Delium ( grc-gre, Δήλιον, ''Dḗlion'') was a small town in

ancient 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 ...

with a celebrated temple of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

. It was located upon the sea-coast in the territory of

Tanagra Tanagra ( el, Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The ...

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 at the distance of about a mile (1.6 km) from the territory of

Oropus Oropus or Oropos ( grc, ὁ Ὠρωπός, or rarely ἡ Ὠρωπός) was a town on the borders of ancient Attica and Boeotia, and the capital of a district, called after it Oropia (ἡ Ὠρωπία.) This district is a maritime plain, through ...

. This temple, which like the town took its name from the island of Delos, is described by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

as overhanging the sea, and distant from Tanagra, at the spot where the passage to the nearest parts of

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

is less than . Strabo speaks of Delium as a temple of Apollo and a small town (πολίχνιον) of the Tanagraei, distant 40 stadia from Aulis. There were two important battles at Delium. In the first battle, called the

Battle of Delium The Battle of Delium (or Delion, a city in Boeotia) took place in 424 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. It was fought between the Athenians and the Boeotians, who were allies of the Spartans, and ended with the siege of Delium in the following we ...

, the Athenians suffered a signal defeat from the

Boeotians 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 la ...

in the eighth year of the Peloponnesian War, in 424 BCE. This battle went over a period of several days.

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...

, the Athenian commander, had seized the temple at Delium, which he converted into a fortress by some temporary works, and after leaving there a garrison, was on his march homewards, and had already reached the territory of Oropus at the distance of 10

stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...

from Delium, when he met the Boeotian army advancing to cut off his retreat. In the battle which ensued, the Athenians were defeated with great loss; Hippocrates was killed; and on the seventeenth day after the battle, the Boeotians retook the temple.

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

fought at this battle among the hoplites, and, according to one account, saved the life of

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...

, while, according to another, his own retreat was protected by Alcibiades, who was serving in the cavalry. The Boeotians grossly outnumbered the Athenians, resulting in the Boeotian victory. The war was won in 404 BCE, with a great financial help from the

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

. The Athenians began the battle 15,000 total and the Boeotians began with 18,500. As with any battle, casualties ensued, in addition to the death of Hippocrates, the Athenians lost many. The Athenians lost 1,200 and the Boeotians lost much fewer, only 500. In the later battle, the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

were defeated by

Antiochus III the Great Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the res ...

in 192 BCE. Its site is located near modern Dilesi.

References

Greek colonies Cities in ancient Boeotia Populated places in ancient Boeotia Former populated places in Greece {{AncientBoeotia-geo-stub