Elateia
Encyclopedia
Elateia was an ancient Greek
city of Phocis
, and the most important place in that region after Delphi
. It is also a modern-day town that is a former municipality
in the southeastern part of Phthiotis
. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is a municipal unit of the municipality Amfikleia-Elateia. Its population is 5,636 inhabitants (2001 census) and its land area is 154.361 km². The municipal seat was the town of Eláteia (pop. 3,585); other towns are Zeli (910), Panagítsa (219), Lefkochóri (208), Sfáka (167), and Katályma (26).
below Amphicleia
, to the entrance into Boeotia
. Hence it was admirably placed for commanding the passes into Southern Greece
from Mount Oeta
, and became a post of great military importance. Pausanias
describes it as situated over against Amphicleia, at the distance of 180 stadia
from the latter town, on a gently rising slope in the plain of the Cephissus. Elateia is not mentioned by Homer
. Its inhabitants claimed they were Arcadia
ns, deriving their name from Elatus
, the son of Arcas. It was burnt, along with the other Phocian towns, by the Persian army of Xerxes
in 480 BC
. When Philip II of Macedon
entered Phocis in 339 BC
, with the professed object of conducting war against Amphissa
, he seized Elateia and began to restore its fortifications. The alarm this caused at Athens
shows that they regarded Phocis as a key of Southern Greece. The subsequent history of Elateia is given in some detail by Pausanias. It successfully resisted Cassander
in 301 BC
, but it was taken by the king of Macedon
Philip V
, the son of Demetrius II Aetolicus
. It remained faithful to Philip V when the Romans
invaded Greece, and was taken by assault by the Romans in 198 BC
. At a later time, the Romans declared the town free, because the inhabitants had repulsed an 86 BC
attack by Taxiles
, the general of Mithridates VI.
Among noteworthy sites in Elateia, Pausanias mentions the agora
, a temple of Asclepius
that contained a beardless statue of the god, a theater, and an ancient brazen statue of Athena
. He also mentions a temple of Athena Cranaea, situated 20 stadia from Elateia: the road to it was a very gentle ascent, but the temple stood upon a steep hill of small size.
The ancient city has been repeatedly sacked and destroyed in its history, and also subject to several earthquakes. For these reasons the one modern excavation of the classical site has not been much successful; the one exception was the Temple of Athena
Cranaia, 3 km from the town. What has been attested is continuous occupation of the valley, that goes back to as far as 6000 BC.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
city of Phocis
Phocis
Phocis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gulf of Corinth...
, and the most important place in that region after Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
. It is also a modern-day town that is a former municipality
Communities and Municipalities of Greece
For the new municipalities of Greece see the Kallikratis ProgrammeThe municipalities and communities of Greece are one of several levels of government within the organizational structure of that country. Thirteen regions called peripheries form the largest unit of government beneath the State. ...
in the southeastern part of Phthiotis
Phthiotis
Phthiotis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is bordered by the Malian Gulf to the east, Boeotia in the south, Phocis in the south, Aetolia-Acarnania in the southwest, Evrytania in the west,...
. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is a municipal unit of the municipality Amfikleia-Elateia. Its population is 5,636 inhabitants (2001 census) and its land area is 154.361 km². The municipal seat was the town of Eláteia (pop. 3,585); other towns are Zeli (910), Panagítsa (219), Lefkochóri (208), Sfáka (167), and Katályma (26).
History
Ancient Elateia was situated about the middle of the great fertile basin that extends nearly 20 miles, from the narrows of the Cephissus RiverCephissus (Boeotia)
The northern Cephissus river or Cephisus rises at Lilaea in Phocis and flows by Delphi through Boeotia and eventually issues into Lake Copais which is therefore also called the Cephisian Lake...
below Amphicleia
Amphicleia
Amphicleia or Amphicaea was an ancient Greek town in the North of Phocis, distant 60 stadia from Lilaea, and 15 stadia from Tithronium. It was destroyed by the Persian army of Xerxes in his invasion of Greece...
, to the entrance into Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
. Hence it was admirably placed for commanding the passes into Southern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
from Mount Oeta
Mount Oeta
Mount Oeta is a mountain to the south of Central Greece, in Greece, forming a boundary between the valleys of the Spercheius and the Boeotian Cephissus. It is an offshoot of the Pindus range, high. In its eastern portion, called Callidromus, it comes close to the sea, leaving only a narrow...
, and became a post of great military importance. Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
describes it as situated over against Amphicleia, at the distance of 180 stadia
Stadion (unit of length)
The stadion, Latinized as stadium and anglicized as stade, is an ancient Greek unit of length. According to Herodotus, one stade is equal to 600 feet. However, there were several different lengths of “feet”, depending on the country of origin....
from the latter town, on a gently rising slope in the plain of the Cephissus. Elateia is not mentioned by Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
. Its inhabitants claimed they were Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
ns, deriving their name from Elatus
Elatus
There were eight figures named Elatus or Élatos in Greek mythology.* Elatus, a Lapith chieftain, was the father, by Hippeia, of:**Ischys who was beloved by Coronis...
, the son of Arcas. It was burnt, along with the other Phocian towns, by the Persian army of Xerxes
Xerxes I of Persia
Xerxes I of Persia , Ḫšayāršā, ), also known as Xerxes the Great, was the fifth king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire.-Youth and rise to power:...
in 480 BC
480 BC
Year 480 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vibulanus and Cincinnatus...
. When Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
entered Phocis in 339 BC
339 BC
Year 339 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Mamercinus and Philo...
, with the professed object of conducting war against Amphissa
Amfissa
Amfissa is a town and a former municipality in Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is also the capital of the regional unit of Phocis...
, he seized Elateia and began to restore its fortifications. The alarm this caused at Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
shows that they regarded Phocis as a key of Southern Greece. The subsequent history of Elateia is given in some detail by Pausanias. It successfully resisted Cassander
Cassander
Cassander , King of Macedonia , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the Antipatrid dynasty...
in 301 BC
301 BC
Year 301 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Dictatorship of Corvus...
, but it was taken by the king of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
Philip V
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man...
, the son of Demetrius II Aetolicus
Demetrius II of Macedon
Demetrius II Aetolicus son of Antigonus Gonatas and Phila, reigned as king of Macedonia from the winter of 239 to 229 BC. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty and was born in 275 BC. There is a possibility that his father had already elevated to him to position of power equal to his own before his...
. It remained faithful to Philip V when the Romans
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
invaded Greece, and was taken by assault by the Romans in 198 BC
198 BC
Year 198 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Catus and Flamininus...
. At a later time, the Romans declared the town free, because the inhabitants had repulsed an 86 BC
86 BC
Year 86 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cinna and Marius/Flaccus...
attack by Taxiles
Taxiles (general)
Taxiles was a general in the service of Mithridates VI of Pontus, and one of those in whom he reposed the highest confidence. He is first mentioned in 86 BC, when he was sent by Mithridates, with an army of not less than 110,000 men, to Europe, to make his way, through Thrace and Macedonia, to the...
, the general of Mithridates VI.
Among noteworthy sites in Elateia, Pausanias mentions the agora
Agora
The Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the Agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the Agora also served as a marketplace where...
, a temple of Asclepius
Asclepius
Asclepius is the God of Medicine and Healing in ancient Greek religion. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters are Hygieia , Iaso , Aceso , Aglæa/Ægle , and Panacea...
that contained a beardless statue of the god, a theater, and an ancient brazen statue of Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
. He also mentions a temple of Athena Cranaea, situated 20 stadia from Elateia: the road to it was a very gentle ascent, but the temple stood upon a steep hill of small size.
The ancient city has been repeatedly sacked and destroyed in its history, and also subject to several earthquakes. For these reasons the one modern excavation of the classical site has not been much successful; the one exception was the Temple of Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
Cranaia, 3 km from the town. What has been attested is continuous occupation of the valley, that goes back to as far as 6000 BC.