Hexamilion wall

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Greece Hexamilion Wall (Εξαμιλιον τειχος)
A preserved portion of the wall with the base of a tower.
Location
Hexamilion wall (Greece)
Hexamilion wall
Coordinates 37°55′34.35″N, 22°58′21.36″E
Country Greece
Region Corinthia
Elevation 0 to 80 m
Peak Period Byzantine

The Hexamilion wall (six-mile wall) was constructed in the period between 408 and 450 CE in the reign of Theodosius II to defend the Peloponnesus against incursions of Visigoths from the north. The attack of Alaric on Greece in 396 CE or the sack of Rome in 410 CE by the Visigoths may have motivated the construction, which included towers, sea bastions, and at minimum one fortress. [1] The one known fortress contained two gates (north and south), of which the northern gate functioned as the formal entrance to the Peloponessos. [2] The wall was constructed with a rubble and mortar core faced with squared stones. It is not certain how long it took to complete, but the importance given to the task is apparent from the scale of the construction; the Hexamilion is the largest archaeological structure in Greece. Every structure in the region was cannibalized for stone for the effort, either being incorporated into the wall directly - as was the temple of Poseidon at Isthmia - or being burned into lime, as was the sanctuary of Hera at Perachora as well as much of the ancient statuary of Corinth. In the reign of Justinian, the wall was fortified with additional towers. Military use appears to have fallen off after the 7th century CE, and by the 11th CE domestic structures were being built into the wall. In 1415 the Byzantine emperor Manuel II conducted repairs over a period of forty days. The high cost of this effort caused unrest among the local elite. The wall was breached in 1423 CE and abandoned after 1463 CE. During the history of the wall, it never fulfilled the function for which it was constructed, unless it acted as a deterrent. Elements of the wall are preserved south of the Corinth Canal and at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Isthmia.

The Hexamilion stands at the end of a long series of attempts to fortify the Isthmus stretching back to perhaps the Mycenean period. [3]Many of the Peloponnesus cities wanted to pull back and fortify the Isthmus instead of making a stand at Thermopylae when Xerxes invaded in 480 BCE (Herodotos Histories 7.206). The issue arose again before the Battle of Salamis (Herodotos 8.40, 49, 56). Although the concept of a fortress Peloponessos was repeatedly appealing, fortification of the Isthmus was of no utility without control of the ocean, as Herodotos notes (7.138).

Contents

[edit] Images of the Hexamilion

Detail of a tower foundation showing a spoliated architectural member with carved molding.

Section of the wall facing northwest.

View along the line of the wall showing rubble core.

Detail of the constructon showing rubble core and worked stone facing.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Gregory uses numismatic evidence to date the construction to 400 to 420 CE.
  2. ^ Gregory describes the development of this northern gateway from its origin as a 1st century CE Roman arch.
  3. ^ See Broneer and Wiseman for arguments for pre-Roman fortification walls across the Isthmus.

[edit] References

[edit] Secondary sources on the Hexamilion

  • Barker, J. W. (New Brunswick, NJ 1969). Manuel II Paleologus (1391-1425): A Study in Late Byzantine Statesmanship.
  • Clement, P. A. (Thessaloniki 1977) “The Date of the Hexamilion” in Essays in Memory of Basil Laourdas.
  • Fowden, G. (JRA 8 (1995), p. 549-567). “Late Roman Achaea: Identity and Defense.”
  • Gregory, T. E. (Princeton, NJ 1993). The Hexamilion and the Fortress. (Isthmia vol. 5).
  • Hohlfelder, R. (GRBS 18 (1977), p. 173-179). “Trans-Isthmian Walls in the Age of Justinian.”
  • Jenkins, R. J. H. and H. Megaw. (BSA 32 (1931/1932) p. 68-89). “Researches at Isthmia.”
  • Johnson, S. (London 1983). Late Roman Fortifications.
  • Lawrence, A. W. (BSA 78 (1983), p. 171-233). “A Skeletal History of Byzantine Fortification.”
  • Leake, W. M. (London 1830). Travels in the Morea.
  • Monceaux, P. (Gazette archéologique (1884), p. 273-285, 354-363). “Fouilles et recherches archéologiques au sanctuaire des Jeux Isthmiques.”
  • Monceaux, P. (Gazette archéologique (1885), p. 205-214). “Fouilles et recherches archéologiques au sanctuaire des Jeux Isthmiques.”
  • Pringle, D. (Oxford 1981). The Defense of Byzantine Africa from Justinian to the Arab Conquest. (British Archaeological Reports, International Series 99).
  • Stroud, R. (Hesperia 40 (1971), p. 127-145). “An Ancient Fort on Mount Oneion.”
  • Winter, F. E. (London 1971). Greek Fortifications.
  • Wiseman, J. R. (Hesperia 32 (1963), p. 248-275). “A Trans-Isthmian Fortification Wall.”

[edit] Secondary sources on transisthmian fortifications

  • Bodnar, E. W. (AJA 64 (1960), p. 165-172). “The Isthmian Fortifications in Oracular Prophecy.”
  • Broneer, O. (Hesperia 35 (1966), p. 346-362). “The Cyclopean Wall on the Isthmus of Corinth and Its Bearing on Late Bronze Age Chronology.”
  • Broneer, O. (Hesperia 37 (1968), p. 25-35). “The Cyclopean Wall on the Isthmus of Corinth, Addendum.”
  • Caraher, W. R. and T. E. Gregory. (Hesperia 75.3 (2006), p. 327-356). “Fortifications of Mount Oneion, Corinthia.”
  • Chrysoula, P. K. (AAA 4 (1971), p. 85-89). “The Isthmian Wall.”
  • Dodwell, E. (London 1819). A Classical and Topographical Tour through Greece II.
  • Fimmen, E. (RE IX (1916), cols. 2256-2265). “Isthmos.”
  • Hope-Simpson, R. (London 1965). Gazetteer and Atlas of Mycenaean Sites.
  • Jansen, A. g. (Lewiston, NY 2002). A Study of the Remains of Mycenaean Roads and Stations of Bronze-Age Greece.
  • Lawrence, A. W. (Oxford 1979). Greek Aims in Fortification.
  • Vermeule, E. T. (Chicago 1972). Greece in the Bronze Age.
  • Wheler, G. (London 1682). A Journey into Greece.
  • Wiseman, J. R. (Göteborg 1978). The Land of the Ancient Corinthians. (Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 50).
  • Wiseman, J. R. (diss. University of Chicago 1966). Corinthian Trans-Isthmian Walls and the Defense of the Peloponnesos.

[edit] Primary sources

  • Zosimus, Historia nova 1.29 (253-260 CE), 5.6 (396 CE).
  • Procopius, De aedificiis 4.2.27-28 (548-560 CE).
  • IG IV.204 (548-560 BCE).
  • G. Sphrantzes, Chronicon minus (p. 4, Grecu) (1415 CE), (p. 16, Grecu) (1423 CE), (p. 50, Grecu) (1431 CE), (p. 52, Grecu) (1435 CE), (p. 66, Grecu) (1444 CE), (p. 128, ed. Grecu) (1462).
  • Laonikos Chalkokondyles (p. 183-184, ed. Bonn) (1415 CE), (p. 319-320, ed. Bonn) (1443 CE), (p. 70, Grecu) (1446), (p. 345-346, ed. Bonn) (1446 CE), (p. 443, ed. Bonn) (1458).
  • Short Chronicle 35 (p. 286, Schreiner, I) (1415 CE), 33 (p. 252, Schreiner, I) (1446 CE).
  • Manuel II, The Letters of Manuel Palaeologus (p. 68, Dennis) (1415-1416 CE).
  • Mazaris, Descent into Hades (p. 80-82, Buffalo (1415 CE).
  • Cyriacus of Ancona, Cyriacus of Ancona and Athens (p. 168, Bodnar) (1436 CE).
  • Pythian Oracle (p. 166-167, Bodnar) (1431-1446 CE).
  • Pseudo-Phrantzes, Chronicum maius (p. 235, ed. Bonn) (1452 CE).
  • Plutarch, Lives Agis and Cleomenes 20.1-21.4 (223 BCE), Aratus 43.1-44.4 (223 BCE).
  • Polybius 2.52.1-53.6 (223 BCE).
  • Diodorus Siculus 15.68.1-5 (369/368 BCE), 19.53.1-53.4 (316 BCE), 19.63.1-64.4 (315 BCE).
  • Xenophon, Hellenica 6.5.49-52 (370 BCE), 7.1.15-22 (369 BCE).
  • Herodotus 7.138-139 (480 BCE), 8.71-72 (480 BCE), 9.7-8 (480 BCE).
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