Chaeronea

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Chaeronea
Χαιρώνεια
Chaeronea is located in Greece
Chaeronea
Chaeronea
Location within the regional unit
DE Cheronias.svg
Coordinates: 38°31′N 22°51′E / 38.517°N 22.850°E / 38.517; 22.850Coordinates: 38°31′N 22°51′E / 38.517°N 22.850°E / 38.517; 22.850
CountryGreece
Administrative regionCentral Greece
Regional unitBoeotia
MunicipalityLivadeia
 • Municipal unit111.445 km2 (43.029 sq mi)
Elevation
130 m (430 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Municipal unit
1,382
 • Municipal unit density12/km2 (32/sq mi)
Community
[1]
 • Population556 (2011)
 • Area (km2)26.995
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Vehicle registrationΒΙ

Chaeronea (English: /ˌkaɪrəˈniːə/ or /ˌkɛrəˈniːə/;[2] Greek: Χαιρώνεια Chaironeia, Ancient Greek: [kʰai̯rɔ̌ːneːa]) is a village and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece, located about 35 kilometers east of Delphi. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Livadeia, of which it is a municipal unit.[3] The municipal unit has an area of 111.445 km2, the community 26.995 km2.[4] Population 1,382 (2011). It is located by the mountain Thourion and in the Kifisós river valley, NW of Thebes.

History[]

The Lion of Chaeronea
Plutarch's bust at Chaeronea

First settled in the Prehistoric period at the site now known as Magoula Balomenou (Μαγούλα Μπαλωμένου), its older name was Arne, and it was originally on the shore of Lake Copais (later drained). Chaeronea was subject to Orchomenus which was, beginning in 600 BC, a member of the Boeotian League. In the late 5th century BC, Chaironeia belonged to one of the 11 Boeotian districts along with Acraephnium and Copia.

Chaeronea's importance lay in its strategic position near the head of the defile which presents the last serious obstacle to an invader in central Greece,[5] and it was the site of several historical battles. The best known is that of 338 BC, between Philip II of Macedon and a coalition of various Greek states, mainly Thebes and Athens. During the battle, the elite unit of Theban soldiers known as the Sacred Band of Thebes was wiped out completely (See Battle of Chaeronea). In 1818, the so-called Lion of Chaeronea, a nearly 20-foot-tall (6.1 m) funerary monument erected in honor of the Sacred Band, was rediscovered by English travellers. The fragmentary monument was reassembled and installed in 1902 by an organisation called the Order of Chaeronea atop a pedestal at the site of its discovery.[6]

The ancient biographer and essayist Plutarch was born in Chaeronea, and several times refers to these and other facts about his native place in his writings.[7]

Other battles around Chaeronea:

  • After capturing Chaeronea in 447 BC the Athenians were attacked and defeated in the same year by the Boeotians at the Battle of Coronea.
  • In 146 BC the Roman general Matellus defeated a unit of 1,000 Arkadians.
  • In 86 BC, Archelaus and Taxiles, generals of Mithridates VI of Pontus, landed in Boeotia. They were met by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla near Chaeronea and in the ensuing battle the Mithridatics, despite their greatly superior numbers, were defeated and retreated to Chalcis.[8][7]
  • Battle between Catalans and Franks on March 15, 1311. The Catalan Company defeated the Franks and took control of great part of Greece. Turks participated with the side of Catalans. The battle is described by Ramon Muntaner, a Catalan soldier.
  • Battle between Greeks and Turks in 1823 and 1825 during the Greek Revolution (1821–1828).
Funerary relief for Athenian footman Pancahres, who probably fell at the battle of Chaeronea

The site of the Theban mass grave was excavated in 1879–80 by Panagiotis Stamatakis, and the prehistoric site of Magoula Balamenou 23 years later by the archaeologist George Soteriadis.

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  2. ^ Frank H. Vizetelly, A Desk-Book of Twenty-five Thousand Words Frequently Mispronounced (New York and London: Funk & Wagnalls, 1917), p. 252.
  3. ^ "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
  4. ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
  5. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chaeroneia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 788–789.
  6. ^ 'An Army of Lovers' – The Sacred Band of Thebes
  7. ^ a b Chisholm 1911.
  8. ^ Dictionary of battles from the earliest date to the present time (1904), pp. 54, 55.
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