Abae
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Abae (Ancient Greek: Ἄβαι, Abai), is an ancient town in the northeastern corner of Phocis, in Greece. It was famous in antiquity for its oracle of Apollo Abaeus,[1] one of those consulted by Croesus, king of Lydia,[2][3] and Mardonius, among others.[4]
It was rich in treasures[5], but was destroyed by the Persians in the invasion of Xerxes in 480 BCE, and a second time by the Boeotians and remained in a ruined state.It was rebuilt by Hadrian.[6]
The oracle was, however, still consulted, e.g. by the Thebans before Leuctra in 371 BCE.[7] The temple seems to have been burnt again during the Third Sacred War (355–346 BCE), and was in a very dilapidated state when seen by Pausanias in the second century CE,[8] though some restoration, as well as the building of a new temple, was undertaken by Emperor Hadrian.
The sanctity of the shrine ensured certain privileges to the people of Abae,[9] and these were confirmed by the Romans. The polygonal walls of the acropolis may still be seen in a fair state of preservation on a circular hill standing about 500 ft (150 m) above the little plain of Exarcho; one gateway remains, and there are also traces of town walls below. The temple site was on a low spur of the hill, below the town. An early terrace wall supports a precinct in which are a stoa and some remains of temples; these were excavated by the British School at Athens in 1894, but little was found.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867), "Abaeus", in Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1, Boston, pp. 1, http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0010.html
- ^ Herodotus i.46
- ^ Hesychius of Alexandria. s.v. Ἄβαι; Pausanias, Description of Greece x. 35. § 1, &c.
- ^ Bell, Robert E. (1989). Place-Names in Classical Mythology. ABC-CLIO. pp. 1. ISBN 0-87436507-4.
- ^ Herodotus. viii.33
- ^ Smith, William (1850). A New classical dictionary of biography, mythology, and geography. London: John Murray. pp. 1. http://books.google.com/books?id=5_oGAAAAQAAJ.
- ^ Pausanias iv. 32.5
- ^ Pausanias, x. 35
- ^ Bulletin Corresp. Hell. 6 171.
[edit] References
- Hesychius s. v. "Agcu"
- Herodotus viii. 33
- Pausanias x. 35.1ff, etc.)
- Black and white photo essay of the archeological site of Abae
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