Ikaros (Failaka Island)
Ἴκαρος | |
Location within the Near East | |
Location | Kuwait |
---|---|
Region | Mesopotamia |
Coordinates | 29°26′20″N 48°20′00″E / 29.43889°N 48.33333°E (approximate) |
Ikaros (Greek: Ἴκαρος) was the Hellenistic name for what is now the Failaka Island of Kuwait.[1] It is located 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of the spot where the Tigris and Euphrates empty into the Persian Gulf.[2] For thousands of years, the island served as a strategic point in the Persian Gulf that would enable its ruler to control the lucrative trade that passed through the area;[3][2] the island has been a strategic location since the rise of the Sumerian city-state of Ur in Mesopotamia.[3]
Having returned to
During the Hellenistic era, there was a temple dedicated to Artemis on the island;[4][8][9] the wild animals of the island were dedicated to the goddess with a decree for their protection.[4] Strabo wrote that there was a temple of Apollo and an oracle of Artemis (μαντεῖον Ταυροπόλου; Tauropolus).[10] The island is also mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium[11] and Ptolemaeus.[12]
Remains of the settlement include a large Hellenistic fort and two Greek temples.[13] Failaka was also a trading post (emporion) of the Parthian kingdom of Characene.
See also
- Agarum
- Failaka Island
- Akkaz Island
- Umm an Namil Island
- H3 (Kuwait)
- Bahra 1
- Kazma
- Subiya, Kuwait
References
- ^ J. Hansamans, Charax and the Karkhen, Iranica Antiquitua 7 (1967) page 21-58
- ^ a b "Failaka Island, Kuwait". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 4 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Failaka Island – Silk Roads Programme". UNESCO.
- ^ a b c Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, §7.20
- ISBN 9788793423190.
- ISBN 9781134967933.
- ISBN 9781136155314.
- ^ Dionysius of Alexandria, Guide to the Inhabited World, §600
- ^ Aelian, Characteristics of Animals, §11.9
- ^ Strabo, Geography, §16.3.2
- ^ Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §I329.12
- ^ Ptolemaeus, Geography, §6.7.47
- Medieval Times Princeton University Press,page 131