Chaonia or Chaon ( or Χάων) was the name of the northwestern part of

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

, the homeland of the Epirote Greek tribe of the

Chaonians The Chaonians () were an Ancient Greeks, ancient Greek people that inhabited the historical Epirus, region of Epirus which today is part of northwestern Greece and southern Albania.; ; ; ; ; Together with the Molossians and the Thesprotians, the ...

. It was one of the three main areas of ethnic division of Epirus, the other being Molossia and Thesprotia. Chaonia traditionally stretched between the Thyamis river in the south and the Akrokeraunian range in the north, between present-day

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 ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. Its main town was called Phoenice. In Virgil's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'', Chaon was the

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ancestor of the Chaonians.

Name

According to mythology, the

ancestor of the Chaonians was Chaon. Etymologically, both the region of Χαονία 'Chaonia', and the name of its inhabitants Χάονες 'Chaones,

', derive from Χάων 'Chaon', which in turn derives from the Greek *χαϝ-ών 'place with abysses';

cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...

Χάον ὄρος 'Chaon mountain' in

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

, χάος 'chaos, space, abyss', χάσκω 'to yawn', χάσμα 'chasm, gorge'.

Geography

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 ...

in his ''Geography'', places Chaonia between the Ceraunian mountains in the north and the River Thyamis in the south. The Roman historian,

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; ; ; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who prospered during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c. 95 in Alexandria. After holding the senior offices in the pr ...

, mentions Chaonia as the southern border in his description and geography of Illyria.Appian. ''The Foreign Wars, III.1'' (ed. Horace White). Important cities in Chaonia included Cestrine (modern Filiates), Chimaera (modern

Himarë Himarë ( sq-definite, Himara; , ''Chimara'' or Χειμάρρα, ''Cheimarra'') is a Municipalities of Albania, municipality and region in Vlorë County, southern Albania. The municipality has a total area of and consists of the administrative ...

), Buthrotum, Phoenice, Cassiope (Modern Kassiopi) Panormos, Ilium (modern Despotiko) Onchesmus (modern

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; ) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Mediterrane ...

), Antigonia and Palaeste.

Mythology

In Vigil's ''Aeneid'', Aeneas visits Chaonia and meets Andromache and Helenus. He is told he must continue on to Italy, and instructed to meet the

Sibyl The sibyls were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophet, prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by Pausanias (geographer), PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he desc ...

concerning a more specific prophecy as to Aeneas's destiny.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Plutarch - Pyrrhus
{{Coord, 39.8778, N, 20.0000, E, source:wikidata, display=title