Oetylus or Oitylos ( grc, Οἴτυλος), also known as Beitylus or Beitylos (Βείτυλος), or Bityla (Βίτυλα), was a town of
ancient Laconia
Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word '' laconic''—to speak in a blunt, co ...
on the eastern side of the
Messenian Gulf, at the modern settlement of
Oitylo.
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
Oitylo; and it appears that Pausanias made a mistake in the names, as the distance between Oetylus and
Caenepolis is 150 ''stadia''. Oetylus is mentioned by
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a 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. Homer is considered one of ...
in the
Catalogue of Ships
The Catalogue of Ships ( grc, νεῶν κατάλογος, ''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 nam ...
in the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") 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 '' Odys ...
''.
During the
Roman period
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
it was one of the
Eleuthero-Laconian 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 ''ép ...
in the 3rd century AD. Pausanias saw at Oetylus a temple of
Sarapis
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...
, and a wooden statue of
Apollo Carneius in the
agora
The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order ...
.
References
Populated places in ancient Laconia
Former populated places in Greece
Locations in the Iliad
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece
East Mani
{{AncientLaconia-geo-stub