Opuntian Locris
Encyclopedia
Opuntian Locris or Eastern Locris was an ancient Greek
region inhabited by the eastern division of the Locrians
, the so-called tribe of the Locri Epicnemidii or Locri Opuntii (Greek: ).
to the mouth of the river Cephissus
. The northern frontier town was Alpeni, which bordered upon the Malians
, and the southern frontier town was Larymna, which at a later time belonged to Boeotia
. The Locrians, however, did not inhabit this coast continuously, but were separated by a narrow slip of Phocis
, which extended to the Euboean sea, and contained the Phocian seaport town of Daphnus. The Locrians north of Daphnus were called Epicnemidii, from Mount Cnemis; and those south of this town were named Opuntii, from Opus
, their principal city. On the west, the Locrians were separated from Phocis and Boeotia by a range of mountains, extending from Mount Oeta
and running parallel to the coast. The northern part of this range, called Mount Cnemis, now Tálanda, rises to a considerable height, and separated the Epicnemidii Locri from the Phocians of the upper valley of the Cephissus; the southern portion, which bore no specific name, is not so lofty as Mount Cnemis, and separated the Opuntian Locrians from the north-eastern parts of Boeotia. Lateral branches extended from these mountains to the coast, of which one terminated in the promontory Cnemides, opposite the islands called Lichades; but there were several fruitful valleys, and the fertility of the whole of the Locrian coast is praised both by ancient and modern observers. In consequence of the proximity of the mountains to the coast there was no room for any considerable rivers. The largest, which, however, is only a mountain torrent, is the Boagrius , called also Manes by Strabo, rising in Mount Cnemis, and flowing into the sea between Scarpheia and Thronium
. The only other river mentioned by name is the Platanius, a small stream, which flows into the Opuntian gulf near the Boeotian frontier: it is the river which flows from the modern village of Proskyná.
.
, who describes them as following Ajax
, the son of Oïleus
, to the Trojan War
in forty ships, and as inhabiting the towns of Cynus
, Opus, Calliarus, Besa
, Scarphe, Augeiae, Tarphe, and Thronium
. Neither Homer, Herodotus
, Thucydides, nor Polybius
, make any distinction between the Opuntii and Epicnemidii; and, during the flourishing period of Greek history, Opus was regarded as the chief town of the Eastern Locrians. Even Strabo, from whom the distinction is chiefly derived, in one place describes Opus as the metropolis of the Epicnemidii (ix. p. 416); and the same is confirmed by Pliny (iv. 7. s. 12) and Stephanus
. In the Persian War
the Opuntian Locrians fought with Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae
, and also sent seven ships to the Greek fleet. The Locrians fought on the side of Sparta
in the Peloponnesian War
. The Locri Opuntii also minted coins in antiquity, some of which survive.
, Nicaea
, Scarphe (Scarpheia), Thronium
, Cnemis (Cnemides), more inland, Tarphe later Pharygae, and Augeiae. The cities and towns of the Locri Opuntii, along the coast from north to south, were: Alope, Cynus
, Opus
, Halae, Larymna which later belonged to Boeotia, more inland, Calliarus, Naryx, and Corseia.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
region inhabited by the eastern division of the Locrians
Locrians
The Locrians were an ancient Greek tribe in Greece. The Locrians spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, which indicates that they may have been relatives of the Dorians. They inhabited the ancient region of Locris in Central Greece....
, the so-called tribe of the Locri Epicnemidii or Locri Opuntii (Greek: ).
Geography
Opuntian Locris consisted of a narrow slip upon the eastern coast of central Greece, from the pass of ThermopylaeThermopylae
Thermopylae is a location in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. "Hot gates" is also "the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades"....
to the mouth of the river Cephissus
Cephissus (Boeotia)
The northern Cephissus river or Cephisus rises at Lilaea in Phocis and flows by Delphi through Boeotia and eventually issues into Lake Copais which is therefore also called the Cephisian Lake...
. The northern frontier town was Alpeni, which bordered upon the Malians
Malians (Greek tribe)
The Malians were a Greek tribe that resided at the mouth of the river Spercheios in Greece. The Malian Gulf is named after them. In the western valley of the Spercheios, their land was adjacent to the Aenianes. Their main town was Trachis. In the town of Anthele, the Malians had an important...
, and the southern frontier town was Larymna, which at a later time belonged to Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
. The Locrians, however, did not inhabit this coast continuously, but were separated by a narrow slip of Phocis
Phocis
Phocis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gulf of Corinth...
, which extended to the Euboean sea, and contained the Phocian seaport town of Daphnus. The Locrians north of Daphnus were called Epicnemidii, from Mount Cnemis; and those south of this town were named Opuntii, from Opus
Opus, Greece
Opus , in Ancient Greece, the chief city of Opuntian or Eastern Locris. It was located on the coast of mainland Greece opposite Euboea, perhaps at modern Atalandi...
, their principal city. On the west, the Locrians were separated from Phocis and Boeotia by a range of mountains, extending from Mount Oeta
Mount Oeta
Mount Oeta is a mountain to the south of Central Greece, in Greece, forming a boundary between the valleys of the Spercheius and the Boeotian Cephissus. It is an offshoot of the Pindus range, high. In its eastern portion, called Callidromus, it comes close to the sea, leaving only a narrow...
and running parallel to the coast. The northern part of this range, called Mount Cnemis, now Tálanda, rises to a considerable height, and separated the Epicnemidii Locri from the Phocians of the upper valley of the Cephissus; the southern portion, which bore no specific name, is not so lofty as Mount Cnemis, and separated the Opuntian Locrians from the north-eastern parts of Boeotia. Lateral branches extended from these mountains to the coast, of which one terminated in the promontory Cnemides, opposite the islands called Lichades; but there were several fruitful valleys, and the fertility of the whole of the Locrian coast is praised both by ancient and modern observers. In consequence of the proximity of the mountains to the coast there was no room for any considerable rivers. The largest, which, however, is only a mountain torrent, is the Boagrius , called also Manes by Strabo, rising in Mount Cnemis, and flowing into the sea between Scarpheia and Thronium
Thronium
Thronion or Thronium was an ancient Greek city of the Euboian-Lokrians in Epirus. It is believed to lie somewhere to the south of Vlorë, between the Shushicë River and the sea....
. The only other river mentioned by name is the Platanius, a small stream, which flows into the Opuntian gulf near the Boeotian frontier: it is the river which flows from the modern village of Proskyná.
Opuntian Gulf
The Opuntian Gulf, at the head of which stood the town of Opus, is a considerable bay, shallow at its inner extremity. In this bay, close to the coast, is the small island of AtalantaAtalanta (island)
Atalanti , is a small island off Locris, in the Opuntian Gulf, said to have been torn asunder from the mainland by an earthquake. In the first year of the Peloponnesian War this previously uninhabited island was fortified by the Athenians to prevent Locrian pirates attacking Euboea....
.
History
The Eastern Locrians, are mentioned by HomerHomer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
, who describes them as following Ajax
Ajax (mythology)
Ajax or Aias was a mythological Greek hero, the son of Telamon and Periboea and king of Salamis. He plays an important role in Homer's Iliad and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War. To distinguish him from Ajax, son of Oileus , he is called "Telamonian Ajax," "Greater...
, the son of Oïleus
Oileus
In Greek mythology, Oileus was the king of Locris. His father was given as Hodoedocus and his mother as Agrianome , according to Hyginus's Fabulae. Oileus's wife was Eriopis, who bore him a son named Ajax...
, to the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
in forty ships, and as inhabiting the towns of Cynus
Cynus
Cynus in Ancient Greece, was a city and seaport of Opus in Eastern Locris....
, Opus, Calliarus, Besa
Besa
-As an acronym:* Banco Espírito Santo Angola* Bond Exchange of South Africa* British Engineering Standards Association* British Educational Suppliers Association* Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies...
, Scarphe, Augeiae, Tarphe, and Thronium
Thronium
Thronion or Thronium was an ancient Greek city of the Euboian-Lokrians in Epirus. It is believed to lie somewhere to the south of Vlorë, between the Shushicë River and the sea....
. Neither Homer, Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, Thucydides, nor Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
, make any distinction between the Opuntii and Epicnemidii; and, during the flourishing period of Greek history, Opus was regarded as the chief town of the Eastern Locrians. Even Strabo, from whom the distinction is chiefly derived, in one place describes Opus as the metropolis of the Epicnemidii (ix. p. 416); and the same is confirmed by Pliny (iv. 7. s. 12) and Stephanus
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephen of Byzantium, also known as Stephanus Byzantinus , was the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica...
. In the Persian War
Greco-Persian Wars
The Greco-Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire of Persia and city-states of the Hellenic world that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus...
the Opuntian Locrians fought with Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae
Battle of Thermopylae
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August...
, and also sent seven ships to the Greek fleet. The Locrians fought on the side of Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
in the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
. The Locri Opuntii also minted coins in antiquity, some of which survive.
Cities and towns
The cities and towns of the Locri Epicnemidii, along the coast from north to south, were: AlpenusAlpenus
Alpenus is a genus of moth in the family Arctiidae from Afrotropics.-Species:* Alpenus affiniola * Alpenus auriculatus Watson, 1989* Alpenus diversatus * Alpenus dollmani...
, Nicaea
Nicaea (Locris)
Nicaea or Nikaia , was an ancient fortress of the Locri Epicnemidii, situated upon the sea, and close to the pass of Thermopylae. It is described by Aeschines as one of the places which commanded the pass. It was the first Locrian town after Alpenos, the latter being at the very entrance of the pass...
, Scarphe (Scarpheia), Thronium
Thronium
Thronion or Thronium was an ancient Greek city of the Euboian-Lokrians in Epirus. It is believed to lie somewhere to the south of Vlorë, between the Shushicë River and the sea....
, Cnemis (Cnemides), more inland, Tarphe later Pharygae, and Augeiae. The cities and towns of the Locri Opuntii, along the coast from north to south, were: Alope, Cynus
Cynus
Cynus in Ancient Greece, was a city and seaport of Opus in Eastern Locris....
, Opus
Opus, Greece
Opus , in Ancient Greece, the chief city of Opuntian or Eastern Locris. It was located on the coast of mainland Greece opposite Euboea, perhaps at modern Atalandi...
, Halae, Larymna which later belonged to Boeotia, more inland, Calliarus, Naryx, and Corseia.