Oetylus or Oitylos (), also known as Beitylus or Beitylos (Βείτυλος), or Bityla (Βίτυλα), was a town of

ancient Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

on the eastern side of the

Messenian Gulf The Messenian Gulf (, ''Messiniakós Kólpos'') is a sea that is part of the Ionian Sea. The gulf is circumscribed by the southern coasts of Messenia and the southwestern coast of the Mani peninsula in Laconia. Its bounds are Venetiko Island ...

, at the modern settlement of

Oitylo Oitylo (), known as "Βίτσουλο", pronounced Vitsoulo, in the native Maniot dialect, is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local ...

. Pausanias says that it was 80 '' stadia'' from Thalamae and 150 from Messa;, 3.25.10, 3.26.1. the latter distance is too great, but there is no doubt of the identity of Oetylus and modern

; and it appears that Pausanias made a mistake in the names, as the distance between Oetylus and

Caenepolis Caenepolis or Kainepolis (), also called Caene or Kaine (Καινή), was a town of ancient Laconia north of the Cape Taenarum. It is probably the same town as mentioned by Strabo under the corrupt form Cinaedium or Kinaidion (Κιναίδιον) ...

is 150 ''stadia''. Oetylus is mentioned by

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 the

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 believed that it took its name from Oetylus a son of Amphianax and grandson of Antimachus of Argos. The town honoured him as a hero. During the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

it was one of the

Eleuthero-Laconian The League of Free Laconians () was established in southern Greece in 21 BC by the Emperor Augustus,Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos. ''Deep into Mani: Journey to the southern tip of Greece'', 21 giving formal structure to a group of cities that had been ...

towns. It was still governed by its

ephors The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''éph ...

in the 3rd century AD. Pausanias saw at Oetylus a temple of

Sarapis Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian god. A syncretic deity derived from the worship of the Egyptian Osiris and Apis, Serapis was extensively popularized in the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter, as a means to ...

, and a wooden statue of Apollo Carneius in the

agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

. Among the modern houses of Oitylo there are remains of Hellenic walls, and in the church a beautiful fluted Ionic column supporting a beam at one end of the aisle, and three or four Ionic capitals in the wall of the church, probably the remains of the temple of Sarapis.

References

Populated places in ancient Laconia Former populated places in Greece Places in the Iliad Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece East Mani {{AncientLaconia-geo-stub