes only about a mile (1.6 km) from the coast. It is watered by two streams; one on its northern, and the other on its southern extremity. The former called Tanus (Τάνος) or Tanaus (Τάναος)Eurip. ''Electr.'' 413 formed the boundary between the Argeia and Laconia in the time of

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

, who accordingly represents it as the boundary between the two states in the heroic age. The stream, which waters the southern extremity of the plain, is smaller than the Tanus; it also rises in Mt. Parnon, and appears in ancient times to have borne the name of Charadrus, which is described by

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek language, Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; , ; ) was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid (Latin poem), Theb ...

, as flowing in a long valley near

Neris The river Neris () or Vilija (, ) rises in northern Belarus. It flows westward, passing through Vilnius (Lithuania's capital) and in the south-centre of that country it flows into the Nemunas (Neman) from the right bank, at Kaunas, as its ma ...

. The bay between the two rivers was called the Thyreatic Gulf (ὁ Θυρεάτης κόλπος).

Current situation

Its site is tentatively located near the modern Kastraki Meligou, in Arcadia prefecture,

North Kynouria North Kynouria or Vóreia Kynouría () is a municipality in Arcadia, Greece. It is located in the eastern part of the regional unit, between the northwestern shores of the Argolic Gulf and northern Laconia. Its land area is 576.981 km². Its ...

municipality, northwest of Astros.

References

Bibliography

* N. Robertson, ''Festivals and legends: The Formation of Greek Cities in the Light of Public Ritual'' (University of Toronto press, 1992), pp. 179–207. * J.E. Lendon, "Soldiers & Ghosts: A history of Battle in classical antiquity" (Yale University press, 2006). {{Coord, 37.395, N, 22.733, E, format=dms, display=title, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/46241.html Populated places in ancient Argolis Populated places in ancient Laconia Former populated places in Greece Cities in ancient Peloponnese

History

Territory

Current situation

See also

References

Bibliography