Abae (, ') was an ancient town in the northeastern corner of

ancient Phocis Phocis was an ancient region in the central part of ancient Greece, which included Delphi. A modern administrative unit, also called Phocis, is named after the ancient region, although the modern region is substantially larger than the ancient o ...

, in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, near the frontiers of the Opuntian Locrians, said to have been built by the Argive Abas, son of

Lynceus In Greek mythology, Lynceus (; Ancient Greek: Λυγκεύς "lynx-eyed") may refer to the following personages. * Lynceus, one of the 50 Sons of Aegyptus. * Lynceus, king in Thrace and husband of Lathusa, friend of Procne. Tereus gave Philomel ...

and Hypermnestra, and grandson of

Danaus In Greek mythology, Danaus (, ; ''Danaós'') was the king of Libya. His myth is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus. In Homer's ''Iliad'', " Danaans" ("tribe of Danaus") and " Argives" comm ...

. This bit of legend suggests an origin or at least an existence in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, and sites protohistory supports a continued existence in Iron-Age antiquity. It was famous for its

oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

Abaeus, one of those consulted by

Croesus Croesus ( ; ; Latin: ; reigned: ) was the Monarch, king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his Siege of Sardis (547 BC), defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. According to Herodotus, he reigned 14 years. Croesus was ...

, king of

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

, and Mardonius, among others. The site of the oracle was rediscovered at

Kalapodi Kalapodi () is a village in the Lokroi (municipality), Lokroi municipality, Phthiotis, Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece. Lokroi straddles the pass leading over the low mountains between the Bay of Atalantis in the Gulf of Euboea t ...

and excavated in modern times. The results confirm an archaeological existence dating from the Bronze Age, as is suggested by the lore, and continuous occupation from the

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

to the

Roman Period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

History

Before the Persian invasion, the temple was richly adorned with treasuries and votive offerings. It was twice destroyed by fire; the first time by the

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

in the invasion of Xerxes in their march through Phocis (480 BCE), and a second time by the Boeotians in the Sacred or Phocian War in 346 BCE. It was rebuilt by

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

. Hadrian caused a smaller temple to be built near the ruins of the former one. In the new temple there were three ancient statues in brass of Apollo,

Leto In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Titaness), Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

, and

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

, which had been dedicated by the Abaei, and had perhaps been saved from the former temple. The ancient

agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

and the ancient theatre still existed in the town in the time of Pausanias. According to the statement of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, as preserved by

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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

Thracians The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared betwee ...

from the Phocian town of Abae immigrated to

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

, and gave to the inhabitants the name of Abantes.

Oracle

Despite destruction of the town, the oracle was still consulted, e.g. by the Thebans before the

Battle of Leuctra The Battle of Leuctra (, ) was fought on 6 July 371 BC between the Boeotians led by the Thebes (Greece), Thebans, and the History of Sparta, Spartans along with their allies amidst the post–Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the ...

in 371 BCE. The temple, along with the village of the same name, may have escaped destruction during the Third Sacred War (355–346 BCE), due to the respect given to the inhabitants; however, it was in a very dilapidated state when seen by Pausanias in the 2nd century CE, though some restoration, as well as the building of a new temple, was undertaken by Emperor Hadrian. The sanctity of the shrine ensured certain privileges to the people of Abae, and these were confirmed by the Romans. The Persians did not reflect this opinion and would destroy all the temples that they overcame, Abae included. The Greeks pledged not to rebuild them as a memorial of the ravages of the Persians. Among the most exciting recent archaeological discoveries in Greece is the recognition that the sanctuary site near the modern village of

is not only the site of the oracle of Apollon at Abae, but that it was in constant use for cult practices from early Mycenaean times to the Roman period. It is thus the first site where the archaeology confirms the continuity of Mycenaean and Classical Greek religion, which has been inferred from the presence of the names of Classical Greek divinities on

Linear B Linear B is a syllabary, syllabic script that was used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest Attested language, attested form of the Greek language. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries, the earliest known examp ...

texts from

Pylos Pylos (, ; ), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of ...

and

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

. The fortified site described below, originally identified as Abae by Colonel William Leake in the 19th century, is much more likely to be that of the Sanctuary of

at Hyampolis: "The

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

al walls of the acropolis may still be seen in a fair state of preservation on a circular hill standing about 500 ft. 50 mabove the little plain of Exarcho; one gateway remains, and there are also traces of town walls below. The temple site was on a low spur of the hill, below the town. An early terrace wall supports a precinct in which are a

stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually ...

and some remains of temples; these were excavated by the

British School at Athens The British School at Athens (BSA; ) is an institute for advanced research, one of the eight British International Research Institutes supported by the British Academy, that promotes the study of Greece in all its aspects. Under UK law it is a reg ...

in 1894, but very little was found." The oracle was mentioned in Oedipus Rex.Sophocles, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' 897

Attribution

Notes

References

Reference bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

German Archaeological Institute
(German)
10-part documentary series
(German)
Excavation archive
of the

and French School at Athens (English and French) {{Authority control Ancient Greek cities Cities in ancient Greece Populated places in ancient Phocis Former populated places in Greece Classical oracles