The Topography of Thebes from the Bronze Age to Modern Times

by Sarantis Symeonoglou

Overview

This book is a comprehensive treatment of the development of Thebes as documented by archaeological and historical evidence and the literary tradition.

Originally published in 1985.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691639444
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	04/19/2016
Series:	Princeton Legacy Library , #415
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

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The Topography of Thebes

From the Bronze Age to Modern Times

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By Sarantis Symeonoglou

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Copyright © 1985 Princeton University Press
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-03576-5

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CHAPTER 1

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

The province that we refer to today as Boiotia is, for all intents and purposes, the same as the Boiotia of antiquity (fig. 1.1). The eastern border is marked partly by Mt. Parnes and partly by the Asopos River, which flows between the towns of Kleidi and Oinophyta all the way to the Gulf of Euboia; the mountain ranges of Helikon, Koledes, and Parnassos form a clear natural boundary to the west, although the modern administrative district extends far into Phokis; another range of mountains and the Gulf of Euboia marks the northern limit of Boiotia, and the southern boundary is formed by the Gulf of Korinth and the mountain ranges of Kithairon, Pastra, and Parnes.

Boiotia is thus encircled by the sea and large mountains situated in such a way as to leave several large plains in the center of the province. Only the Plain of Tanagra extends all the way to the sea. The plains are fertile and have abundant water, making them ideal for agriculture, in contrast to the coastal areas, which are generally rocky.

Not surprisingly, all the major Boiotian settlements have developed in the central plains, and these settlements have had to share the rich alluvial deposits there. Some of the best land has been submerged beneath lakes that are formed by the water that flows from the mountains directly into the plains where it collects, there being no channel to the sea. Today, there are only two large lakes, Hylike (or Likeri) and Paralimne. A third, the huge Lake Kopais, was drained in the late nineteenth century; it now seems likely that it was at least partially drained by the Mycenaeans in the late fourteenth or thirteenth century B.C. (Wallace 1969, 1973; Fossey 1974). For the greater part of history, however, the Kopaic plain was submerged under the Kopaic lake, and only the small plains of Orchomenos, Chaironeia, Levadeia, Koroneia, and Haliartos were viable for agriculture.

Western Boiotia, an area of 1,320 square kilometers (Kayser and Thompson 1964), the capital of which is Levadeia, is dominated by the Kopaic basin, which, so long as it is drained, is one of the richest districts of Greece. The Sphingion and Ptoon mountains act as a barrier to the waters that collect in the basin, and separate western Boiotia from eastern Boiotia. Eastern Boiotia, an area of 1,854 square kilometers, the capital of which is Thebes, has three series of plains situated parallel to one another in an east-west orientation. The largest is the northern series, bordered on the north by the Sphingion, Ptoon, Messapion, and Hypaton mountains, and on the south by a chain of hills that continue the Helikon and Zagoras mountain ranges. This northern series includes the Teneric plain, which extends from Onchestos (just east of the Kopaic plain) to Kabeirion, the Aonian plain (or Plain of Thebes), which extends from Kabeirion to Mesovouni mountain (fig. 1.2), and the Plain of Tanagra, which extends from Dritsa to Oinophyta. Small valleys opening onto these plains, and a few narrow coastal strips are also arable.

The second series, consisting of two plains, is located south of Thebes. One extends from Thisbe to Eutresis and is named for Thespiai, the most important city in this area. Just east of Eutresis, at Melissochori, the valley of the Asopos River begins, and extends for over 30 km until it joins the Plain of Tanagra. The Asopos valley is narrow, but together with the surrounding hills there is a lot of arable land. These plains are blocked off in the south by the Korompili, Kithairon, and Pastra mountains. Between the Korompili and Kithairon mountains is the small Plain of Plataiai where the famous battle of 479 B.C. took place. The plain extends west of the town of Plataiai and, through a small valley, reaches the Gulf of Livadostra where the ancient city of Kreusis once stood. The Plain of Plataiai is watered by the many springs and streams of Mt. Kithairon.

Thebes is centrally located in eastern Boiotia, controlling the large, fertile Aonian plain. Thebes is also very close to the Asopos valley. The Teneric plain is only 7 km away, and it was part of Theban territory for the better part of history, although Thebes often had to fight for control of it. The cities of western Boiotia, especially Orchomenos, were in need of arable land because most of their flat ground was sacrificed to Lake Kopais. The rivalry between Thebes and Orchomenos, documented in numerous Boiotian myths and in historical accounts as well, can, for the most part, be attributed to a struggle for control of the Teneric plain. At the foot of the Sphingion Mountains (modern Phagas), where the Teneric plain meets the Kopaic basin was the ancient city of Onchestos (modern Steni — the narrows); here, at the sanctuary of Poseidon, was the center of the first Boiotian confederacy, at the place laid claim to by both the eastern and western regions.

Like most major Boiotian cities, Thebes is so far inland that access to the sea is problematic: the nearest harbors, Kreusis on the Korinthian gulf and Anthedon in the north Euboian gulf, are each about 22 km away. The mountainous road to Kreusis was too arduous to allow for regular communication with the Korinthian gulf; instead, it was preferable to reach the harbors of the Vathy bay by the longer but smoother road via Thespiai/Thisbe (Heurtley 1923). Easiest to reach, however, was the port of Anthedon on the Euboian gulf, by way of a road that went through the valley of Thebes and along Paralimne Lake (ancient Trephia). Anthedon was in antiquity a harbor of major importance, not only to Thebes, but perhaps to other Boiotian cities as well; in addition, the probability that the ancient road to Chalkis passed Anthedon gave it importance as a link in the land route (Schlager, Blackman, and Schafer 1968). It was through Anthedon that Thebes communicated with other civilizations in the Aegean and the Near East as early as prehistoric times.

The climate of Thebes differs from the more typical Greek climate of Athens or the Peloponnese in that extremes of cold and heat are more pronounced. The mean annual temperature is 18° C (65° F); the coldest month is January with an average temperature of 10° C (50° F), while the hottest is July (27° C, 80° F). The annual rainfall ranges from 600 to 800 millimeters, or 24 to 32 inches (Kayser and Thompson 1964). Humidity levels are relatively high for Greece; in Thebes the mean is 67 percent.

Thebes stands on the north side of a chain of hills that begins at the Zagoras Mountains and ends at the Plain of Tanagra. In the area of Thebes, the hills are low and form a saddle, providing easy access to the Asopos valley in the north. The hills on which Thebes was built and the ones surrounding them are pleistocene formations of conglomerates, sandstones, sands, red loams, and similar deposits, while further east and south there are extensive formations of marls, clays, sandstones, and conglomerates (Tataris, Kounis, and Marangoudakis 1970; Philippson 1951:501). The Plain of Thebes is closed off in the west and north by much older geological formations of limestone, shale, chert, and dolomitic limestones; these formations provided Thebes with her most durable building materials, although transporting them must have been one of the thorniest problems facing the ancient engineers: the nearest source of limestone is Mt. Kotsika, 5.5. km west of Thebes (fig 1.2). As early as the prehistoric period stone was transported from here for use in the city's fortifications and also in domestic architecture.

As a major city, Thebes had an ongoing need to protect and defend itself. The location of the city made this difficult: not only was it necessary to transport stone for the fortifications from far away, but also the terrain on which one had to build the walls was soft, forcing the builders to dig all the way to bedrock for a solid surface. It was also irregular and low-lying, necessitating the creation of terraces and landfills and forcing the builders to give the walls extra height to provide any real protection. Yet, the difficulties of fortifying Thebes were not reason enough to move the settlement to a more easily defended location, even in later historical periods. In fact, no matter how often the city was destroyed, it was always rebuilt on the same site. Clearly, the overriding justification for this must have been very powerful, indeed, and we must give it due consideration.

A city like Thebes, which depended primarily on agriculture, had two essential requirements: arable land and a dependable supply of water (Bintliff 1977: chap. 5). The Aonian plain provided excellent farm land, and many settlements grew up around it, but only Thebes developed into a major city. I attribute this to an inexhaustible supply of water, which enabled the Thebans not merely to farm, but to practice agriculture on a large scale. This minimized the significance of other factors that usually contribute to the flourishing of a town, such as defensibility, climate, and a geographic location that favors trade and communication. Even when warfare made it imperative that very strong fortifications be erected, as it did in the Mycenaean period, the settlement was not moved.

The water, which was so highly valued, flowed from numerous natural springs in the vicinity and fed three rivers or streams; these flowed from the hills through the Aonian plain, into Lake Hylike (pis. 1-3, figs. 1.2, 3.6). The largest of the rivers was the Agianni (ancient Ismenos) in the east; second in size was the Plakiotissa (ancient Dirke) in the west, and the smallest was the Chrysorroas (ancient Strophia) which flowed between the other two. Almost the entire volume of the river water came from the springs; even during the rainy season there was little increase because the courses of the rivers were short. Today, the riverbeds are dry, as all the spring water is consumed within the town or in the factories that have sprung up in the plain. The riverbeds are quite deep, however, indicating that water flowed through them from the time the area was formed geologically, and throughout most of the city's history. The settlements and temporary military camps that were established outside the Kadmeia and eventually abandoned have been washed into these rivers; one can usually find ancient coins in the riverbeds after a heavy rain.

The Ismenos River was fed by the Oidipodia spring (pi. 39; Catalogue, site 244) located at Agioi Theodoroi, and by the Agianni spring (Catalogue, site 243), known in antiquity as the Ismene spring, or Kadmos' foot. We cannot precisely identify the location of the Agianni spring, because like all the springs of Thebes, it too has been capped in recent times at the spot marked on the map in figure 3.6. The flow of water, however, must begin further south; the remains of the aqueducts of Thebes (fig. 3.6) give evidence that the inhabitants of the Classical period were able to tap the spring south of its present location, where the ground is higher, and thereby divert some of the water towards the Kadmeia. Ever since the construction of the aqueduct, the Kadmeia has relied on this spring for its water supply.

The Strophia River never had more than a small amount of water, and was often completely dry; Ulrichs called it a "rainstream" (1863:5). This river, however, was fed by at least one spring near the southern part of the Kadmeia called Pege, which may be the one that in antiquity was called the spring of Ares (Catalogue, site 173). There may have been yet another spring further south feeding into the river: the sanctuary of Demeter Potnia was by the river, and the presence of a grove near it and statues on the river bank (Pausanias 9.8.1) give some indication that the stream was not dry. In connection with this sanctuary, Pausanias (9.8.2) discusses the Well of the Mad Mares, perhaps another source of water, so called because the horses that drank from it became hysterical.

The junction of the river with three roads may be identified as the crossroads where Oidipous killed his father (see also chap. 5, passages 1 and 18). The river flows west of the Kolonaki hill, curving in a wide arc around the Kadmeia where the riverbed still looks low in relation to the height of the Kadmeia itself (pls. 6-7). The river was probably called Strophia ("turn," or "twist"), and the road by the river was either Schiste ("divided") or Koile ("hollowed"). Each of these names reflects an aspect of the geographic environment. The name Strophia appears only once in Kallimachos (Hymn Del. 76) and for this reason there has been some reluctance to identify it with the river (Pagidas 1882:19-20). Keramopoullos (1917:366) did identify it as such because no alternatives exist. Although Kallimachos is our only source, he is not unreliable: in the same passage he also refers to Dirke, Strophia, and Ismenos, a clear reference to the three streams and perhaps their springs as well.

Until recently there were two springs west of Tachy, called Kephalari and Pegadaki, and another one to the north called the Kati spring (Ulrichs 1863:12-13). All three flowed into the third river, Dirke (pi. 2). Of these three, the Kati spring is the one closest to Thebes and perhaps the most important, because it was reputed to have had the best drinking water of all. Its ancient name is not known. Pliny (N.H. 4.12) mentions a Psamathe spring, the location of which is still undetermined, but there is no evidence to link it with the Kati spring. Pindar makes frequent reference not only to the river Dirke, but to a spring of the same name; his house was in the vicinity (modern Kalogeros, ancient Kynos Kephalai, Map A). The only spring in this area is the one called Paraporti (site 53), and its ancient name must have been Dirke, the most famous spring of Thebes after the spring of Ares. The Dirke spring is the source of water closest to the Kadmeia, and would have been the main source had not its position below the Kadmeia presented the difficulty of transporting the water up to the settlement. It was this difficulty that prompted the ancient Thebans to search for alternate sources. The spring was used, however, until recently, primarily because of its proximity to the city. Its present name (Paraporti, "by the gate") probably reflects its proximity to the medieval tower and gate of site 19.

There were four other springs in Thebes, but all have been recently capped. These were located northwest of the Kadmeia at Mpouka, Vranezi, Chlevino, and Pyri (the last in the public square just south of site 161). After having studied the remains of the Theban aqueducts, I began to doubt that these were natural springs; three of them are very close to line A of the aqueduct (fig. 3.6), while the fourth (Vranezi) is a little to the south and it too could have taken its water from a side conduit. There is no surviving reference in ancient literature to any spring in this area, and all of these may have been man-made fountains fed by the spring of Agianni.

Finally, one more natural spring exists, 1.5 km east of the Kadmeia, beyond the Ismenos River. The spring and its locality are called Moschopodi, and there used to be a small waterfall called Kales Kyrades. The water flows into a stream that runs parallel to the Ismenos River (fig. 1.2). Moschopodi is an attractive place, but because of its distance from the Kadmeia and its position in the infertile hills, it has not played any role in the history of Thebes.

The original settlers of Thebes, who confronted the difficulty of choosing terrain appropriate for construction, must not have had an easy time. Although there was probably considerable vegetation at the river banks, the land must have looked in antiquity very much as it does today in the unoccupied hills around Thebes (pl. 1): in a very irregular terrain we see few flat-top hills and many long, conical ridges with countless sloping depressions on either side. It is difficult to erect houses on such land, not to mention fortifications. Yet, the overriding benefit of the springs and the proximity to the rich Aonian plain were in some measure augmented by the protection afforded by the three rivers, and a settlement site within their bounds must have seemed the best compromise. Although the Ismenos River was the major source of water, the area between the Ismenos and Strophia rivers is only about 200 m wide. In contrast, the area between the Strophia and Dirke rivers is over 400 m wide, and the ground is higher, a strategic advantage. The drawback of being far from the waters of the Ismenos was offset by the proximity of two natural springs close to the southern part of the Kadmeia (Dirke and the spring of Ares). The numerous surviving myths attest to the importance of these two springs.

(Continues...)

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Table of Contents

• FrontMatter, pg. i
• Contents, pg. vii
• List Of Text Figures And Maps, pg. xi
• List Of Plates, pg. xiii
• List Of Tables, pg. xv
• Preface, pg. xvii
• Acknowledgments, pg. xxi
• 1. Geography And Climate, pg. 1
• 2. Thebes In The Prehistoric Period, ca. 2500 to 1050 B.C., pg. 14
• 3. Thebes In The Iron Age, ca. 1050 B.C. To A.D. 300, pg. 84
• 4. Thebes In The Christian Era, pg. 156
• 5. The Description Of Thebes By Pausanias, pg. 173
• 6. Conclusions, pg. 203
• Catalogue Of Sites, pg. 213
• References, pg. 311
• Indices, pg. 327
• Plates, pg. 335