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Bottiaeans or ''Bottiaei'' ( Ancient Greek: ) were an ancient people of uncertain origin, living in Central Macedonia. Sometime, during the Archaic period, they were expelled by Macedonians from
Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...
to Bottike. During the Classical era, they played an active role in the military history of ancient Chalcidice, but after the Macedonian conquest under
Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...
nothing remained except the names of these two regions and the adjective
Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...
n, which was limited to sole geographical meaning. Unlike other tribes of Macedonia ruled by kings or living in villages, Bottiaeans developed some polis form of self-government. Unfortunately, no Bottiaean individual is known to us and the limited historical or archaeological sources shed no further light.


Origin

According to
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 "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
, the Bottiaeans were
Cretans Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
who sailed with
Minos In Greek mythology, Minos (; grc-gre, Μίνως, ) was a King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Every nine years, he made King Aegeus pick seven young boys and seven young girls to be sent to Daedalus's creation, the labyrinth, to be eate ...
to
Sicily Sicily ( it, Sicilia , ) is the list of islands in the Mediterranean, largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. The Strait of Messina divides it from the region of Calabria in Southern Italy. I ...
, but on the voyage back they were driven out of their course and reached Macedonia. They were named Bottiaeans after their leader , Botton, in pre- Argead Macedonia (
Emathia Emathia ( gr, Ἠμαθία) was the name of the plain opposite the Thermaic Gulf when the kingdom of Macedon was formed. The name was used to define the area between the rivers Aliakmon and Loudias, which, because it was the center of the kingd ...
), most of which, as Strabo says, was held by Bottiaeans and
Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
, as well as
Paionians Paeonians were an ancient Indo-European people that dwelt in Paeonia. Paeonia was an old country whose location was to the north of Ancient Macedonia, to the south of Dardania, to the west of Thrace and to the east of Illyria, most of their l ...
and Epirotes. According to
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ' ...
, they were
Athenian 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 a ...
slaves of
Minoan Crete The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...
: The same story is related by the Roman-era mythographer
Conon Conon ( el, Κόνων) (before 443 BC – c. 389 BC) was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, who led the Athenian naval forces when they were defeated by a Peloponnesian fleet in the crucial Battle of Aegospotami; later he c ...
.
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 ...
and early Epic poets make no mention of them.
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ha ...
in 7.185.1 lists them along with various other tribes in the Xerxes I's European army. In 8.127.1:
Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scientif ...
(2.99) includes Bottiaeans with other deported nations by Macedonians. They were deported from
Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...
to Bottike after the expulsion of the Pieres from Pieria to
Pieris Pieris may refer to: Organisms * ''Pieris'' (plant), the andromeda or fetterbush, a plant genus in the family Ericaceae * ''Pieris'' (butterfly), the garden whites, a butterfly genus in the family Pieridae * ''Pieris'', a synonym of the genus ...
. According to ''
The Cambridge Ancient History ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bury ...
'': However, if two 6th and early 5th century BC cow-and-calf coins found in
Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...
belong to Bottiaeans, it seems that not all of them were expelled. Some toponyms of
Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...
have been proposed as having Cretan origin (
Gortynia Gortynia ( el, Γορτυνία) is a municipality in the Arcadia regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Dimitsana. The municipality has an area of 1,050.882 km2. Municipality The municipality Gortynia ...
- Gortys, Axius - Oaxos, Europos - Europa etc.) but nothing is conclusive. Various origins have been speculated: for example,
Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...
,
Athenian 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 a ...
and Mycenaean.


League

Spartolos the chief city of Bottiaeans in Bottike, was one of the first (454 BC) and stable members of the Delian League under the Thracian phoros. It appears in most of the Athenian tribute lists except in 446/5 BC; there we have the phrase ''Bottiaeans and s..'' , which may be read as ''Bottiaeans and Spartolos'' or ''Bottiaeans and synteleis'' (contributors). No doubt the Bottiaean league was formed between 432 and 421. In the beginning of the
Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of t ...
, Bottiaeans and
Chalcidians Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...
revolted from the Athenian Empire (432 BC, Thuc. 1.57). In 429 BC the Athenians ''arriving before Spartolus in Bottike, they destroyed the corn and had some hopes of the city coming over through the intrigues of a faction''. In the battle of Spartolos, the heavy Chalcidian infantry, the Spartolian
psiloi In Ancient Greek armies, the ''psiloi'' (Ancient Greek , singular ψιλός, ''psilos'', literally "bare, stripped") were the light infantry who usually acted as skirmishers and missile troops, and who were distinguished from the armored '' hopl ...
and
peltast A ''peltast'' ( grc-gre, πελταστής ) was a type of light infantryman, originating in Thrace and Paeonia, and named after the kind of shield he carried. Thucydides mentions the Thracian peltasts, while Xenophon in the Anabasis distin ...
s from
Crusis Crusis or Crousis (Latin: ''Crusaea'' or ''Crossaea'') was called a maritime district of North-West Chalcidice from Potidaea to the Thermaic Gulf. It was named after Crusis the son of Mygdon. The cities of Crusis were: Lipaxus, Combreia, Lisaea ...
and
Olynthus Olynthus ( grc, Ὄλυνθος ''Olynthos'', named for the ὄλυνθος ''olunthos'', "the fruit of the wild fig tree") was an ancient city of Chalcidice, built mostly on two flat-topped hills 30–40m in height, in a fertile plain at the he ...
, jointly defeated the Athenian army and ''set up a trophy, took up their dead, and dispersed to their several cities'' (Thuc. 2.79.1). In 425 BC Bottiaeans and Chalcidians defeated again the Athenian general Simonides (Thuc.4.7.1), when he attacked
Eion Eion ( grc-gre, Ἠϊών, ''Ēiṓn''), ancient Chrysopolis, was an ancient Greek Eretrian colony in Thracian Macedonia specifically in the region of Edonis. It sat at the mouth of the Strymon River which flows into the Aegean from the inter ...
. However, in the Athenian tribute list of 425/4 BC, Spartolians is mentioned. The name is partly restored. Only ΣΠ is legible and since no other name in the Thracian phoros begins with ''Sp'', the restoration seems inevitable. Olynthus also is listed next. In 422 BC or after, before or as a consequence of the
Peace of Nicias The Peace of Nicias was a peace treaty signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in March 421 BC that ended the first half of the Peloponnesian War. In 425 BC, the Spartans had lost the battles of Pylos and Sphacteria, a severe ...
, Athenians made a special alliance and oath with Bottiaeans. As the inscription reads ''with the boule and
strategoi ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Hellenisti ...
of Bottiaeans, as well the other
archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
tes of the Bottiaean cities''. Not all the names of the cities are legible; only Kalindoia, Tripoiai, Kemakai or Kamakai and Aioleion or Haioleion. This mention of Kalindoia, a city of
Mygdonia Mygdonia (; el, Μυγδονία / Μygdonia) was an ancient territory, part of Ancient Thrace, later conquered by Macedon, which comprised the plains around Therma (Thessalonica) together with the valleys of Klisali and Besikia, including the ...
, means that Bottike may refer either to regions of Mygdonia and Chalcidice, inhabited by Bottiaeans or that Bottiaean cities existed also outside of geographical Bottike. In early 4th century BC, Bottiaeans are mentioned, for the last time, in a treaty between Amyntas III and the Chalcidians: ''With the Amphipolitans, Bottiaeans, Acanthians and Mendaeans, they shall not make friendship, neither Amyntas nor the Chalcidians separately, but with common consent;''. As for the silver and bronze coinage of Bottice (Βοττιαίων, ''of Bottiaeans'') it may be categorized to : 1. the same type of Chalcidian League coins (Apollo or Artemis with
cithara The kithara (or Latinized cithara) ( el, κιθάρα, translit=kithāra, lat, cithara) was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the yoke lutes family. In modern Greek the word ''kithara'' has come to mean "guitar", a word which etymolog ...
or
lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...
)Coins from Bottice
/ref> which means that they were at that time allies of Chalcidians. 2. Demeter and forepart of bull in incuse square. There were between six and twelve Bottiaean cities: Spartolos, Kalindoia, Kamakai, Tripoiai, Haioleion and Olynthos (until 479). Other six cities can be classified as probable Bottiaean: Kithas, Tinde, Prassilos, Pleume, Sinos and Thamiskos.


Aftermath

In the Hellenistic and Roman era the name Bottiaean denotes ''of the
Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...
'' district. In epigraphy, the Macedonians for clarification used the suffix -eatai , Botteatai, Botteatôn (cf.
Italiotes The Italiotes ( grc-gre, Ἰταλιῶται, ') were the pre-Roman Greek-speaking inhabitants of the Italian Peninsula, between Naples and Sicily. Greek colonization of the coastal areas of southern Italy and Sicily started in the 8th cen ...
and Egyptiotes). It may refer either to coins or to the inhbabitans of
Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...
. The phrase of
Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...
that Nikaea in
Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, ...
was a colony of Bottiaeans (Bottiaiôn apoikos) may mean that
Lysimachus Lysimachus (; Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. Early life and career Lysimachus ...
used as colonists population from
Bottiaea Bottiaea (Greek: ''Bottiaia'') was a geographical region of ancient Macedonia and an administrative district of the Macedonian Kingdom. It was previously inhabited by the Bottiaeans, a people of uncertain origin, later expelled by the Macedoni ...
or Bottike. The citizens of Kalindoia must have been relocated somewhere else, since the city was given to Macedonians. Some towns of Bottike may also have been among the 26 relocated settlements under Cassander for the creation of Thessalonica.


References

*The Bottiaians and their poleis by Pernille Flensted-Jensen - Studies in the ancient Greek polis By Mogens Herman Hansen, Kurt A. Raaflau
Page 103 -132
(1995) {{reflist Ancient tribes in Macedonia Cretan mythology