Pellene (; ; ) was a city and

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

(city-state) of ancient Achaea, the most easterly of the twelve Achaean cities (the

Achaean League The Achaean League () was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era confederation of polis, Greek city-states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea (ancient region), Achaea in the northwestern Pelopon ...

). Its territory bordered upon that of

Sicyon Sicyon (; ; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyōn was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. The ruins lie just west of th ...

on the east and upon that of Aegeira on the west. Pellene was situated 60 stadia from the sea, upon a strongly fortified hill, the summit of which rose into an inaccessible peak, dividing the city into two parts. Its port was at Aristonautae.

Mythology and proto-history

Its name was derived by the inhabitants themselves from the giant

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

, and by the Argives from the Argive Pellen, a son of Phorbas. Pellene was a city of great antiquity. It is mentioned in the

Homeric Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an 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 authorship, Homer is ...

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 ...

''; and according to a tradition, preserved 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 ...

, the inhabitants of

Scione Scione or Skione () was an ancient Greek city in Pallene, the westernmost headland of Chalcidice, on the southern coast east of the modern town of Nea Skioni. Scione was founded by settlers from Achaea; the Scionaeans claimed their ancestor ...

in the peninsula of Pallene in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

professed to be descended from the Achaean Pallenians, who were driven on the Macedonian coast, on their return from

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

History

At the commencement 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 ...

, Pellene was the only one of the Achaean towns which espoused the Spartan cause, though the other states afterwards followed their example. It was a member of the first

until that League was dissolved by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

. In the time of

, Pellene fell under the dominion of one of its citizens of the name of Chaeron, a distinguished athlete, who raised himself to the tyranny by Alexander's assistance. Around 270/265 BCE it was again a democracy joining the revived Achaean League. In the wars which followed the re-establishment of the Achaean League, Pellene was several times taken and re-taken by the contending parties. In 241 BCE, Pellene was briefly conquered by 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 ...

, but the raiding party was expelled by

Aratus of Sicyon Aratus of Sicyon (Ancient Greek: Ἄρατος ὁ Σικυώνιος; 271–213 BC) was a politician and military commander of Hellenistic period, Hellenistic Ancient Greece, Greece. He was elected strategos of the Achaean League 17 times, lead ...

in the Battle of Pellene. In 225 BCE, it was captured by

Cleomenes III Cleomenes III () was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 BC, 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to 222 BC, Cleomen ...

of Sparta, but after the successful intervention of

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

it was returned to Achaea the following year. Pellene remained a member of the Achaean League until the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

conquest in 146 BCE.

Description

The buildings of Pellene are described by Pausanias. Of these, the most important were a temple of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

, with a statue of the goddess, said to have been one of the earlier works of Pheidias; a temple of Dionysus Lampter, in whose honour a festival, Lampteria, was celebrated; a temple of Apollo Theoxenius, to whom a festival, Theoxenia, was celebrated; a gymnasium, and more. Sixty stadia from the city was the Mysaeum (Μύσαιον), a temple of the Mysian Demeter; and near it a temple of

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

, called Cyrus (Κῦρος): at both of these places there were copious springs. Between

Aegium Aegium or Aigion (), or Aegeium or Aigeion (Αἴγειον), was a town and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, and one of the twelve Achaean cities. It was situated upon the coast west of the Selinountas (river), river Selinus, 30 stadion (unit ...

and Pellene, ancient writers mention a village also called Pellene, celebrated for the manufacture of a particular kind of cloaks, which were given as prizes in the agonistic contests in the city. Others, however, questions this second Pellene, supposing that Strabo is describing Pellene as both citadel and village.E.g., K. O. Müller ''Dor.'' vol. ii. p. 430.

Situation

The ruins are southwest of

Xylokastro Xylokastro () is a seaside town and a former municipality in Corinthia in the Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xylokastro-Evrostina, of which it is a unit or component. The municipal unit ...

on the northern coast of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

Notable people

* Phanas of Pellene (6th century BC), runner (Olympic victor 512 BC) * Sostratus of Pellene (5th century BC), runner (Olympic victor 460 BC) * Promachus of Pellene (5th century BC), pakratiast (Olympic victor 404 BC) * Chaeron of Pellene (4th century BC), wrestler and tyrant (Olympic victor between 356 and 344 BC)

References