Hyampolis (Ὑάμπολις ''Iabolis'') was a city in

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 ...

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 ...

. A native of this city was called a ''Hyampolites''. Some ancient authors record that the city was also called simply ''Hya''.

Mythology and situation

In the ancient tradition, the city was said to have been founded by the Hyantes after their expulsion from

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

by the Cadmeians. Yet a

scholia Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient a ...

st on

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

mentions

Hyamus In Greek mythology, Hyamus (Ancient Greek: Ὕαμος) was a son of Lycorus. It was related of him that after the Great Deluge, he became king over a people dwelling around Mount Parnassus, and founded Hyampolis. He was married to Melantheia, a ...

, son of

Lycorus In Greek mythology, Lycorus or Lycoreus (Ancient Greek: Λυκωρεύς) may refer to the following personages: * Lycoreus or Lycorus, was a son of Apollo and the nymph Corycia. After him a city was named Lycoreia (later Delphi, after Delphus, ...

, as the

eponym 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 ...

ous founder of Hyampolis. The city is mentioned in

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 ...

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) 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 ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' (

Catalogue of Ships The Catalogue of Ships (, ''neōn katálogos'') is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's ''Iliad'' (2.494–759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. The catalogue gives the names of the leaders of each conting ...

). Hyampolis lay in a valley in east Phocis, about eight kilometers from

Abae Abae (, ') was an ancient town in the northeastern corner of ancient Phocis, in Greece, near the frontiers of the Opuntian Locrians, said to have been built by the Argive Abas, son of Lynceus and Hypermnestra, and grandson of Danaus. This bit ...

, north-northwest of Orchomenus, situated on the road leading from Orchomenus to

Opus Opus (: opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera ...

, As it stood at the entrance of a valley which formed a convenient passage from

Locris Locris (; ; ) was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the Locrians, made up of three distinct districts. Locrian tribe The city of Locri in Calabria (Italy), also known in antiquity as "Epizephyrian Locris", was a colony founded by the ...

into Phocis and Boeotia. Therefore, the city was of strategic importance and is often mentioned in works on ancient history.

History

During the

Greco-Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Polis, Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world ...

, it was at the entrance of this pass that the Phocians gained a victory over the

Thessalians Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia (, ), and appears ...

. Later in the same wars, in 480 BCE the city was destroyed, along with the other Phocian towns, by the army of Xerxes. In 395 BCE, the Boeotians besieged the city, but failed to sack it. In 371 BCE,

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

Pherae Pherae (Greek: Φεραί) was a city and polis (city-state) in southeastern Ancient Thessaly. One of the oldest Thessalian cities, it was located in the southeast corner of Pelasgiotis. According to Strabo, it was near Lake Boebeïs 90 stadi ...

, destroyed the unprotected lower town (sometimes identified with the village Cleonae) as he was returning from Boeotia after 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 347 BCE a battle was fought near Hyampolis between the Boeotians and Phocians. In the year 346 BCE the city was attacked once more, this time by

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

, who destroyed the city; Pausanias states that the ruins of 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 ...

, a small council chamber building, and theatre were still remaining in his time (2nd century), having survived destruction by Philip; it must have been chiefly the fortifications which were destroyed by Philip. After reconstruction, the city was once again captured in 198 BCE by

Titus Quinctius Flamininus Titus Quinctius Flamininus (229 – 174 BC) was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. Family background Flamininus belonged to the minor patrician ''gens'' Quinctia. The family had a glorious place in ...

and fell under

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 ...

rule.

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 '' ...

had 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 ...

constructed in the city; the Emperor

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

is mentioned in a local inscription. Pausanias notes that a single well in the whole city was the only freshwater source for the citizens unless they were able to collect rainwater.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

and

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

erroneously describe Hyampolis as a city of Boeotia. Pausanias wrote that once a plague hit the city, and under the guidance of

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

, the people sacrificed a he-goat to the sun god,

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

, to relieve them from the plague.

Archaeology

The site of Hyampolis is near the modern town of Exarkhos (formerly ''Bogdanou'' or ''Vogdháni''), and is a well-developed archaeological site. Excavations held in the early 20th century failed to uncover buildings described by Pausanias. However, the well described by him was claimed to have been recognized in a big cistern of

Hellenistic 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 ...

times uncovered at the site. Until today only a wall from the 4th century BCE and some other substantial remains survive.

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 ...

in the 19th century described the archaeological site as follows:

The entire circuit of the fortifications is traceable, but they are most complete on the western side. The masonry is of the third order, nearly approaching to the most regular kind. The circumference is about three-quarters of a mile. The direct distance to this ruin from the summit of Abae is not more than a mile and a half in a north-west direction. Below Vogdháni, on the side of a steep bank which falls to the valley of Khúbavo, a fountain issuing from the rock is discharged through two spouts into a stone reservoir of ancient construction, which stands probably in its original place.

Five kilometers north of Hyampolis, near

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 ...

, remains of a temple possibly belonging to a sanctuary 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 ...

ElaphebolosThe temple is mentioned in Paus. 10.35.7. or 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 ...

Abaeus Abaeus (Ancient Greek: Ἀβαῖος) was a toponymic epithet of the Greek god Apollo, derived from the town of Abae in Phocis, where the god had a rich temple renowned for its oracles, which were said to have been consulted by Croesus and Mar ...

were discovered.Kalapodi I, ed. R. C. S. Felsch, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz, 1996. Kalapodi II, ed. R. C. S. Felsch, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2007. Artemis Elaphebolos was the chief deity of the area, and the festival Elaphebolia was celebrated in her honor. On the basis of inscriptions and votive offerings, the oldest building phase of the sanctuary can be dated back to the

Geometric period Geometric art is a phase of Greek art, characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase painting, that flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages and a little later, . Its center was in Athens, and from there the style spread among the t ...

. In , the temple was rebuilt in the

classical style Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De architectura'' (c. 10 AD) by the Roman architect Vitruvius. Va ...

. In 426 BCE, it was damaged by an earthquake. The damage was repaired by the end of the century. The city was populated and the sanctuary functioned by the times of the

Roman Empire 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 ...

. In the vicinity of the sanctuary was found a burial site from the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

period.

Notes

Sources

* Ernst Meyer: Hyampolis. In:

Der Kleine Pauly The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedias on Greco-Roman topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler August Pauly. Other encyclopedias in t ...

(KlP). Band 2, Stuttgart 1967, Sp. 1255–1256. * R. C. S. Felsch: ''Kalapodi. Bericht über die Grabungen im Heiligtum der Artemis Elaphebolos und des Apollon von Hyampolis''. In: '' Archäologischer Anzeiger'' 1987, S. 1–26. * R. C. S. Felsch: ''Kalapodi. Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen im Heiligtum der Artemis und des Apollon von Hyampolis in der antiken Phokis I''. Mainz 1996. * ''

Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedias on Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman classical studies, topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler A ...

'', Band IX, Halbband 17, Hyaia-Imperator (1914), ss. 17 - 22 *

External links

{{commons category-inline Populated places in ancient Phocis Former populated places in Greece Cities in ancient Greece Ancient Greek cities Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Central Greece Roman towns and cities in Greece Places in the Iliad