Biannus or Biannos (), or Biennus or Biennos (Βίεννος), also Bienna (Βίεννα), was an inland town and ''

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

'' (city-state) of

ancient Crete The history of Crete goes back to the 7th millennium BC, preceding the ancient Minoan civilization by more than four millennia. The Minoan civilization was the first civilization in Europe. During the Iron Age, Crete developed an Ancient Greece-i ...

. It appears, under the form Βίεννα, in the list of 22 cities of Crete of the sixth-century Byzantine geographer Hierocles. According to the ''

Stadiasmus Maris Magni The ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' or ''Stadiasmus sive Periplus Maris Magni'' () is an ancient Roman periplus or guidebook detailing the ports sailors encounter on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The ''stadiasmus'' provides distances, sailing ...

'', it was 170 stadia from

Hierapytna Hierapytna ( or Ἱερὰ Πύτνα), also Hierapydna (Ἱεράπυδνα), Hierapydnes (Ἱερά Πύδνης), or Hiera, was a town of ancient Crete. Strabo says that it stood in the narrowest part of the island, opposite Minoa (Crete), Mino ...

and 270 stadia from Leben. The Blenna of the ''

Peutinger Table ' (Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tables James Strong and John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature''. NY: Haper and Brothers ...

'', which is placed at 30 M. P. from Arcadia, and 20 M. P. from Hierapytna, is no doubt the same place. In Hierocles, the name of this city occurs under the form of Bienna. The contest of Otus and

Ephialtes Ephialtes (, ''Ephialtēs'') was an ancient Athenian politician and an early leader of the democratic movement there. In the late 460s BC, he oversaw reforms that diminished the power of the Areopagus, a traditional bastion of conservatism, and w ...

with

Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...

is said to have taken place near this city. From this violent conflict the city is said to have derived its name. The town minted coins in the

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

, some of which survive. Its site is located near modern Khorakia, Ano Viannos, a hill northwest of modern Viannos, where remains have been found from the

Orientalizing period The Orientalizing period or Orientalizing revolution is an art historical period that began during the later part of the 8th century BC, when art of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Ancient Near East heavily influenced nearby Mediterranean ...

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times.

References

Populated places in ancient Crete Former populated places in Greece Cretan city-states Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Roman towns and cities in Greece Archaeological sites in Crete Places in the Iliad {{AncientCrete-geo-stub