Eutresis (ancient city)

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For the genus of butterflies that are called clearwing, see Eutresis Coordinates: 38°15′00″N 23°15′00″E / 38.25000°N 23.25000°E / 38.25000; 23.25000

Map of Ancient Boeotia (in Greek)
Eutresis (Εύτρησις, also as Eutrēsis, modern transliteration: Εύτρηση, Eftresi or Eftressi, linear B: e-u-te-re-u) was an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece built southeast of Thespiae (now Thespies). According to mythology, the city was built by Amphion and Zethus before they became the king of Thebes.[1] It was mentioned by Homer as one of the Boeotian cities who took part in the Trojan War.[2] It even had a the Temple of Apollo with its oracle, its inhabitants called it the Eutreitidieies Apollōni (Εὐτρειτιδιεῖες Άπόλλωνι) The nearby location today is in a hill called Arkopodi, 2 km from Lefktra, the ancient Leuctra.[3] and west of the village of Melissochori and situated by the Asopus River.

Archaeological findings

The area around Eutresis was excavated by the American archeologist Hetty Goldman between 1924 and 1927.[4] Its ancient sources how the city was settled during the Neolithic Era. It flourished up to the Mycenaean period in which it defended with the important central palace of the time. Slightly after the end of the Mycenean period, it was abandoned for the main reasons. It was resettled again in the 6th century BC from the neighboring city of Thespiae and the new city survived up to the Roman age. Its findings included a Kouros from the 6th century BC and is on display at the Thebes Archaeological Museum.[5] One of the Mycenean tabets with Linear B inscriptions which was founded around Thebes or Thiva in 1995, figured the writing of the location of Eutresis in the form e-u-te-re-u. The catalog number is TH Ft 140. According to archaeologist Vassilsi Aravantinos, in the same time, Eutreis was probably the second populated deme in the area controlled by the Theban palace, the capital.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Strabo, Geographica, book IX, 2,28
  2. ↑ Homer, Iliad II, p. 502
  3. ↑ Strabo Geography, Books VIII-X
  4. ↑ John L. Caskey, Elizabeth G. Caskey: The earliest settlements at Eutresis supplementary excavations, 1958. In: Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Vol. 29, no. 2. April – Juni 1960, p. 126 (jstor.org - retrieved on June 2, 2011
  5. ↑ Ministry of Culture, History of Eutresis (Greek)
  6. ↑ Joachim Latacz, Troy and Homer Barcelona: Destino (2003), ISBN 84-233-3487-2.

References

  • Hartmut Beister, Eutresis. in Siegfried Lauffer (Hrsg.): Griechenland: Lexikon der historischen Stätten von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart. C. H. Beck, Munich, 1989, p. 227.
  • Klaus Freitag: Eutresis. in Der Neue Pauly (DNP). Band 4, Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01474-6, p. 321.
  • Hetty Goldman: Excavations at Eutresis in Boeotia. Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA 1931 ([hathitrust.org], retrieved on 29. Mai 2011).
  • Barbara Ann Kipfer: Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 2000, ISBN 0-306-46158-7, p. 181
  • Penelope A. Mountjoy: Orchomenos V: Mycenaean Pottery from Orchomenos, Eutresis and other Boeotian Sites. Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Philosoply and Historic Class, Neue Folge, Heft 89, Munich, 1983.
  • Notices of books, in The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 52. 1932, p. 306

External links

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