Map of ancient Epirus and environs (English)

Cichyrus ( grc, Κίχυρος, ''Kichyros''), earlier called Ephyra (Ἐφύρα or Ἐφύρη), was the capital of

ancient Thesprotia Thesprotia (; el, Θεσπρωτία, ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital and largest town is Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the re ...

, according to the myth built by the

Arcadian Arcadian may refer to: * Arcadian, someone or something from, or related to: ** Arcadia (region), the ancient Greek region ** Arcadia (regional unit), the region in modern Greece ** Accademia degli Arcadi, the Italian literary academy founded in ...

leader Thesprotos.

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scient ...

describes it as situated in the district Elaeatis in Thesprotia, away from the sea. At its site is the famous

Necromanteion The Nekromanteion ( el, Νεκρομαντεῖον) was an ancient Greek temple of necromancy devoted to Hades and Persephone. According to tradition, it was located on the banks of the Acheron river in Epirus, near the ancient city of Ephyra. T ...

(Νεκρομαντεῖον, "Oracle of the Dead"). First settled during the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

and resettled in the 14th century BC by colonists most probably from

Chaonia Chaonia or Chaon (Greek Χαονία or Χάων) was the name of the northwestern part of Epirus, the homeland of the Epirote Greek tribe of the Chaonians. Its main town was called Phoenice. In Virgil's ''Aeneid'', Chaon was the eponymous anc ...

and the west

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 whi ...

region. The city is about 800 m north of the junction of the Kokytos River with the

Acheron The Acheron (; grc, Ἀχέρων ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ell, Αχέροντας ''Acherontas'') is a river located in the Epirus region of northwest Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . Its source is ...

, and about 4.5 km east of the bay of Ammoudia. Near it was the outlet into the sea of the Acherusian Lake. Strabo (7.7.5) gives the same information and adds that in his time Ephyra was called Kichyros. The name had been changed from Ephyra back to the more ancient name about 200 years earlier.

Mythology

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 of ...

, Neoptolemos was said to have landed at Kichyros (Ephyra) on his return from

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...

(Pind. Nem. 7.37-39) and

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

went there earlier, before leaving for Troy (Od. 1 .210-211) to get poison for his arrows (Od. 1 .259f).

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 ...

and Perithoos came to snatch away

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld afte ...

, wife of Aidoneus, King of Ephyra. These were none other than

and

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

, the gods of the underworld, who had a shrine and an oracle at Ephyra.

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adopt ...

subjugated Ephyra and fathered a child by Princess Astyoche,

Tlepolemus In Greek mythology, Tlepolemus (; Ancient Greek: Τληπόλεμος ''Tlēpólemos'') was the leader of the Rhodian forces in the Trojan War.Homer, ''Iliad'2.653–70 Family Tlepolemus was a son of Heracles and Astyoche, daughter of Phylas, ...

, who became king of Rhodes.

Thyestes In Greek mythology, Thyestes (pronounced , gr, Θυέστης, ) was a king of Olympia. Thyestes and his brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympi ...

came there looking for his brother,

Atreus In Greek mythology, Atreus ( , ; from ἀ-, "no" and τρέω, "tremble", "fearless", gr, Ἀτρεύς ) was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively, ...

. Atreus was not there, but the daughter of Thyestes,

Pelopia In Greek mythology, Pelopia or Pelopea or Pelopeia ( Ancient Greek: Πελόπεια) was a name attributed to four individuals: * Pelopia, a Theban princess as one of the Niobids, children of King Amphion and Niobe, daughter of King Tantalus ...

, was there, and Thyestes, not recognizing her, took her as a wife. Their union produced

Aegisthus Aegisthus (; grc, Αἴγισθος; also transliterated as Aigisthos, ) was a figure in Greek mythology. Aegisthus is known from two primary sources: the first is Homer's ''Odyssey'', believed to have been first written down by Homer at the en ...

History

The Thesprotian Kichyros/Ephyra appears to be the town mentioned in two passages of the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'' (i. 259, ii. 328). The Ephyri, mentioned in a passage of the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

'' (xiii. 301), were supposed by Pausanias to be the

Thesprotians The Thesprotians ( grc, Θεσπρωτοί, Thesprōtoí) were an ancient Greek tribe, akin to the Molossians, inhabiting the kingdom of Thesprotis in Epirus. Together with the Molossians and the Chaonians, they formed the main tribes of the n ...

inhabitants of the town. but Strabo maintained that the poet referred to the Thessalian Ephyra (Strab. ix. p. 442). Some commentators even supposed the Ephyra on the Selleeis to be the Thesprotian town, but Strabo expressly maintains that

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a 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. Homer is considered one of ...

alludes in these passages to the Eleian town. Pausanias represents Cichyrus as the capital of the ancient kings of Thesprotia, where

and Peirithous were thrown into chains by Aidoneus; and its celebrity in the most ancient times may also be inferred from a passage of

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

Information on the location

The site of Ephyra is confirmed by the excavation of the ancient oracle of the dead,

, on the hill of Agios Ioannis near the village of Mesopotamo, 150 m north of the junction of the Kokytos with the

. The remains of three ancient wall circuits are preserved on the limestone nearby hill of Xylokastro. The finds within the acropolis, chiefly sherds of local pottery of the

and Mycenaean sherds, together with the worship of the

chthonic The word chthonic (), or chthonian, is derived from the Ancient Greek word ''χθών, "khthon"'', meaning earth or soil. It translates more directly from χθόνιος or "in, under, or beneath the earth" which can be differentiated from Γῆ ...

goddess

. After the surrender of the Elean colonies in Kassopaia to

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the a ...

in 343-342 BC, (Dem. 7.32) and their subjection to the

, Ephyra appears to have reverted to its original name, Kichyros, which had been kept alive in some neighboring Thesprotian settlement. Some finds, chiefly pottery of the 1st century BC, confirm the statement of Pausanias (1.17.5) that Kichyros was in existence in his time.

Archaeology

The remains of the ancient Ephira are near the present

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the ...

. In the period between 1958 and 1987, several excavations were conducted by a team from the

University of Ioannina The University of Ioannina (UoI; Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων, ''Panepistimio Ioanninon'') is a university located 5 km southwest of Ioannina, Greece. The university was founded in 1964, as a charter of the Aristotle Uni ...

that were later expanded between 2006 and 2008. In them, archaeologists found remains of the only Mycenaean

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

whose existence has been confirmed within the region of Epirus. Two of the three walls of the fortification that were found in the southern part of the acropolis, were built in stone with

Cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...

style in the fourteenth or early thirteenth century BC, while the third is much later, of the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

. On the other hand, on a plateau on the western side of the acropolis, three large funerary burial mounds of the 12th century BC have been found.= 19870 Page of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Greece: Ephyra

References

Citations

Sources

{{DGRG, title=Ephyra

External links

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites
Cities in ancient Epirus Former populated places in Greece Locations in Greek mythology Populated places in ancient Epirus Archaeological sites in Epirus (region)