Amyclae or Amyklai () was a city of

ancient Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

, situated on the right or western bank of the

Eurotas In Greek mythology, Eurotas (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρώτας) was a king of Laconia. Family Eurotas was the son of King Myles of Laconia and grandson of Lelex, eponymous ancestor of the Leleges. The ''Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Bibliothe ...

, 20 stadia south of

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

, in a district remarkable for the abundance of its trees and its fertility. Amyclae was one of the most celebrated cities of

Peloponnesus The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the ...

in the Greek Heroic Age. It is said to have been founded by the Lacedaemonian king Amyclas, the father of Hyacinthus, and to have been the abode of Tyndarus, and of

Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of ...

, who are hence called ''Amyclaei Fratres''. Amyclae is mentioned by

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, and it continued to maintain its independence as an Achaean town long after the conquest of Peloponnesus by the

Dorians The Dorians (; , , singular , ) were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Greeks, Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans (tribe), Achaeans, and Ionians). They are almost alw ...

Conquest by Sparta

According to the common tradition, which represented the conquest of Peloponnesus as effected in one generation by the descendants of

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

, Amyclae was given by the Dorians to Philonomus, as a reward for his having betrayed to them his native city Sparta. Philonomus is further said to have peopled the town with colonists from Imbros and

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

; but there can be no doubt that the ancient Achaean population maintained themselves in the place independent of Sparta for many generations. It was only shortly before the

First Messenian War The First Messenian War was a war between Messenia_(ancient_region), Messenia and Sparta. It began in 743 BC and ended in 724 BC, according to the dates given by Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias. The war continued the rivalry between the Achae ...

that the town was conquered by the Spartan king

Teleclus Teleclus or Teleklos (Greek: Τήλεκλος) was the 8th Agiad dynasty king of Sparta during the eighth century BC. He was the son of King Archelaus and grandson of King Agesilaus I. Pausanias reports that Teleclus' reign saw the conquest of ...

. The tale ran, that the inhabitants of Amyclae had been so often alarmed by false reports of the approach of the enemy, that they passed a law that no one should mention the subject; and accordingly, when the Spartans at last came, and no one dared to announce their approach, "Amyclae perished through silence:" hence arose the proverb ''Amyclis ipsis taciturnior'' ("quieter than Amyclae itself").

Temple of Apollo

After its capture by the Lacedaemonians Amyclae became a village, and was only memorable by the festival of the Hyacinthia celebrated at the place annually, and by the temple and colossal statue of

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 ...

, who was hence called ''Amyclaeus''. The throne on which this statue was placed was a celebrated work of art, and was constructed by Bathycles of Magnesia. It was crowned by a great number of

bas-reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, of which an account is given by Pausanias. Bathycles of Magnesia also dedicated a statue of

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 ...

Leucophryne at Amyclae.

Location

Amyclae is located approximately northeast of the modern village of

Amykles Amykles () is a village in Laconia, southern Greece. It lies in the plain by the Eurotas (river), Eurotas river, 6 km south of Sparta, east of the Taygetus mountains, along the Greek National Road 39 from Sparta to Gytheio. It was named afte ...

, named after the ancient city. Whilst excavating the site,

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake FRS (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English soldier, spy, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British Army, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

discovered an imperfect inscription, the letters ΑΜΥ following a proper name, and leaving little doubt that the incomplete word was ΑΜΥΚΛΑΙΟΥ. Leake, ''Morea'', vol. i. p. 135, ''et seq.'', ''Peloponnesiaca'', p. 162.

References

Bibliography

* Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Cities in ancient Peloponnese Former populated places in Greece Populated places in ancient Laconia Castor and Pollux Temples of Apollo {{AncientLaconia-geo-stub