Cranon () or Crannon (Κραννών) was a 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 Pelasgiotis, in

ancient Thessaly Thessaly or Thessalia (Attic Greek: , ''Thessalía'' or , ''Thettalía'') was one of the traditional regions of Ancient Greece. During the Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean period, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, a name that continued to be used for one of ...

, situated southwest of

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

, and at the distance of 100 stadia from Gyrton, according to

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 ...

. Spelling differs among the sources: Κράννων and ῂ Κράννωνοϛ; Κραννών, Κράννουν, and Κράννουϛ.

Cineas Cineas () was a man from Thessaly and an important adviser of King Pyrrhus of Epirus, Pyrrhus. He had a reputation for great wisdom and was a pupil of Demosthenes the orator and was the only man who could be compared in skill with Demosthenes. ...

, '' FGrH'' 603 fr.1. To the west it bounded with the territory of

Atrax ''Atrax'' is a genus of venomous Australian funnel web spiders that was first described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1877 from the type species '' Atrax robustus''. It contains five species. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it wa ...

and to the east with that of Scotussa. To the south the ridges of the Revenia separated it from the valley of the river Enipeus. Its most ancient name is said to have been Ephyra (Ὲφύρη or Ὲφύρα), so called prior to the arrival of the Thessalians; and

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 ...

, in his account of the wars of the Ephyri and Phlegyae, is supposed by the ancient commentators to have meant the people afterwards called Crannonians and Gyrtonians respectively.

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

likewise speaks of the Crannonii under the name of Ephyraei. In the

Ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (, ''ta Olympia''.), or the ancient Olympics, were a series of Athletics (sport), athletic competitions among representatives of polis, city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of ancient Greece. They were held at ...

of 648 BCE, Crauxidas the Crannonian (or Craxilas) won the horse race. In the 6th century BCE the most prominent family in the city's political life was the Scopadae, whose numerous flocks and herds grazed in the fertile plain surrounding the city. Diactorides, one of the Scopadae of Crannon, was a suitor for the hand of the daughter of

Cleisthenes of Sicyon Cleisthenes ( ; ) was the tyrant of Sicyon from , who aided in the First Sacred War against Kirrha that destroyed that city in 595 BC. He was also said to have organized a successful war against Argos because of his anti- Dorian feelings. After ...

Simonides of Ceos Simonides of Ceos (; ; c. 556 – 468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteemed by them as worthy of critical study. ...

resided some time at Crannon, under the patronage of the Scopadae; and there was a celebrated story current in antiquity respecting the mode in which the

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

preserved the poet's life when the Scopadae were crushed by the falling in of the roof of a building. In the first year of the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

(431 BCE) the Crannonians, together with some of the other Thessalians, sent troops to the assistance of the

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In 394 BCE they are mentioned as allies of the Boeotians, who molested Spartan king

Agesilaus II Agesilaus II (; ; 445/4 – 360/59 BC) was king of Sparta from 400 to 360 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony that followed the Peloponn ...

in his march through Thessaly on his return from Asia. In 369 BCE the Aleuadae conspired with the inhabitants of

to overthrow the

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 ...

Alexander of Pherae. They convinced the king of Macedon Alexander II to help them. While the tyrant was busy with the recruitment of troops, Alexander II presented himself with his army in Larissa and seized the city. He then took the

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 ...

and, afterwards Cranon was won for his cause, and Alexander II presumably established a garrison at Cranon. That garrison was probably withdrawn as was a similar one from

when

Pelopidas Pelopidas (; ; died 364 BC) was an important Theban statesman and general in Greece, instrumental in establishing the mid-fourth century Theban hegemony. Biography Athlete and warrior Pelopidas was a member of a distinguished family and p ...

at the head of the Boeotian forces invited by the Thessalians arrived to liberate their cities and overthrow the tyranny of Alexander of Pherae. After the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BCE), the Phocians fought in Lamia and in the Battle of Crannon against

Antipater Antipater (; ; 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general, regent and statesman under the successive kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collapse of the Argead house, his son Cassander ...

and his army. This was the decisive battle of the

Lamian War The Lamian War or the Hellenic War (323–322 BC), was an unsuccessful attempt by Athens and a large coalition of Greek states to end the hegemony of Macedonia over Greece just after the death of Alexander the Great. It was the last time Athen ...

between

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

and

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

with its allies. In 191 BCE, Crannon was taken by Selecuid king

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

. It is mentioned again in the war with

Perseus of Macedon Perseus (; – 166 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 179 until 168BC. He is widely regarded as the last List of kings of Macedonia, king of Macedonia and the last ruler from th ...

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; ), known as Catullus (), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes. Life ...

speaks of it as a declining place in his time (first century BCE): "Deseritur Scyros: linquunt Phthiotica Tempe, Cranonisque domos, ac moenia Larissaea." Its name occurs in Pliny. In a

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

of the first century BCE, an inscription related to a certain Polixenus, son of Minomachus, appears in an act of emancipation at Cranon as a

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

and as a manumitor. As he liberates a

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in this city and the inscription does not specify his ethnicity, Bruno Helly deduces that he was from Cranon, contradicting the opinion of Friedrich Stählin, who claimed that "no strategoi of Thessaly originating in Cranon are found."

Polis

The first

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

reference to the

of the Cranionians (πόλις Κραννουνίων) is in an honorific decree of the 3rd century BCE.

Archaeology

There are ruins of Cranon at a place called Palealarissa, in the modern municipal unit of Krannonas. At an indeterminate date Cranon was a walled and fortified city, but almost nothing is known about the urban centre and the

, except for a possible temple of Athena Polias erected on it. There were also temples of Aesclepius,

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 ...

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

and

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

. The city minted silver coins in the fifth century BCE (480-400 BCE) and bronze coins in the fourth century BCE.

Drachmas Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma, a modern Greek currency (1833...2002) * Cretan drachma, currency of the former Cretan State * Drachma proctocomys, moth species, the only species in the Genus '' ...

, tetrobols, triobols, obols and hemiobols of the

Aegina Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. ...

n type have been preserved, with the legend ΚΡΑ or ΚΡΑΝ or ΚΡΑΝΟ.Rogers, E. (1932). ''The Copper Coinage of Thessaly'', pp. 179-204.

References

{{DGRG, title=Cranon Populated places in ancient Thessaly Former populated places in Greece Thessalian city-states Places in the Iliad Cities in ancient Greece Archaeological sites in Greece Pelasgiotis Larissa (regional unit)