Callium or Kallion (), or Callipolis or Kallipolis (Καλλίπολις), was the chief town of the Callienses (οἱ Καλλιῆς), situated on the eastern confines of

ancient Aetolia Aetolia () is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on the ...

, on one of the heights of

Mount Oeta Mount Oeta (; , polytonic , ''Oiti'', also transcribed as ''Oite'') is a mountain in Central Greece. A southeastern offshoot of the Pindus range, it is high. Since 1966, the core area of the mountain is a national park, and much of the rest has ...

, and on the road from the valley of the Spercheus to Aetolia. It was by this road that the

Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...

marched into Aetolia in 279 BCE, when they surprised and destroyed Callium, and committed the most horrible atrocities on the inhabitants. ''et seq.'' Callium also lay on the road from Pyra (the summit of Oeta, where

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

was supposed to have burnt himself) to

Naupactus Nafpaktos () or Naupactus, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Nafpaktia, Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mor ...

, and it was divided by Mount Corax from lower Aetolia. Its site is located near the modern Veloukhovos, at the site called "Steno", where the castle of Velouhovo was later built.

Names and sources

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

mentions its inhabitants (Callienses or Kallieis) as the easternmost part of the Aetolian tribe of the Ophioneis. It was their chief town, and it is possible that Callium constituted the administrative centre of all the Ophioneis, as attested by Pausanias. In the Hellenistic period, as attested by the inscriptions, the city was called Callipolis, as cited by

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

History

Despite the fact that traces of habitation exist since the Geometric period, Callium was permanently settled in the 4th century BCE. Its prosperity is possibly related to the rise of the

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League () was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in Central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellenistic era, in opposition to Macedon and the Ac ...

into an important power in Greece. Its geographic location was particularly important and it is perhaps the reason why it was ravaged and completely destroyed by the

Galatians Galatians may refer to: * Galatians (people) * Epistle to the Galatians, a book of the New Testament * English translation of the Greek ''Galatai'' or Latin ''Galatae'', ''Galli,'' or ''Gallograeci'' to refer to either the Galatians or the Gauls in ...

in 279 BCE. Following their campaign, the city was rebuilt. Several of its citizens, as attested epigraphically, rose to the political hierarchy of the

.Scholten, J., The POlitics of Plunder:Aitolians and their Koinon in the Early Hellenistic era (279-217 BC), University of California Press, 2000 Excavations revealed a wealthy city, with civic organization and sanctuaries. However, the inhabitants seem to have taken part in the political frictions of the 2nd century BCE regarding the advent of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

. After the

Battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna took place in 168 BC between Rome and Macedon during the Third Macedonian War. The battle saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back ...

(167 BCE) it seems that Callium was destroyed by a fire, possibly due to arson. In the 9th century CE, Lidoriki appears to have succeeded Callium as it features in the episcopal lists of that time. In the 14th and 15th centuries only the castle of Lidoriki (Velouhovo) is mentioned, possibly identified with the remains of buildings and fortifications preserved on the ancient

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 ...

Archaeological remains

The site underwent systematic excavation in the period 1977-1979 by

Petros Themelis Petros G. Themelis (, 1936 – 27 October 2023) was a Greek classical archaeologist and professor of the University of Crete. He led excavations at numerous sites, including extensive excavations and restoration works at ancient Messene. Life ...

. Following the excavations, the site was inundated by the waters of the dam lake of Mornos. Among the archaeological finds counted the fortification precinct, the sanctuaries of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

and

Kore KORE (1050 AM) is a commercial radio station dual licensed to Springfield and Eugene, Oregon. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by KORE Broadcasting, LLC. The studios and offices are on Willagillespie Road off Oregon Route 132 in ...

and possibly of

Eileithyia Eileithyia or Ilithyia (; ; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery, and the daughter o ...

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 ...

, the bouleuterion, the agora, the theatre and the necropolis. In the renowned "house of the Archive" were discovered about 600 clay sealings, small pieces of clay with which the sender of a letter would stick on the ribbon which held it tied. This piece of clay bore the imprint of the sender's seal as a token that the letter was genuinely written by him. The sealings, which were probably not fired, were preserved due to the fire which destroyed the house. On the imprints one discerns symbols of city-states, such as Chios, Lamia, Delphi, mythological creatures and profiles of male figures, recognised as prominent kings, such as Ptolemy Philopator, Attalus I, Prusias of Bithynia etc. The entire group of sealings leads to the conclusion that Callium or at least the receiver of the documents bearing them maintained relations with the political authorities of large part of mainland Greece, of the islands as well as of the Hellenistic kingdoms. Several of the movable artifacts and finds are displayed in the Archaeological Collection of Lidoriki, whereas some have been transferred also into the

Archaeological Museum of Amphissa Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

Links

Odysseus: internet portal of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports https://web.archive.org/web/20140714153733/http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=4923

References

{{coord, 38.553535, N, 22.171569, E, format=dms, display=title, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/29368 Populated places in ancient Aetolia Former populated places in Greece Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece