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(Φάναι; Phánai). [German version] [1] Southern tip of the island of Chios The c. 300 m high southern tip of the island of Chios (Thuc. 8,24,3; Str. 14,1,35; Steph. Byz. s.v. Φ.; Liv. 44,28,7; Ptol. 5,2

[German version] (Σύμη/ Sýmē). Island (58 km2, up to 617 m elevation, barren limestone) with many bays, surrounded by islets, off the Carian coast, 24 km to the north of Rhodes (Hom. Il. 2,671 ff.; Hdt. 1,174; Str. 14,2,14; Diod. Sic. 5,53; Ptol. 5,2,32; Plin. HN 5,1…

[German version] (Νίσυρος/ Nísyros). Island west of Cnidus, belonging to the Dodecanese. Around 35 km2 and pentagonal in shape, between Cos, Telos and the western tip of the Reşadiye peninsula. Volcanic rocks, hot springs (Str. 10,5,16); the collapsed main crater is 692 m high. N. was dedicated to Poseidon. The settlements of Argus (Steph. Byz. s.v. Ἄργος/Á rgos), Gigantea and Hypaton (Γιγαντεα/ Gigantea and Υπατον/ Hypaton, IG XII 3,92,2f.), attested in literary sources, cannot be located archaeologically, but the eponymous main settlement of N. has been f…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Delian League | Athenian League (Second) (Οἴνη/ Oínē, ethnikon Οἰναῖος/ Oinaîos; in literature also Οἰνόη/ Oinóē, Ath 1,30d; Steph. Byz. s.v. Οἰνόη, Str. 14,1,9). Main town on the island of Icarus [2], on its north coast, 2 km west of modern Evdilos. Cult site of Dionysus and Artemis Tauropolis (chief cult). Numerous inscriptions [1]. O. was a member of the Delian League, paying a tribute of between 4000 and 8000 drachmai (ATL 1, 360f.; 528; 2, 86f.; 3, 190; 204). From the 2nd cent. BC, O. was dependent on Samos, probably after previous d…

[German version] (Ποιήεσσα/ Poiḗessa, Ποιᾶσσα/ Poiâssa, Ποιῆσσα/ Poiêssa). City in the southwest of Ceos [1] at modern Pisses. An acropolis and remains of walls lie on a steep cape. In the area early Cycladic pottery  (3rd millennium BC) has been found. Few remains survive (foundations, columns). Temples to Apollo Smintheus and  Athena Nedousia are recorded in Str. 10,5,6. To the northeast of P. a mighty Hellenistic watchtower has been found. In the Hellenistic Period P. was incorporated into the polis of Carthaea on the so…

[German version] (Σκίαθος/ Skíathos). Westernmost of the northern Sporades (45 km2, length 11 km, maximum elevat…

(Πορθμός/ Porthmós, 'ferry place'). [German version] [1] Narrows of Salamis and ferry place of the same name there Narrows of Salamis and ferry place of the same name there (Hdt. 8,76,91; Aeschin. 3,158). Boundary stones from the ferry harbour have been found in Piraeus (πορθμείων ὅρμου ὅρος/ porthmeíōn hórmou hóros, IG I3 1104 [1. 446]). The Herakleion of the Salaminii at P. (SEG 21, 527 Z. 10 f., 16) is not identical with the one in Sunium (SEG 21, 527 Z. 84, 94 f.), hence P. does not describe the narrows at Puntazeza in the Sunium dḗmos. Lohmann, Hans (Bochum) Bibliography 1 W. Judeich, Top…

[German version] (Πεπάρεθος; Pepárethos). Island of the Cyclades (today counted among the northern Sporades) off the Thessalian coast (96 km2, …

[German version] (Σίφνος; Síphnos). Island in the western Cyclades (89 km2; Str. 10,5,3; Ptol. 3,15,30; Plin. HN 4,66; 36,159), rising to 696 m (Prophitis Elias), with many bays especially in the south and west; rich in slate and marble, it also produced gold, silver, iron and lead; still known as S. today. Poetic epithets: Merópē or Meropía and Acis (Steph. Byz. s. v. Σ.; Plin. HN 4,42). Traces of settlement from the 3rd millennium onwards; silver and galenite were mined in the early Cycladic period (early Cycladic settlement south of Apollonia, for…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Sparta (Σκάνδεια/ Skándeia). Port settlement, 10 stadia to the east of the city of Cythera (Paus. 3,23,1) in the southeast of the island of Cythera, modern Kastri on the bay of Avlemonas. Settlement from the Early Helladic on; first ment…

[German version] [1] Island (Τῆλος/ Têlos). Island to the northwest of Rhodes with deeply incised bays, 16 km in length, up to 9 km in width, 63 km2 in area, rising to 651 m in height, predominantly of slate and limestone formations with broad tuff valleys in between; originally named Agathoussa (Hesych. s. v. Ἀγάθουσσα, Steph. Byz. s. v. T.). Settled in the 3rd millennium BC (settlement remains at Kastello near Livadia in the south) and in the Minoan period (17th/16th cent. BC, at Megalo Chorio in the north). Settled c. 1000 BC by the Dorieis, in the 7th cent. BC linked polit…

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[German version] (Φολέγανδρος; Pholégandros). Island in the southern Cyclades (33 km2, 19 km long, up to 4 km wide) to the southeast of Melos (Strab. 10,5,1; 5,3; Plin. HN 4,68; Ptol. 3,15,31), named after a son of

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[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Colonization | Delian League | Athenian League (Second) | Education / Culture (Τένεδος; Ténedos). Island in the north east of the Aegean Sea (Ptol. 5,2,27; Dionys. Per. 135; Hierocles Synékdēmos 686,8), 5 km off the coast of Troas, 20 km south west of the Hellespont and therefore always of strategic importance; made up of limestone, slate, trachite with Neogene deposits; 10 km long, 5 km wide, 41 km2 in area, rising to 191 m in the northeast, present day Bozcaada. Various earlier names for T. are documented: C…

[German version] (Ὤγυλος; Ṓ gylos). Island between the Peloponnese and Crete (Steph. Byz. s.v. Ὤγυλος); identification uncertain, most plausibly Cythera or Anticythera. Külzer, Andreas (Vienna) Bibliography J. Schmidt…

[German version] (Τῆνος/ Tênos). Island in the northern Cyclades; 27 km in length, up to 12 km wide, area of 195 km2; numerous coastal bluffs, a few open bays, primarily slate along with marble and granite; in the east, up to 714 m high (Tsiknias, probably the ancient Gyraíē pétrē, Hom. Od. 4,500; 4,507; Lycoph. Alexandra 390 ff.); it still bears the same name. T. was not very fertile, but the cultivation of garlic on T. was proverbial (Aristoph. Plut. 718); there were many snakes and scorpions (ibid.). Epithets for T. were h ydroûssa ('abundant in wate…

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[German version] (Σποράδες/ Sporádes, 'the scattered'). Collective term, varying in detail, for the Aegean islands not reckoned as Cyclades (schol. Dionys. Per. 132; 530; Eust. in Dionys. Per. 530; Mela 2,111; Plin. HN 4,68-71; Aristot. Mund. 3,393). The name appears to have first been coined by Hellenistic geographers; there is no evidence for it yet in the 4th cent. BC (e.g. in Ps.-Scyl. 48; 58; 96-99). After its introduction it was inconsistently applied; the boundary with the Cyclades fluctuate…

[German version] (Θερμαῖος κόλπος/ Thermaîos kólpos). Bay, still named after the city of Therme, between Thessaly (Thessalians) and Chalcidice, significant for connecting the Macedonian interior with the Aegean Sea (Hecat. FGrH 1 F 146; Hdt. 7,121-123; 8,127; IG I2 302,68; Mela 2,2,35; and Plin. HN 4,36 and 4,72: Thermaicus and Thermaeus sinus respectively). Scyl. 66 and Mela loc.cit. locate the bay at the mouth of the Peneius. The inner corner of the bay, which curves to the northeast, was a favourite geographical point of orientation used to …

This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Peloponnesian War | Persian Wars | Athenian League (Second) | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine | Education / Culture (Θήρα/ Thḗra). [German version] I. Geography An island (73 km2) of the southern Cyclades with a city of the same name (Str. 10,5,1; Paus. 3,1,8), formerly Santorini (from Italian Santa Irene), now Thira, together with the smaller islands Therasia and Aspronisi a group of islands that most likely formed around 1628 BC (dendro-dating) in the wake of a powerful volcanic eruption; Palaia Kaim…

[German version] (Πάτμος/ Pátmos). With an area of 34 km2, P. is the smallest and n…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Mycenaean culture and archaeology (Φυλακοπή/ Phylakopḗ, modern place name). Site of prehistorical settlement on the steep eastern coast of the island of Melos, one of the most important bronze age towns of the Aegean, significant for its obsidian trade. Three phases of settlement have been determined: phase 1 (24th-21st cent. BC), an extensive settlement, barely urban, probably destroyed by earthquakes; phase 2 (2000-1600 BC), fortified, to some ext…

[German version] (Θηρασία; Thērasía). Island (9 km2, up to 295 m elevation;  Str. 1,3,16; 10,5,1; Plin.  HN 2,202; 4,70; Ptol. 3,15,28;  Just. Epit. 30,4,1; Steph. Byz. s. v. T.) in the group around Thera; with the main island to the east and Aspronisi it is part of the original volcano. In the south of T. a prehistoric settlement, buried by the volcanic eruption, was found showing a close relationship (comparable layout, pottery, artefacts) to Acrotiri on Thera. In the historical period settled by Do…

[German version] (Τάμυναι/ Támynai, also Ταμῦναι/ Tamŷnai). Township in the territory of Eretria [1] (Str. 10,1,10) about 14 km to the north of Porthmus [2] at modern Avlonari…

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(Σχοινοῦς/ Schoinoûs, literally '(bul)rushes'). [German version] [1] River in Boeotia River in the area of Thebes in Boeotia (Σχοινεύς/ Schoineús in Steph. Byz. s. v. Σχοινοῦς/ Schoinoûs; Stat. Theb. 7,268; Nonnus, Dion. 13,63; Nic. Ther. 889) which flowed through the region or town of Schoenus (about 9 km from Thebae; modern Muriki) (Str. 9,2,22 or Hom. Il. 2,497) and into Trephia Limne (modern Lake Paralimni). According to  Steph. Byz. loc.cit., S. was derived from one of the sons of the Theban hero Athamas. Freitag, Klaus (Münster) Bibliography Fossey, 229-232. [German version] [2] Mountain near Corinth Mountain peak in the border region between Corinth and Epidaurus. Inscriptions: IG IV2 1, 71, l. 24 f. Freitag, Klaus (Münster) Bibliography J. Wiseman, The Land of the Ancient Corinthians, 1978, 138.…

[German version] (Ὄρος). Highest point on the island of Aegina (532 m), modern-day Hagios Elias; cone of volcanic origin on the southern part of the island. Fortified settlement at the summit dating from the Mycenaean period, si…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Persian Wars | Delian League | Aegean Koine …

[German version] (Σκῦρος; Skŷros). Infertile island (limestone, slate, the Breccia marble popular in the Roman Imperial period) with many bays, to the east of Euboea [1] (202 km2; Str. 2,5,21; 9,5,16; Ptol. 3,13,47; Plin. HN 4,69; 72), rising in the south to 792 m, surrounded by several islets. The island was settled from the Mesolithic onwards (e.g. finds on Achilli Bay), in the Neolithic it was a staging post for trade in obsidian from Melos to the northern Aegaean (Aigaion Pelagos). The ancient polis of S., on the site of modern S., was settle…

[German version] (Σέριφος/ Sériphos). Island of the western Cyclades (11 km in diameter, 75 km2 in area, with Mount Turlos at 486 m elevation; marble, granite, gneiss) with numerous bays and three islets (modern Bous, Piperi and Seriphopoulo). S. had been settled by the 3rd millennium BC (early Cycladic idols) and the Iones took possession of it in the historical period (Hdt. 8,48). S. resisted Persian demands for tribute and in 480 BC took part on the Greek side in the battle of Salamis [1] (Hdt. 8,46; 48;…

[German version] (Ὀρόβιαι/ Oróbiai). Coastal town north-west of Euboea, in antiquity always dependent on Histiaea, modern Rovies. Oracular centre of Apollo Selinountios. In 426 BC severely devastated by a violent earthquake and tsunami (Thuc. 3,89,2; Str. 9,2,13; 10,1,3; IG XII 9, 1186, 2; 1189,27 and 37).…

(Ὄλυμπος/Ólympos). Geography: [1-13]. People: [14-15]. [German version] [1] Home of the ›Olympian‹ gods, highest mountain in Greece (Latin Olympus) (Latin Olympus). Kramolisch, Herwig (Eppelheim) Meyer, Ernst (Zürich) [German version] I. Geography The highest mountain in Greece, regarded as the home of the 'Olympian' gods (twelve (Olympian) gods). Its altitude, overlooking all of its surroundings, creates a powerful impression, as do its massive size and density and its dramatic ascent, especially at the east and west, which …

[German version] (Σίκινος; Síkinos). Island in the southern Cyclades (39 km2;  Scyl. 48;  Str. 10,5,1; Ptol. 3,15,31), rising to 552 m  (Agios Mamas), rich in marble and slate; no natural safe harbours, today also named Síkinos. Its poetic epithet Oinóē 'wine-bearing' (Apoll. Rhod. 1,620; Plin. HN 4,69; Steph. By…

(Σαλαμίς/ Salamís). [German version] [1] Largest island in the Saronic Gulf This item can be found on the following maps: Dark Ages | Natural catastrophes | Persian Wars | Athenian League (Second) | Education / Culture Largest island (93 km2) in the Saronic Gulf (Saronikos Kolpos), with a deeply punctuated coastline, 0.5…

[German version] (Ῥήνεια/ Rhḗneia, Ῥήναια/ Rhḗnaia, Ῥήνη/ Rhḗnē; Latin Rhene, Plin. HN 4,67). An island of the Cyclades, consisting of two parts …

This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Peloponnesian War | Pompeius | Education / Culture (Σαμοθράκη; Samothrákē). [German version] I. Geography and history Island (178 km2, with Mount Phengari, 1161 m) in the northern Aegean Sea, 30 km out from the Tracian coast, rich in water, with a narrow and flat beach and lacking in natural harbours. There are isolated traces of Neolithic settlements (near Karyotai and Mikro Vuni), in the Bronze Age it was occupied by Thracians. In c…

(Οἰνοῦσσαι/ Oinoûssai). [German version] [1] Group of three islands on the southwest tip of the Messenic peninsula off the coast of Methone [1] Group of three isla…

This item can be found on the following maps: Theatre | Apollo | Macedonia, Macedones | Marble | Peloponnesian War | Pompeius | Education / Culture (Θάσος/ Thásos). [German version] I. Geography Island in the northern Aegean (Aegean Sea); 398 km2, up to 1203 m high, 10 km south-south-west of the mouth of the Nestus [1], separated from the Macedonian mainland by a c. 7 km wide strait, with no particularly deeply carved bays; predominantly marble with deposits of gneiss and mica schist, occasional granite (north-east, south-west); lush vegetation (including pines, oaks, chestnuts), owing to copious supplies of water. Külzer, Andreas (Vienna) [German version] II. Archaic period Name probably pre-Greek; traces of late Neolithic settlement. Inhabited by Thracian Sapaei or Saii (corresponding personal name still on inscription of classical period). At the beginning of the 7th cent. BC, colonization took place from Paros; the first settlers included the poet Archilochus. The main settlement of the island, hugely extended in the Hellenistic period and also called T., was situated on the north coast near modern Limenas. A 4 km long city wall, which also enclosed the acropoli…

[German version] (Τελέθριον; Teléthrion). Mountains in the north of Euboea [1], to the southeast of a line from Oreos (modern Pyrgos) to Histiaea (Str. 10,1,3 f.), modern Galitsades (predominantly slate and sandstone, up to 977 m elevation: Profitis Elias); the location of the T. at Oechalia [4] (Steph. Byz. s. v. T.) is incorrect. T was famous for its medicinal herbs (Plin. HN 25,94; Theophr. Hist. pl. 4,5,2; 9,15,4; 9,15,8; 9,20,5). A particular region of T. was called Drymós ('oak forest': Str. loc.cit.). Külzer, Andreas (Vienna) Bibliography …

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[German version] (Τεύτλουσσα/ Teútloussa, Τευτλοῦσσα/ Teutloûssa; Teutloessa, Τευτλόεσσα; modern Sesklion). Island on the coast of Caria (Cares). In the winter of 412/1 BC the Athenians, defeated by a Spartan fleet 1 km to the north at Syme, sought shelter there (Thuc. 8,42,4; Steph. Byz. s. v. T.). Plin. HN 5,133 locates T. incorrectly at Rhodes. Limited traces of settlement survive. Külzer, Andreas (Vienna) Bibliography …

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(Ζάραξ/ Zárax). [German version] [1] City on the eastern coast of the Parnon This item can be found on the following maps: Sparta | Achaeans, Achaea City of Laconian períoikoi on a bay (modern Limin Ierakas, Kastri or Ieraka) on the eastern coast of the Parnon, modern Ierax. Remains of ancient city walls on the northern side of the entrance to the harbour. Z. had an extremely advantageous maritime location (natural harbour) but lacked both good connections with the Laconian inland plain and drinking wa…

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[German version] (Μυρτῷον πέλαγος; Myrtȏion pélagos, Latin mare Myrtoum). Part of the Aegean between the Peloponnese and the Cyclades; accounts of its size vary from one author to another, generally it includes the Saronic Gulf (Saronikos Kolpos); the term came into use at the end of the Roman Republic (cf. Hor. Carm. 1,1,14; Ov. Epist. 16,208). Its etymology is uncertain; most likely it was derived fro…

[German version] (Μυόννησος; Myónnēsos). Small island shaped like a mouse (μῦς/ mŷs Greek = ‘mouse’, hence the name) in the Diaulos Oreon (straits between Euboea…

[German version] (Ὄχη/ Ochē). Highest mountain to the south of Euboea (1347 m), with three main peaks; famous in the Imperial period for the marble of Carystus [1] (Str. 10,1,3; 1,6; Steph. Byz. s.v. Κάρυστος; Eust. 2,54,43ff.; Hsch. s.v. Ὀχή). …

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