Locris Ozolia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ozolian Locris () or Hesperian Locris () was a region in
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...
, inhabited by the Ozolian Locrians (; ) a tribe of the
Locrians The Locrians (, ''Lokroi'') were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Locris in Central Greece, around Parnassus. They spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, and were closely related to their neighbouring tribes ...
, upon the
Corinthian Gulf The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...
, bounded on the north by Doris, on the east by
Phocis Phocis (; ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...
, and on the west by
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 ...
.


Name

Various etymologies were proposed by the ancients about the origin of the name of the region's inhabitants, the ''Ozolai'' (). Some derived it from the Greek verb (''ozein'') which means "to smell". 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 ...
, this version could be explained by the stench arising from a spring at the foot of Mount Taphiassus, beneath which Nessus and other
centaur A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...
s had been buried, while according to
Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
, that was due to the asphodel which scented the air. For the first of these two versions, Pausanias said that, as he had heard, Nessus, ferrying on Evenus, was wounded by
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 ...
but not killed on the spot, making him escape to this country and when he died, his body rotted unburied, imparting a stench to the atmosphere of the place. Pausanias
10.38.1
Other variations about the origin of the name from the above verb that Pausanias included in his work ''Description of Greece'' are: :(a) that the exhalations of a river had a peculiar smell and :(b) that the first dwellers of the region did not know how to weave garments, so they wore untanned skins which were smelly. Another version mentioned by Pausanias was that Orestheus, son 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 ...
, king of the land, had a bitch which gave birth to a stick instead of a puppy and Orestheus buried it from which a vine grew in the spring, and from its branches called (''ozoi'') in
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
, the people got their name.


Geography

Ozolian Locris is mountainous and for the most part unproductive. The declivities of
Mount Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...
from
Phocis Phocis (; ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...
on the east, Aselinon oros in the centre and Mount Corax from
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 ...
on the west, occupy the greater part of it. The only rivers whose names are mentioned in antiquity are Hylaethus and Daphnus, the latter is nowadays called
Mornos The Mornos () is a river in Phocis and Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece. It is long. Its source is in the southwestern part of the Oiti mountains, near the village Mavrolithari, Phocis. It flows towards the south, and enters the Mornos Reservoir nea ...
, which runs in a southwesterly direction, and flows into the
Corinthian gulf The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...
near
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 ...
. The frontier of the Ozolian Locrians on the west was close to the promontory
Antirrhium Antirrio (, pronounced , ) is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is a mu ...
, opposite the promontory Rhium on the coast of
Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...
. The eastern frontier of Locris, on the coast, was close to the Phocian town of Crissa; and the Crissaean gulf washed on its western side the Locrian, and on its eastern the Phocian coast. Ozolian Locris is said to have been a colony from the Opuntian Locrians. The chief town of the Ozolians was Amphissa and their most important port
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 ...
. Other important towns of the region were: the coastal town of Chalaeum, on the west of the modern town Itea, Myonia and Tritaea on the foot of Aselinon oros southwest of Amphissa, on the western slope of Parnassus the towns Ipnus, Hessus and Messapia, the coastal town Oeantheia on the western edge of the Crissaean gulf and farther on the west Phaestus, Tolophon, Anticirrha, Erythrae, Eupalium,
Oeneon Oeneon or Oineon (), also Oenoa or Oinoa (Οἰνόα) and Oenoe or Oinoe (Οἰνόη), was a town of the Ozolian Locrians, east of Naupactus, possessing a port and a sacred enclosure of the Nemeian Zeus, where Hesiod was said to have been kill ...
, Macynia and Molycreio which owned
Antirrhium Antirrio (, pronounced , ) is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is a mu ...
. More inland from west to east, were Aegitium, Crocyleium,
Teichium Teichium or Teichion () was a town in Aetolia Epictetus, on the borders of 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 (Ita ...
, Olpae and Hyle.


History

They first appear in history in the time 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 ...
, when they are mentioned by
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 ...
as a semi-barbarous nation, along with the Aetolians and
Acarnania Acarnania () is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part ...
ns, whom they resembled in their armour and mode of fighting. In 426 BC, the Locrians promised to assist
Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...
, the
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 ...
commander, in his invasion of Aetolia; but, after the defeat of Demosthenes, most of the Locrian tribes submitted without opposition to
Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...
n Eurylochus, who marched through their territory from
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...
to Naupactus. They belonged at a later period to 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 ...
.Polyb. xviii. 30.


See also

*
Regions of ancient Greece The regions of ancient Greece were sub-divisions of the Hellenic world as conceived by the ancient Greeks, shown by their presence in the works of ancient historians and geographers or in surviving legends and myths. Conceptually, there is no cl ...
*
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 ...


Notes


References

* *
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 ...
, ''History of the Peloponnesian War, Volume I: Books 1-2'', translated by C. F. Smith,
Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...
No. 108, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...
, 1919. {{ISBN, 978-0-674-99120-0
Online version at Harvard University Press
*On the geography of the Locrian tribes, see Leake, ''Northern Greece'', vol. ii. pp. 66, ''seq.'', 170, ''seq.'', 587, ''seq.'' Peloponnesian War Ancient peoples