Thespiae
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Infobox ancient site Thespiae (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; Template:Langx) was an ancient Greek city (polis) in Boeotia. It sits at the foot of Mount Helicon and near right bank of the Thespius River (modern name Kanavari River).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Thespiae was a Boeotian state sporadically involved in the military federal league known as the Boeotian League. The Boeotian League began in 520 BCE under the leadership of Thebes.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
During the Second Persian invasion of Greece, Thespiae's 700 hoplites remained with the Spartans in the Battle of Thermopylae, fighting the Persians and allowing the Greek forces to retreat. Centuries later Greece honored them with a monument. Thespiae was one of the few Boeotian cities to stay loyal to Greece after the battle.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Thespiae rivaled Thebes and survived through the Roman Empire.<ref name=":0" />
Thespiae was involved in mythical Greek tales depicting creatures such as the Lion of Cithaeron and a dragon that ate people whole.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> Mythical figures like Heracles and Narcissus also interacted with the environment of Thespiae. <ref name=":13" /><ref name=":1" />
Thespiae's religious practices included worshiping Eros and the Muses.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":72" /> Artists such as Praxiteles and Lysippos honored Eros through sculptures.<ref name=":8" /> Citizens held festivals and competitions dedicated to the Muses and Eros.<ref name=":14" /><ref name="Athenaeus 13.12 EN2" />
Etymology
Its citizens are called Thespians which holds no correlation with the common noun thespian meaning "actor". The noun comes from the legendary first actor named Thespis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both Thespis and Thespiae, however, are derived from the noun Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration, meaning 'divine inspiration').Template:Citation needed
Topography
According to historian Snodgrass, during Thespian periods of control over smaller cities like Siphai and their harbors, Thespiae created a "natural steppingstone" effect through a sea route it could use without going through and being subject to powerful states like Athens. Thespiae was at a geographic advantage to choose between allying with Athens and Sparta, and its close ally Platea.<ref name=":10">Template:Cite book</ref> The geography and demographic changes of Thespiae after the decrease in the hoplite class is thought to have allowed Thespiae to make a decision to oppose Thebes and leave the Boeotian League.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Archeology
The probable remains of the ancient acropolis consists of an oval line of fortification, while the ground to the east and south are covered with foundations. Topographer Martin William Leake noted that the unique fortified enclosure implied that many of the other buildings stood without walls.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1882, Greek archaeologist Panagiotis Stamatakis excavated a communal tomb (polyandrion), which was discovered on the road to Leuctra.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The tomb contained cremated remains, associated with an in-situ pyre, seven inhumations, and a colossal stone lion. The tomb dates back to the second half of the 5th century BCE. It is usually identified as the tomb of the Thespian soldiers who died at the Battle of Delium in 424 BCE.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
History
Several traditions agree that the Boeotians were a people expelled from Thessaly some time after the mythical Trojan War. The people colonized the Boeotian plain over a series of generations, of which the occupation of Thespiae formed a later stage.<ref name="Buck-19792">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Other traditions suggest that they were of Mycenean origin.
Archaic period
According to a Greek philosopher, Thespian nobility was heavily dependent on Thebes during the late seventh century.<ref>Heraclides Ponticus (FHG fr. 43)</ref> Wealth in the form of land ownership was concentrated in the hands of a small number of nobles. Most nobility couldn't afford the necessary armor to become an effective force of hoplites.<ref name="Buck-19793">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Thespiae therefore decided to become a close ally of Thebes for protection.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Buck-19793" />
The Thespians destroyed Ascra at some point between 700–650 BCE and later settled Eutresis between 600–550 BCE, which signaled the end of their sole reliance on Thebes. It has been speculated that Thespiae took control over Creusis, Siphae, Thisbe and Chorisae sometime in the late sixth century.<ref name="Buck-19794">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp
The Thessalians invaded Boeotia as far as Thespiae in 571 BCE, more than 200 years before the Battle of Leuctra.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This is argued to have given Thespiae the impetus to join the Boeotian League.<ref name=":92">Template:Cite journal</ref> Historian RJ Buck argues that the Leagues purpose was to protect against Thessalian and other forces.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite journal</ref> But elsewhere Plutarch gives a date for the Thessalian invasion as shortly preceding the Second Persian War.<ref>Template:Cite book Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Herodotus suggests that Thespiae had been a member of the league as long as Thebes had been.<ref name=":22">Template:Cite web</ref>
Following the Persian Wars, Thespiae provided two Boeotarchs (military generals) to the league, rather than one; perhaps one for the city and one for the districts under its control.<ref name="Buck-19795">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Snodgrass argues that the inclusion of Thisbai, Siphai, and Chorsia in the Thespiae polis provided for two of the eleven districts that provided Boeotian armed forces.<ref name=":112">Template:Cite book</ref>
Persian, Peloponnesian, and Corinthian wars
By the time of the Persian invasion of 480 BCE Thespiae's ability to field a substantial force of hoplites had changed. Thespiae and Thebes were the only Boeotian cities to send a contingent to fight at Thermopylae. Thespiae sent a force of 700 hoplites who remained to fight beside the Spartans on the final day of the battle.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although Thespian hoplites are popularly depicted with dark cloaks and crescent shields, no evidence supports the historical accuracy of these items.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
After the battle of Thermopylae, Thebes sided with the Persians and denounced Plataea and Thespiae as the only Boeotian states to ally with the Greeks.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> The Persian army lead by Xerxes I burned down the two cities and the remaining inhabitants furnished a force of 1,800 men for the confederate Greek army that fought at Plataea.<ref name=":4" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>During the Athenian invasion of Boeotia in 424 BCE, the Thespian contingent of the Boeotian army sustained heavy losses at the Battle of Delium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the next year, the Thebans dismantled the walls of Thespiae on the charge that the Thespians were pro-Athenian. It is argued that the dismantling of the walls was perhaps a measure to prevent a democratic revolution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Buck-19796">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:RpIn 414 BCE the Thebans aided the Thespians in suppressing a democratic revolution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Boeotian League dissolved under Kings Peace in 386 BCE.<ref name=":11">Template:Cite book</ref>
In the Corinthian War, Thespiae was initially part of the anti-Spartan alliance. At the Battle of Nemea in 394 BCE, the Thespian contingent fought the Pellenes to a standstill while the rest of the Spartan allies were defeated by the Boeotians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After Nemea, Thespiae became an ally to Sparta and served as staging point for Spartan campaigns in Boeotia throughout the Corinthian War.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The city became autonomous as stipulated in the King's Peace of 386 BCE which resolved the Corinthian War and maintained autonomy until 373 BCE.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Boeotian League also dissolved under King's Peace.<ref name=":11" />
Hellenistic period
In 373 BCE, Thespiae was deprived of independent status and incorporated as an appendage to Thebes.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Its citizens were exiled from Boeotia and they arrived in Athens seeking aid.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Still, the Thespians sent a contingent to fight against the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE. The Boeotarch Epameinondas allowed the Thespians to withdraw before the battle, along with other Boeotians who nursed a grudge against Thebes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Not long after the battle, Thespiae was razed by Thebes and its inhabitants expelled.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> At some point later the city was restored.Template:Citation needed
In 335 BCE, the Thespians joined an alliance with Alexander the Great to destroy Thebes. The famous hetaera (courtesan) Phryne was born at Thespiae in the 4th century BCE, though she seems to have lived at Athens. An anecdote by Athenaeus recounts that she offered to finance the rebuilding of the Theban walls on the condition that the words Destroyed by Alexander, Restored by Phryne the courtesan were inscribed upon them.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In the Greek Anthology, it is written that on an altar in Thespiae there was a tripod dedicated to "Zeus the Thunderer" (Template:Langx). The tripod honored the Thespiae soldiers who went and fought in Asia with Alexander the Great avenge their ancestors.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Thespiae also sought the friendship of the Roman Republic in war against Mithridates VI. As a reward for its support against Mithridates, Pliny referred to Thespiae as a free city within the Roman Empire. Thespiae was also mentioned by Strabo as one of two places (the other being Tanagra) that could be called a city.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Thespiae hosted an important group of Roman negotiatores until the refoundation of Corinth in 44 BCE.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Pausanias wrote that Thespians dedicated at Olympia a statue of Pleistaenus (Template:Lang), son of the Eurydamus (Template:Lang), who was the general against the Gauls.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Notable Thespians
- Demophilus of Thespiae: Commander of the Thespian force at the Battle of Thermopylae.
- Phryne: a hetaira. She is best known for her trial for impiety, where she was defended by the orator Hypereides.
- Amphion (Template:Langx): An ancient writer who wrote about the Temple of the Muses on Mount Helicon.<ref name=":5">Athenaeus, Deipnosophists, 14.26 (Greek)</ref><ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref>
Mythology
The name "Thespiae" has contesting mythological origins between King Thespius, the city's founder, and Thespia, a Naiad-nymph, abducted by Apollo.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The city of Thespiae bore importance in numerous myths such as the tale of Narcissus, a Thespian youth who, after gazing upon his reflection in a pool, fell in love with himself, leading to his demise.<ref name=":13">Template:Cite web</ref>
The city of Thespiae also appeared within the myth of Hercules. The city was plagued by the Lion of Cithaeron who was destroying the flocks. King Thespius promised to reward Hercules a night with each of his fifty daughters if he could subdue the lion. When he successfully completed his mission, Hercules was granted a night with each of the fifty daughters of King Thespius.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Another Thespian myth involves a dragon which plagued the city. Zeus decided a youth would be picked at random to be sacrificed to the dragon each year. But when the youth Cleostratus was picked, his lover Menestratus sacrificed himself to save him and destroyed the dragon by wearing a spiked breastplate which slayed the beast as it swallowed him.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref>
The myth surrounding Mount Helicon included the nine Muses.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref> During a musical contest, the Muses performed a song that inspired Mount Helicon to rise toward the heavens. Poseidon advised Pegasus to stop its ascent by kicking it with its hoof which created the sacred spring Hippocrene.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ancient religion
According to Pausanias, the deity most worshipped at Thespiae was Eros.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref> Sculptors honored Eros in their art. Praxiteles created Eros of Thespiae out of Parian marble and later, Lysippos crafted an Eros out of bronze.<ref name=":8" /> Praxiteles' statue attracted the attention of the Romans. It was carried off to Rome by Caligula, restored to Thespiae by Claudius, and again claimed by Roman emperor Nero.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Another work by Praxiteles was Aphrodite of Thespiae, after which the Venus of Arles is thought to have been modeled.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Clement of Alexandria writes that at Thespiae there was a statue of the Cithaeronian Hera.<ref>Clement of Alexandria, Exhortations, 4.1</ref>
Thespians also worshipped the nine Muses. At the Temple of the Muses in Helicon, boys would dance as part of honoring the deities.<ref name=":52">Athenaeus, Deipnosophists, 14.26 (Greek)</ref><ref name=":62">Template:Cite web</ref> Noting the appearance of the Muses at Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and other Greek states, a source concludes that the Thespians and other Boeotians spread the value of the Muses to other parts of Greece.<ref name=":72">Template:Cite web</ref>
The Muses were honored by a shrine in the Valley of the Muses and celebrated in a festival in the sacred grove on Mount Helicon.<ref name=":14">Template:Cite web</ref> During the festival, men would celebrate and compete in music and athletic games in honor of Eros. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another festival celebrated by Thespians was the Erotidia (Template:Langx) meaning festivals of Eros.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Athenaeus 13.12 GR2">Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, 13.12 - Greek</ref><ref name="Athenaeus 13.12 EN2">Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, 13.12 - English</ref>It was held every five years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
Notes
References
- Buck, R.J. 1979, A History of Boeotia, University of Alberta Press, Edmonton.
- Buckler, J. & Spawforth, A.J.S. 2009, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, S. Hornblower & A.J.S. Spawforth eds, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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- Herodotus, Histories
- Larsen, J.A.O. 1955, "The Boeotian confederacy and Fifth-century oligarchic theory", Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, vol. 86, pp. 40–50.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece
- Template:Cite book
- Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War
- Xenophon, Hellenica
External links
- The Cult of Eros Template:Ndash discusses the cult and has of pictures of Roman marble copies of the bronze Eros of Thespeia by Lysippos