Troezen (;

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

: Τροιζήν,

modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...

: Τροιζήνα ) is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...

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 wi ...

, on the Argolid Peninsula. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Troizinia-Methana Troizinia-Methana ( el, Τροιζηνία-Μέθανα) is a municipality in the Islands regional unit, Attica, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Galatas. The municipality was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the mer ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. It is part of the Islands regional unit. Troezen is located southwest of

Athens 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 ...

, across the

Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf ( Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of Aegina in Greece is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis and forms part of the Aegean Sea. It defines the eastern side of the isthmus of ...

, and a few miles south of

Methana Methana ( el, Μέθανα) is a town and a former municipality on the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Troizinia-Methana, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...

. The seat of the former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

(pop. 6,507) was in Galatas. Before 2011, Troizina was part of the Argolis and Korinthos prefecture from 1833 to 1925, Attica prefecture from 1925 to 1964, Piraeus Prefecture from 1964 to 1972 and then back in Attica prefecture (in antiquity it was part of

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the ...

). The municipality had a land area of 190.697 km². Its largest towns and villages are Galatás (pop. 2,195 in 2011), Kalloní (pop. 669), Troizína (pop. 673), Taktikoúpoli (250), Karatzás (287), Dryópi (239), Ágios Geórgios (228), and Agía Eléni (159). There are numerous smaller settlements.

Mythology

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 ...

, Troezen came into being as a result of two ancient cities, Hyperea and

Antheia Antheia ( grc, Ἀνθεία) was one of the Charites, or Graces, of Greek mythology and was the goddess of swamps and flowery wreaths. She is the daughter of Zeus and Eurynome. She was depicted in Athenian vase painting as one of the attendant ...

, being unified by

Pittheus In Greek mythology, Pittheus (; grc, Πιτθεύς) was the king of Troezen, city in Argolis, which he had named after his brother Troezen. Biography Pittheus was a son of Pelops and Dia (maybe another name for Hippodamia), father of Aethra ...

, who named the new city in honor of his deceased brother, Troezen. Troezen was where Aethra, daughter of Pittheus, slept with both

Aegeus In Greek mythology, Aegeus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰγεύς, Aigeús, also spelled Aegeas) was an archaic figure in the founding myth of Athens. The "goat-man" who gave his name to the Aegean Sea was the father of Theseus. He was also the founder o ...

and

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...

on the same night and fell pregnant with the great Greek hero

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

. Before returning to Athens, Aegeus left his sandals and sword under a large boulder in Troezen and requested that when the child was able to prove himself by moving the boulder, he must return the items to his father in Athens; Theseus lifted the boulder when he came of age. Troezen is the setting of

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

' tragedy '' Hippolytus'', which recounts the story of the eponymous son of Theseus who becomes the subject of the love of his stepmother,

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...

. While fleeing the city, Hippolytus is killed when his chariot is attacked by a bull rising from the sea. Other plays on the same subject have been written by Seneca and

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

, which are also set in Troezen. The ancient city had a spring that was supposedly formed where the winged horse

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

once came to ground.

History

A cult built up in the ancient city around the legend of Hippolytus. Troezen girls traditionally dedicated a lock of their hair to him before their marriage.

Sybaris Sybaris ( grc, Σύβαρις; it, Sibari) was an important city of Magna Graecia. It was situated in modern Calabria, in southern Italy, between two rivers, the Crathis (Crati) and the Sybaris (Coscile). The city was founded in 720 BC ...

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; the ...

was a Troezenian colony (founded 720 BC). Before the

Battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was ...

(480 BC), Athenian women and children were sent to Troezen for safety on the instructions of the Athenian statesman

Themistocles Themistocles (; grc-gre, Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. As ...

. In 1959, a

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek language, Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ...

was found in a coffee house in Troezen, depicting the ''

Decree of Themistocles The Decree of Themistocles or Troezen Inscription is an ancient Greek inscription, found at Troezen, discussing Greek strategy in the Greco-Persian Wars, purported to have been issued by the Athenian assembly under the guidance of Themistocles. ...

'', the order to evacuate Athens. The stele has since been dated to some 200 years after the Battle of Salamis, indicating that it is probably a commemorative copy of the original order. The temple of

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

was built by the

Halicarnassians Halicarnassus (; grc, Ἁλικαρνᾱσσός ''Halikarnāssós'' or ''Alikarnāssós''; tr, Halikarnas; Carian: 𐊠𐊣𐊫𐊰 𐊴𐊠𐊥𐊵𐊫𐊰 ''alos k̂arnos'') was an ancient Greek city in Caria, in Anatolia. It was locate ...

in Troezen because it was their mother-city, but the image of Isis was dedicated by the people of Troezen. The city also bore the name Apollonia ( grc, Ἀπολλωνία) in antiquity. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, it was known as Damala (Δαμαλᾶ) and was the seat of a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

References

{{Authority control Cities in ancient Peloponnese Battle of Salamis Populated places in ancient Argolis Troizinia-Methana Populated places in Islands (regional unit)