Thalamae or Thalamai ( grc, Θαλάμαι or Θαλάμη) was a town of

ancient Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word '' laconic''—to speak in a blunt, co ...

, which at various times belonged to

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

. According to

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

, Thalamae was founded by

Pelops In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus. He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the O ...

, who, after his sister

Niobe In Greek mythology, Niobe (; grc-gre, Νιόβη ) was a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione (mythology), Dione, the most frequently cited, or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa, the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Her ...

married

Amphion There are several characters named Amphion in Greek mythology: * Amphion, son of Zeus and Antiope, and twin brother of Zethus (see Amphion and Zethus). Together, they are famous for building Thebes. Pausanias recounts an Egyptian legend accor ...

, brought colonists from

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 ...

; and was called in the time of Strabo the Boeotian Thalamae. It stood 80 stadia north of

Oetylus Oetylus or Oitylos ( grc, Οἴτυλος), also known as Beitylus or Beitylos (Βείτυλος), or Bityla (Βίτυλα), was a town of ancient Laconia on the eastern side of the Messenian Gulf, at the modern settlement of Oitylo. Pausanias say ...

, and 20 stadia from Pephnus., 2 Pephnus was on the coast, on the eastern side of the

Messenian Gulf The Messenian Gulf (, ''Messiniakós Kólpos'') is a sea that is part of the Ionian Sea. The gulf is circumscribed by the southern coasts of Messenia and the southwestern coast of the Mani peninsula in Laconia. Its bounds are Venetiko Isla ...

, and Thalamae was situated inland, upon the river Miléa, the minor Pamisus of

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 s ...

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 importanc ...

also calls it one of the inland towns of Laconia.

Theopompus Theopompus ( grc-gre, Θεόπομπος, ''Theópompos''; c. 380 BCc. 315 BC) was an ancient Greek historian and rhetorician. Biography Theopompus was born on the Aegean island of Chios. In early youth, he seems to have spent some time at Athen ...

called Thalamae a Messenian town, and we know that the Messenians said that their territory originally extended as far as the minor Pamisus. Indeed, when

Hippocoon In Greek mythology, the name Hippocoön (; grc, Ἱπποκόων, ''Hippokóōn'') refers to several characters: *Hippocoon, in one account, father of Neleus, who is otherwise called son of Cretheus or Poseidon. * Hippocoon, a Spartan king, ...

usurped the throne of

Sparta 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 referr ...

Tyndareus In Greek mythology, Tyndareus (; Ancient Greek: Τυνδάρεος, ''Tundáreos''; Attic: Τυνδάρεως, ''Tundáreōs''; ) was a Spartan king. Family Tyndareus was the son of Oebalus (or Perieres) and Gorgophone (or Bateia). He married ...

fled to his brother

Aphareus of Messenia In Greek mythology, Aphareus ( Ancient Greek: Ἀφαρεύς), was a Messenian king. Family Aphareus was the son of Gorgophone and Perieres and brother of Leucippus. He was the husband of Arene (Arena or Arenae), daughter of Oebalus, and by ...

where he settled in Thalamae and while living there, children were born to him. Thalamae is mentioned by

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

. It was subsequently one of the

Eleuthero-Laconian The League of Free Laconians () was established in southern Greece in 21 BC by the Emperor Augustus,Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos. ''Deep into Mani: Journey to the southern tip of Greece'', 21 giving formal structure to a group of cities that had been ...

towns. In the territory of Thalamae, on the road to Oetylus was a temple and oracle of Ino or

Pasiphaë In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, Pasiphaë (; grc-gre, Πασιφάη, Pasipháē, lit=wide-shining derived from πάσι (archaic dative plural) "for all" and φάος/φῶς ''phaos/phos'' "light") was a queen of Crete, and wa ...

, in which the future was revealed to those that slept in the temple. Even the Spartan kings sometimes slept in the temple for this purpose. The site of Thalamae is located with the modern village of Thalames (formerly Koutiphari, but renamed to reflect the historical association).

References

Populated places in ancient Laconia Populated places in ancient Messenia Former populated places in Greece Locations in Greek mythology Classical oracles {{AncientLaconia-geo-stub