Cynus () was the principal sea-port of the Opuntian Locrians, situated on a cape at the northern extremity of the Opuntian Gulf in Greece.

Historical mentions

Cynus was an ancient town, being mentioned in the

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 ...

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 ...

in the ''

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 ...

''. It was reported to have been the residence of

Deucalion In Greek mythology, Deucalion (; ) was the son of Prometheus; ancient sources name his mother as Clymene (mythology), Clymene, Hesione (Oceanid), Hesione, or Pronoia (mythology), Pronoia.A Scholia, scholium to ''Odyssey'' 10.2 (=''Catalogue of W ...

and

Pyrrha In Greek mythology, Pyrrha (; ) was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora and wife of Deucalion of whom she had three sons, Hellen, Amphictyon, Orestheus; and three daughters Protogeneia, Pandora and Thyia. According to some accounts, Hell ...

; the tomb of the latter was shown there. Beside Livy and Homer, Cynus is mentioned by other ancient authors, including

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 ...

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest known Roman geographer. He was born at the end of the 1st century BC in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nea ...

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 ...

. Colonists from Cynus were said to have founded Autocane in

Aeolis Aeolis (; ), or Aeolia (; ), was an area that comprised the west and northwestern region of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), mostly along the coast, and also several offshore islands (particularly Lesbos), where the Aeolian Greek city-states w ...

, situated opposite the island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

. It was one of the places that suffered the destruction caused by a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

that took place after an earthquake in 426 BCE. In 207 BCE, during the First Macedonian War, Cynus, which appears defined as an emporium of Opus, was the place to which the fleet of

Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus (fl. late 3rd to early 2nd century BC) was a Roman military officer and Senator who was elected Roman consul twice, and appointed dictator once. He fought in the Second Punic War and the First and Second Macedonian ...

retired after failing in its attack against

Chalcis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

Location

Ancient sources describe Cynus as sitting opposite Aedepsus in

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

, and at the distance of 60 '' stadia'' from

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 ...

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

describes it as situated on the coast, at the distance of a mile from Opus.

Name

It took its name from Cynus, son of

and father of

Hodoedocus In Greek mythology, Hodoedocus or Hodedocus (; Ancient Greek: Ὁδοίδοκος) was a son of Cynus and grandson of Opus. His father and sister, Larymna, were eponyms of the cities Kynos in Locris and Larymna in Boeotia respectively. Hodoedoc ...

and Larymna.

Archaeology

The site is marked by a tower, called Paleopyrgo (or Pyrgos), and some Hellenic remains, about a mile to the south of the village of

Livanates Livanates () is a seaside town in Phthiotis, central Greece. It is located 68 km southeast of Lamia and it was the seat of the municipality of Dafnousia between 1997 and 2011. Its population in 2021 was 2,333. History Kynos, an ancient sett ...

. The archaeological site is thus also referred to as Pyrgos Livanaton. The site was excavated between 1985 and 1995 by the 14th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities in

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

. , the findings of these excavations had only been made known in preliminary reports,See e.g. Ph. Dakoronia, 'The Transition from Late Helladic IIIC to the Early Iron Age at Kynos.', in LHIIIC Chronology and Synchronisms. Proceedings of the international workshop held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences at Vienna, May 7th and 8th, 2001, ed. S. Deger-Jalkotzy and M. Zavadil, Vienna 2003, pp. 37–51, with earlier references. but archaeologists have found items from the

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

and Early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. Kynos, like nearby Mitrou,

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 ...

, Elateia, and

Lefkandi Lefkandi () is a coastal village on the island of Euboea, Greece. Archaeological finds attest to a settlement on the promontory locally known as Xeropolis, while several associated cemeteries have been identified nearby. The settlement site is loc ...

, shows continuous occupation throughout the transition from the Mycenaean palatial period to the Early Iron Age.

References

Populated places in Opuntian Locris Places in the Iliad Mycenaean sites in Central Greece Iron Age sites in Greece Former populated places in Greece History of Phthiotis {{Greece-archaeology-stub