Tarphe ( grc, Τάρφη) was a town of the
Epicnemidian Locrians on the
Boagrius River The Boagrius or Boagrios ( grc, Βοάγριος), also called Manes (Μάνης), was the largest river of Locris. It was only a mountain torrent, rising in Mount Cnemis, and flowing into the sea between Scarpheia and Thronium. The river was oft ...
. It 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 ...
''.
Strabo writes that it was situated upon a height in a fertile and woody country, and was said to have derived its name from the thickets in which it stood. In the time of Strabo it had changed its name into that of Pharygae (Φαρύγαι), and was said to have received a colony from
Argos. It contained a temple of
Hera Pharygaea.
The temple was described:
:"Tarphe is situated on a height . . . its territory is both fruitful and well-wooded, for already this place had been named from its being thickly wooded. But it is now called Pharygai; and here is situated a temple of Hera Pharugaia, so called from the Hera in the Argive Pharygai; and, indeed, they say that they are colonists of the Argives."
Its site has been tentatively located near modern
Mendenitsa
Mendenitsa ( el, Μενδενίτσα), in the Middle Ages known as Mountonitsa (Μουντονίτσα) and Bodonitsa or Vodonitsa (Βοδονίτσα), is a village in Phthiotis, Greece. Along with the nearby village of Karavidia, it forms a com ...
.
References
Populated places in Epicnemidian Locris
Former populated places in Greece
Locations in the Iliad
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