Kalaureia

Kalaureia or Calauria is an island close to the coast of Troezen in the Peloponnesus of mainland Greece, part of the modern island-pair Poros: for its modern character, see Poros.

Strabo describes the coastwise journey along the Hermionic Gulf::"The gulf begins at the town of Asine. Then come Hermione and Troezen; and, as one sails along the coast, one comes also to the island of Calauria, which has a circuit of one hundred and thirty stadia and is separated from the mainland by a strait four stadia wide." [Strabo, "Geography", viii.6.3 ( [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Strab.+8.6.23 On-line text] ).]

Calaurian amphictyony

In the Archaic period, an early amphictiony, one of several Hellenic leagues of pre-classical times of which little is known, was centered on Kalaureia. Archaeology of the site suggested to Thomas Kelly that the sacred league was founded in the second quarter of the seventh century BCE, ca 680-650; [Thomas Kelly, "The Calaurian Amphictiony" "American Journal of Archaeology" 70.2 (April 1966:113-121); Kelly, who summarized preceding literature, was reviving a date postulated by Ernest Curtius, with new reasoning. He suggested that the league could have been formed as a defensive pact against the expansive tyrant Pheidon of Argos.] before that date there were virtually no remains at the site, which could not have been used more than sporadically; [Some Mycenaean objects found at the site related to a few ancient burials without connection to Poseidon. (Kelly 1966:115, 116).] a temple of Poseidon was constructed in the sixth century, the ruins of which are still accessible on a hilltop close to the modern town, and at the same time a "peribolos" wall enclosing the sanctuary site: [The site of the temple was excavated in 1894 by the Swedish archaeologists Sam Wide and Lennart Kjellberg and published in 1895; it had become overgrown and forgotten by tourists in the 1960s but has been "rediscovered".] there are no earlier traces of structures. The "temenos" or sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon, may have been linked to the sanctuaries at Geraistos and Tainaros. The island was known at one time as "Eirene" ("Peace"), clearly in reference to the amphictiony. [In a fragment of Aristotle and in the Suidas, "s.v." "Kalaunia" (Kelly 1966:118 note 45).] A reference in Strabo gives a list of the "poleis" that belonged::"And there was also a kind of Amphictyonic League connected with this temple, a league of seven cities which shared in the sacrifice; they were Hermione, Epidaurus, Aegina, Athens, Prasïeis, Nauplïeis, and Orchomenus Minyeius; [That is, "Minyan Orchomenus, in Boeotia; the eighth-century date of Orchomenus' last access to the sea and the general agreement, following Strabo, that the league was a sea league, have affected the dating of the league.] however, the Argives paid dues for the Nauplians, [That is, Argos took the place of Nauplia; the Argives destroyed Nauplia shortly after the Second Messenian War, of uncertain date in the mid-seventh century.] and the Lacedaemonians for the Prasians." [That is, Sparta took the place of Prasïeis, which was conquered by Sparta shortly after the middle of the sixth century (Kelly 1966:119, noting Herodotus, i.82)] (Strabo, "Geography" viii.6.14.)

Troezen and Poros, which he considered the harbour of Troezen, Strabo omitted. However, there is no archaeological evidence to corroborate this list, and modern scholars believe that a feast in the ancient "temenos" celebrating the "revival" of the amphictiony, may have been based on a Hellenistic invention; the feast certainly existed: a third-century BCE plaque celebrating the "revival" of the Kalaureian League has been recovered. ["Inscriptiones Graecae" IV:842 (noted in Kelly 1966:121 note 70)]

Kalaureia in the Classical period

On Calauria a Doric temple of Poseidon was built in the ancient sanctuary, possibly around 520 BCE. The dimensions of the temple are 27.4 by 14.4 m. There are six columns on each short side and twelve on each long side.

After the Greco-Persian War, the friendly connection between Athens and Troezen appears to have continued; and during the hegemony of the Athenian empire before the thirty years' peace (455 BCE) Troezen was an ally of Athens, and was apparently garrisoned by Athenian troops; but by this peace the Athenians were compelled to relinquish Troezen. (19.29)

It was to Kalaureia that Demosthenes the famous orator, condemned to death with his friends by the pro-Philip Macedonian party at Athens, fled and took sanctuary in Poseidon's sanctuary; as Antipater's officers closed in, he took poison and died, 16 October 322. [Oskar Seyffert, "Dictionary of Classical Antiquities," 1894:182.]

Kalaureia was mentioned by Philostephanus in a lost work "On Islands".

External links

* [http://www.kalaureia.org/ Kalaureia Archaeological Excavations]

Notes