The Edoni (also ''Edones'', ''Edonians'', ''Edonides'') () were a

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

tribe who dwelt mostly between the Nestus and the Strymon rivers in southern

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, but also once dwelt west of the Strymon at least as far as the Axios. They inhabited the region of

Mygdonia Mygdonia (; ) was an ancient territory, part of ancient Thrace, later conquered by Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon, which comprised the plains around Therma (Thessalonica) together with the valleys of Klisali and Besikia, including the ar ...

before the Macedonians drove them out. After that, they settled in the region of Edonis which was named after them. There were a number of Edonian cities in the Classical era, including Drabeskos and Myrkinos.

History

The strategically important

Athenian 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 ...

colony of Ennea Hodoi ("Nine Ways", later Amphipolis) was taken by the Edonians shortly after the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

was driven from the area. The Edoni and the nearby Thracians defeated a massive Ionian invasion led by Athens 32 years later. The Athenians and their allies advanced far up the Angitis valley toward Drabescus before they were cut off and completely destroyed, losing 10,000 killed in the disaster. Athens wrested control of Amphipolis from the Edonians just prior to 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 ...

. Brasidas liberated the city during that conflict and after a pro- Lacedaemonian coup d'état the Edonians became his allies. They made up most of his army when he defeated Cleon's offensive.

Mythology

Edonus, was the mythical ancestor of the Edones. Lycurgus, son of Dryas, was a mythical king of the Edoni, who drove

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

into exile in the

Cyclades The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...

but was ultimately overthrown and killed by his own people. The conflict began with Lycurgus' opposition to either the drinking of wine or the worship of the new god. Lycurgus was based at the mouth of the Strymon River around Amphipolis. According to one version of the story, he was imprisoned at Mt. Pangaeum by the Edoni and then torn apart by his horses on Dionysius' orders. The Edoni were celebrated for their orgiastic worship of Bacchus (

). In

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

poems, the term ''Edonis'' signified a female Bacchanal. The Peresadyes,''The Cambridge Ancient History'': The fourth century B.C.
/ref> forerunners of the dynasty of Bardyllis that ruled over the Dardanii, were most likely Edones.

History

Mythology

References

See also