Calydon

Coordinates: 38°22′21″N 21°31′59″E / 38.372423°N 21.533106°E / 38.372423; 21.533106
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the genus of beetles, see Calydon (beetle).
Not to be confused with Caledon.
The Laphrion sanctuary plateau of Calydon with Varasova mountain on the background.
theater
of Calydon

Calydon (

ancient Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus, 7.5 Roman miles (approx. 11 km) from the sea.[1]
Its name is most famous today for the
Calydonian boar
that had to be overcome by heroes of the Olympian age.

Mythology

According to

Calydon. Calydon and the neighbouring town of Pleuron are said by Strabo to have been once the "ornament" of Greece, but by his time (late 1st century BC) had sunk into insignificance. It is frequently mentioned in the Iliad by Homer, who celebrates the fertility of the plain of "lovely" Calydon.[2][3] In the earliest times the inhabitants of Calydon appear to have been engaged in incessant hostilities with the Curetes, who continued to reside in their ancient capital Pleuron, and who endeavoured to expel the invaders from their country. A vivid account of one of the battles between the Curetes and Calydonians is given in an episode of the Iliad.[4]

The heroes of Calydon are among the most celebrated of the heroic age. It was the residence of

Calydonian Boar) to lay waste the fields of Calydon, which was hunted by Meleager and numerous other heroes. The Calydonians took part in the Trojan War under their king Thoas, the son (not the grandson) of Oeneus.[5]

History

Calydon is not often mentioned in the historical period. In 391 BC, it was recorded as being in the possession of the

Lacedaemonians for help; and Agesilaus II in consequence was sent with an army into Aetolia. Calydon remained in the hands of the Achaeans till the overthrow of the Spartan supremacy by the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC), when Epaminondas restored the town to the Aetolians. In the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey (in 48 BC) it still appears as a considerable place; but a few years afterwards its inhabitants were removed by Augustus to Nicopolis, which he founded to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. It continues however to be mentioned by the later geographers.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Calydon was the headquarters of the worship of

Patrae in Achaea the statue of this goddess which had belonged to Calydon.[13] There was also a statue of Dionysus at Patrae which had been removed from Calydon.[14] Near Calydon there was a temple of Apollo Laphrius;[15]
and in the neighbourhood of the city there was also a lake celebrated for its fish.

Its site is located north of the modern Evinochori.[16][17] One of the four tunnels Motorway 5 consists of crosses near the ruins of Calydon and is named the Calydon Tunnel (Greek: Σήραγγα Καλυδώνας) after it.

Archaeology

Previous and more recent excavations have revealed many buildings including:

  • the Hellenistic theatre of an unusual square plan[18]
  • the Hellenistic Heroon (palaestra) with a rich tomb underneath the Heroon[19]
  • the Artemis Laphria sanctuary with the temple of Artemis, smaller temple of Apollo, and remains of other buildings spanning the Geometric to the Hellenistic period[20]
  • the Lower Acropolis where excavations were carried out recently uncovering a house from the 2nd cent BC[21]
  • the Lower Town where a peristyle house and kilns were found[22]

Finds

Many finds from the site including ancient terracottas from the temple of Artemis are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of

Agrinion and in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens
.

See also

38°22′21″N 21°31′59″E / 38.372423°N 21.533106°E / 38.372423; 21.533106

References

  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Calydon" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. ^ Apollod 1.7.7; Homer. Iliad. Vol. 2.640, 9.577, 13.217, 14.116.
  3. ^ Strabo. Geographica. Vol. pp. 450 et seq., 460. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
  4. ^ Homer. Iliad. Vol. 9.529, et seq.
  5. ^ Homer. Iliad. Vol. 2.638.
  6. JSTOR 148220
    .
  7. ^ Xenophon. Hellenica. Vol. 4.6.1.
  8. ^ Pausanias (1918). "10.2". Description of Greece. Vol. 3. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library.
  9. ^ Diodorus Siculus. Bibliotheca historica (Historical Library). Vol. 15.75.
  10. ^ Caes. B.C. 3.35; Pomponius Mela. De situ orbis. Vol. 2.3.10.
  11. ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Vol. 4.3.
  12. ^ Ptolemy. The Geography. Vol. 3.15.14.
  13. ^ Pausanias (1918). "31.7". Description of Greece. Vol. 4. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library., 7.18.8.
  14. ^ Pausanias (1918). "21.1". Description of Greece. Vol. 7. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library.
  15. ^ Strabo. Geographica. Vol. p. 459. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
  16. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9
    .
  17. ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  18. ^ Vikatou, Frederiksen & Handberg 2014.
  19. ^ Dyggve, Poulsen & Rhomaios 1934.
  20. ^ Dyggve & Poulsen 1948.
  21. ^ Vikatou & Handberg 2017.
  22. ^ Dietz & Stavropoulou-Gatsi 2011.

Bibliography

Archaeological reports
Discussions
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