Eleutherae ( grc, Ἐλευθεραί) is a city in the northern part of

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...

, bordering the territory of

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 ...

. One of the best preserved fortresses of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

stands now on the spot of an Ancient Eleutherae castle, dated between 370 and 360 BC, with walls of very fine masonry that average 2.6m thick. A circuit of wall 860 m contained towers, 6 of them still standing along the northern edge of the site, preserved to the height of 4 to 6 m. The foundations of more towers are present. Although not as well preserved, the line of the remainder of the fortification circuit is clear, as is the location of the one large, double gate (western) and one small (south-eastern) gate. There are two small sally-ports located on the north side. The fortified area is irregular and c. 113 by 290m in extent.

History

Eleuther, in mythology, son 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 ...

and Aethusa, was regarded as the founder of Eleutherae. The feast of the

Dionysia The Dionysia (, , ; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the s ...

is believed to have been established throughout

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

when ''Eleutherae'' chose to become part of Attica and presented a statue of the god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

to Athens. It was rejected by the Athenians, and, soon after, Athens was hit with a plague. Out of fear for Dionysus, the Athenians celebrated the ''Dionysia'' by running a procession of people carrying

phalloi A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely ...

, and saved the city from further destruction. In the 2nd century CE, the periegetic writer

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

wrote:

When you have turned from Eleusis to Boeotia, you come to the Plataean land, which borders on Attica. Formerly ''Eleutherae'' formed the boundary (of Boeotia) on the side towards Attica, but when it came over to the Athenians henceforth the boundary of Boeotia was Mount
Cithaeron Cithaeron or Kithairon (Κιθαιρών, -ῶνος) is a mountain and mountain range about sixteen kilometres (ten miles) long in Central Greece. The range is the physical boundary between Boeotia in the north and Attica in the south. It is mai ...
. The reason why the people of ''Eleutherae'' came over was not because they were reduced by war, but because they desired to share Athenian citizenship and hated the Thebans. In this plain is a temple of Dionysus, from which the old wooden image was carried off to Athens. The image at ''Eleutherae'' at the present day is a copy of the old one. (
Description of Greece Pausanias ( /pɔːˈseɪniəs/; grc-gre, Παυσανίας; c. 110 – c. 180) was a Greek traveler and geographer of the second century AD. He is famous for his ''Description of Greece'' (, ), a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece ...
1.38.8)

Indeed Eleutherae, like neighboring Plataea, was an independent ''

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

'' on the border between Attica and Boeotia. Frustrated by the perennial belligerence and bullying of the Thebans, the Eleuthereans turned to Athens and volunteered to give up their independence in exchange for incorporation into the Athenian ''polis''. Given the geopolitical significance of the town, the Athenians eventually acquiesced and the cult of ''Diónysos Eleuthereús'' ("Dionysus the Liberator") was symbolically transferred to Athens. The feast of the '' Dionýsia'', originally an Eleutherean festival in celebration of the new wine, was the event that led to the creation of what was then a completely new literary and artistic genre: the theatre; consequently, at the Theatre of Dionysus, the priest of Dionysus Eleuthereus was the principal honoree and his ornate marble throne was center-placed in the front row of the spectator seats. Famous historical figures originate from here, such as Myron of Eleutherae, a famous sculptor known primarily for his

Discobolus The ''Discobolus'' of Myron (" discus thrower", el, Δισκοβόλος, ''Diskobólos'') is an Ancient Greek sculpture completed at the start of the Classical period at around 460–450 BC. The sculpture depicts a youthful male athlete thr ...

(

discus thrower The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

). His son, Lycius, was also a renowned sculptor.

External links

Official website
{{Castles in Greece Greek mythology Cities in ancient Attica Populated places in ancient Attica Former populated places in Greece Geography of ancient Attica Archaeological sites in Attica Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Ancient Greek fortifications in Greece Locations in Greek mythology