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97-400: His origins are uncertain, and his cults took many forms; some are described by ancient sources as Thracian , others as Greek. In Orphism , he was variously a son of Zeus and Persephone ; a chthonic or underworld aspect of Zeus; or the twice-born son of Zeus and the mortal Semele . The Eleusinian Mysteries identify him with Iacchus , the son or husband of Demeter . Most accounts say he

194-411: A Byzantine encyclopedia based on classical sources, states that Dionysus was so named "from accomplishing [διανύειν] for each of those who live the wild life. Or from providing [διανοεῖν] everything for those who live the wild life." Academics in the nineteenth century, using study of philology and comparative mythology , often regarded Dionysus as a foreign deity who was only reluctantly accepted into

291-584: A cow"), in the Mysteries of Lerna . Braetes , Βραίτης ("related to beer") at Thrace . Brisaeus , Βρισαῖος , a surname of Dionysus, derived either from mount Brisa in Lesbos or from a nymph Brisa, who was said to have brought up the god. Briseus , Βρῑσεύς ("he who prevails") in Smyrna . Bromios Βρόμιος ("roaring", as of the wind, primarily relating to the central death/resurrection element of

388-538: A maximum of 250,000. By comparison, the population of Boeotia was 38,000-50,000 in the late sixteenth century, according to tahrir records, 40,000-42,000 in the 1889 census, and 117,920 in the 2011 census. Boeotia took a prominent part in the Corinthian War against Sparta, especially in the battles of Haliartus and Coronea (395–394 BC). This change of policy was mainly due to the popular resentment against foreign interference. Yet disaffection against Thebes

485-603: A short period of prosperity under the Frankish rulers of Athens (1205–1310), who repaired the underground drainage channels ( καταβόθρα katavóthra ) of Lake Kopais and fostered agriculture, Boeotia long continued in a state of decay, aggravated by occasional barbarian incursions. The first step toward the country's recovery was not until 1895, when the drainage channels of Kopais were again put into working order. In 1880–86, Heinrich Schliemann 's excavations at Orchomenus (H. Schliemann, Orchomenos , Leipzig 1881) revealed

582-598: A short time in the Aetolian League (about 245 BC) Boeotia was generally loyal to Macedon , and supported its later kings against Rome. Rome dissolved the league in 171 BC, but it was revived under Augustus , and merged with the other central Greek federations in the Achaean synod. The death-blow to the country's prosperity was dealt by the devastations during the First Mithridatic War . Save for

679-578: A suitable capital; other major towns were Orchomenus , Plataea , and Thespiae . It was the constant ambition of the Thebans to absorb the other townships into a single state, just as Athens had annexed the Attic communities. But the outlying cities successfully resisted this policy, and only allowed the formation of a loose federation that, initially, was merely religious. While the Boeotians, unlike

776-400: A total of 24,200 men in the army. He assumes that 25% of men were ineligible for military service, so his total population of men between the ages of twenty and fifty is 30,250. Using model life tables he calculates a total male citizen population of 72,240 and an equal number of women, for a minimum free population of 144,050, plus an unknown number of slaves and foreign residents. He proposes

873-791: Is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe . Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea to the east, it comprises present-day southeastern Bulgaria ( Northern Thrace ), northeastern Greece ( Western Thrace ), and the European part of Turkey ( East Thrace ), roughly the Roman Province of Thrace. Lands also inhabited by ancient Thracians extended in

970-532: Is found on a dinos by the Attic potter Sophilos around 570 BC and is located in the British Museum . By the seventh century, iconography found on pottery shows that Dionysus was already worshiped as more than just a god associated with wine. He was associated with weddings, death, sacrifice, and sexuality, and his retinue of satyrs and dancers was already established. A common theme in these early depictions

1067-512: Is mentioned in Ovid 's Metamorphoses , in the episode of Philomela , Procne , and Tereus : Tereus, the King of Thrace, lusts after his sister-in-law, Philomela. He kidnaps her, holds her captive, rapes her, and cuts out her tongue. Philomela manages to get free, however. She and her sister, Procne, plot to get revenge, by killing her son Itys (by Tereus) and serving him to his father for dinner. At

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1164-459: Is one of the regional units of Greece . It is part of the region of Central Greece . Its capital is Livadeia , and its largest city is Thebes . Boeotia was also a region of ancient Greece , from before the 6th century BC. Boeotia lies to the north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth . It also has a short coastline on the Gulf of Euboea . It bordered on Megaris (now West Attica ) in

1261-559: Is probably the source of this tradition, and the source of Thucydides ' "sixtieth year", that is, two generations of thirty years. A second tradition puts the expulsion of the Boiotoi in the reign of Aiatus, one generation after the War . To this should also belong the story in Plutarch , which tells how Opheltas king of the Boiotoi took Chaeronea "by force from the barbarians." Opheltas is

1358-540: Is shown by the reputation and visible Mycenean remains of several of its cities, especially Orchomenus and Thebes . Some toponyms and the common Aeolic dialect indicate that the Boeotians were related to the Thessalians . Traditionally, the Boeotians are said to have originally occupied Thessaly , the largest fertile plain in Greece, and to have been dispossessed by the north-western Thessalians two generations after

1455-525: The Arcadians , generally acted as a united whole against foreign enemies, the constant struggle between the cities was a serious check on the nation's development. Boeotia hardly figures in history before the late 6th century BC. Previous to this, its people are chiefly known as the makers of a type of geometric pottery, similar to the Dipylon ware of Athens. In about 519 BC, the resistance of Plataea to

1552-574: The Battle of Tanagra . Athens retaliated with a sudden advance upon Boeotia, and after the victory at the Battle of Oenophyta took control of the whole country, taking down the wall the Spartans had built. With the victory the Athenians also occupied Phocis , the original source of the conflict, and Opuntian Locris . For ten years the land remained under Athenian control, which was exercised through

1649-808: The Bulgarian and Greek population are Orthodox Christians , while most of the Turkish inhabitants of Thrace are Sunni Muslims . Ancient Greek mythology provides the Thracians with a mythical ancestor Thrax , the son of the war-god Ares , who was said to reside in Thrace. The Thracians appear in Homer 's Iliad as Trojan allies, led by Acamas and Peiros . Later in the Iliad , Rhesus , another Thracian king, makes an appearance. Cisseus , father-in-law to

1746-599: The Dioscures , and may derive from Dios , the genitive of the name of Zeus . Nonnus, in his Dionysiaca , writes that the name Dionysus means "Zeus-limp" and that Hermes named the new born Dionysus this, "because Zeus while he carried his burden lifted one foot with a limp from the weight of his thigh, and nysos in Syracusan language means limping". In his note to these lines, W. H. D. Rouse writes "It need hardly be said that these etymologies are wrong". The Suda ,

1843-725: The Fall of Troy (1200 BC). They moved south and settled in another rich plain, while others filtered across the Aegean and settled on Lesbos and in Aeolis in Asia Minor . Others are said to have stayed in Thessaly, withdrawing into the hill country and becoming the perioikoi ("dwellers around"). Boeotia was an early member of the oldest Amphictyonic League ( Anthelian ), a religious confederacy of related tribes, despite its distance from

1940-711: The Greek War of Independence . With the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Northern Thrace was incorporated into the semi-autonomous Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia , which united with Bulgaria in 1885. The rest of Thrace was divided among Bulgaria , Turkey and Greece at the beginning of the 20th century, following the Balkan Wars , World War I and the Greco-Turkish War . In Summer 1934, up to 10,000 Jews were maltreated, bereaved, and then forced to quit

2037-662: The Hellespont which abuts Thrace, during the invasion of the Persian Empire itself. The Thracians recorded no collective name for themselves; terms such as Thrace and Thracians were assigned by the Greeks. Divided into separate tribes, the Thracians did not form any lasting political organizations until the founding of the Odrysian state in the 4th century BC. Like Illyrians , the locally ruled Thracian tribes of

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2134-727: The Mycenean age (1600–1200 BC) when the Mycenean Greeks established themselves in Boeotia and the city of Thebes became an important centre. Many of them are related to the myths of Argos , and others indicate connections with Phoenicia , where the Mycenean Greeks and later the Euboean Greeks established trading posts. Important legends related to Boeotia include: Many of these legends were used in plays by

2231-657: The Pagasitic Gulf before migrating to the land later termed Boeotia. The location of Arne is unknown, though sometimes it is equated with Cierium in Central Thessaly . The presence in Classical times in Boeotia of cults and place-names of Thessalian origin, such as Itonia and Itonian Athena, Homole and Homoloian Zeus, Alalcomenae , Corseia and Pharae , confirm for most scholars the merits of these traditions. It is, therefore, generally believed that

2328-617: The Palace of Nestor in Pylos , dated to around 1300 BC. The details of any religion surrounding Dionysus in this period are scant, and most evidence comes in the form only of his name, written as di-wo-nu-su-jo ("Dionysoio" = 'of Dionysus') in Linear B , preserved on fragments of clay tablets that indicate a connection to offerings or payments of wine, which was described as being "of Dionysus". References have also been uncovered to "women of Oinoa",

2425-588: The Thessalians who were led by Thessalus , son of Aiatus, son of Pheidippus , son of another Thessalus. Pheidippus appears in the Catalogue of ships as one of the commanders of the force from Cos and Carpathus. He was thought to have been driven to Epirus after the war and to have settled at Ephyra in the Thesprotid . Hence the Boiotoi were expelled two generations after the Trojan War. Hellanicus

2522-596: The Thracians , a region which "had no definite boundaries" and to which other regions (like Macedonia and even Scythia ) were added. In one ancient Greek source, the very Earth is divided into "Asia, Libya, Europa and Thracia". As the Greeks gained knowledge of world geography, "Thrace" came to designate the area bordered by the Danube on the north, by the Euxine Sea (Black Sea) on the east, by northern Macedonia in

2619-634: The prytaneis of the Athenian council, which took it in turns to vote on all new measures. Two Boeotarchs were provided by Thebes, but by 395 BC Thebes was providing four Boeotarchs, including two who had represented places now conquered by Thebes such as Plataea, Scolus , Erythrae , and Scaphae . Orchomenus , Hysiae , and Tanagra each supplied one Boeotarch. Thespiae , Thisbe , and Eutresis supplied two between them. Haliartus , Lebadea and Coronea supplied one in turn, and so did Acraephia , Copae , and Chaeronea . The total military force of

2716-525: The "Free Father" of the Liberalia festival, patron of viniculture, wine and male fertility, and guardian of the traditions, rituals and freedoms attached to coming of age and citizenship, but the Roman state treated independent, popular festivals of Bacchus ( Bacchanalia ) as subversive, partly because their free mixing of classes and genders transgressed traditional social and moral constraints. Celebration of

2813-536: The "Treasury of Minyas"). The Boeotian population entered the land from the north possibly before the Dorian invasion. With the exception of the Minyae, the original peoples were soon absorbed by these immigrants, and the Boeotians henceforth appear as a homogeneous nation. Aeolic Greek was spoken in Boeotia. In historical times, the leading city of Boeotia was Thebes, whose central position and military strength made it

2910-591: The "place of wine", who may correspond to the Dionysian women of later periods. Other Mycenaean records from Pylos record the worship of a god named Eleuther, who was the son of Zeus, and to whom oxen were sacrificed. The link to both Zeus and oxen, as well as etymological links between the name Eleuther or Eleutheros with the Latin name Liber Pater , indicates that this may have been another name for Dionysus. According to Károly Kerényi , these clues suggest that even in

3007-560: The Archaeological Service under Theodore Spyropoulos , uncovering the Mycenaean palace, a prehistoric cemetery, the ancient amphitheatre , and other structures. The regional unit Boeotia is subdivided into 6 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): Boeotia was created as a prefecture in 1836 ( Greek : Διοίκησις Βοιωτίας ), again in 1899 ( Νομός Βοιωτίας ) and again in 1943; in all cases it

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3104-554: The Archaic period through the Greek colonisation and was completed by the end of Roman antiquity. As regards the competition between the Greek and Latin language, the very high rate of Greek inscriptions in Thrace extending south of Haemus Mountains proves the complete language Hellenization of this region. The boundaries between the Greek and Latin speaking Thrace are placed just above the northern foothills of Haemus Mountains. During

3201-576: The Bacchanalia was made a capital offence, except in the toned-down forms and greatly diminished congregations approved and supervised by the State. Festivals of Bacchus were merged with those of Liber and Dionysus. The dio- prefix in Ancient Greek Διόνυσος ( Diónūsos ; [di.ó.nyː.sos] ) has been associated since antiquity with Zeus ( genitive Dios ), and the variants of

3298-570: The Boeotians originated in Thessaly and lived there as a distinct ethnos , in Phthiotis or in Thessaliotis, before they migrated to Boeotia, taking elements with them from other parts of Thessaly . Boeotians were expelled from Thessaly after the Trojan war although there are three traditions which disagree on how expulsion played out. One tradition says that the Boiotoi were expelled by

3395-584: The Boiotian League (11,000 infantry and 1,100 cavalry) has been used as the basis for a number of calculations of the population of the region in the early fourth century BC. John Bintliff assumes an additional 21,000 light troops and rowers in the navy, for a total of 33,100 men. Assuming the same number of women, two children and one slave for every household, he estimates the total Boeotian population at 165,500 (including 33,100 slaves). Mogens Herman Hansen assumes an additional 12,100 light troops, for

3492-461: The Boiotoi seem to have paused to digest western Boeotia; the generation or two before Thebes was captured marks this pause in all traditions. The siting close to Coronea of the sanctuary of Itonian Athena, and the celebration of the Pamboeotia there, together with the renaming of rivers and other toponyms, and the sanctity attached to the neighbouring settlement of Alalcomenae , all strengthen

3589-515: The French use the term béotien ("Boeotian") to denote Philistinism . Boeotia had significant political importance, owing to its position on the north shore of the Gulf of Corinth , the strategic strength of its frontiers, and the ease of communication within its extensive area. On the other hand, the lack of good harbours hindered its maritime development. The importance of the legendary Minyae has been confirmed by archaeological remains (notably

3686-621: The Indians. Isodaetes , Ισοδαίτης , meaning "he who distributes equal portions", cult epithet also shared with Helios. Kemilius , Κεμήλιος ( kemas : "young deer, pricket"). Liknites ("he of the winnowing fan"), as a fertility god connected with mystery religions . A winnowing fan was used to separate the chaff from the grain. Lenaius , Ληναῖος ("god of the wine-press") Lyaeus , or Lyaios (Λυαῖος, "deliverer", literally "loosener"), one who releases from care and anxiety. Lysius , Λύσιος ("delivering, releasing"). At Thebes there

3783-600: The League's original home in Anthela . Although they included great men such as Pindar , Hesiod , Epaminondas , Pelopidas , and Plutarch , the Boeotian people were portrayed as proverbially dull by the Athenians (cf. Boeotian ears incapable of appreciating music or poetry and Hog-Boeotians , Cratinus .310). Many ancient Greek legends originated or are set in this region. The older myths took their final form during

3880-564: The Roman citizenship to all the free inhabitants of the Roman Empire. During the same period (in the 1st-2nd century AD), a remarkable presence of Thracians is testified by the inscriptions outside the borders (extra fines) both in the Greek territory and in all the Roman provinces, especially in the provinces of Eastern Roman Empire. By the mid-5th century, as the Western Roman Empire began to crumble, Thracia fell from

3977-572: The Romans", which was the name traditionally given by Turkic societies to the Byzantine Empire and Orthodox Christians . In Greek mythology, Thrace is named after the heroine and sorceress Thrace , who was the daughter of Oceanus and Parthenope, and sister of Europa . The historical boundaries of Thrace have varied. The ancient Greeks employed the term "Thrace" to refer to all of the territory which lay north of Thessaly inhabited by

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4074-541: The Romans, Thrace also lost its independence and became tributary to Rome. Towards the end of the 1st century BC Thrace lost its status as a client kingdom as the Romans began to directly appoint their kings. This situation lasted until 46 AD, when the Romans finally turned Thrace into a Roman province (Romana provincia Thracia). During the Roman domination, within the geographical borders of ancient Thrace, there were two separate Roman provinces, namely Thrace ("provincia Thracia") and Lower Moesia ("Moesia inferior"). Later, in

4171-650: The Thracian (northern) side of the Hellespont, which formed part of the contingent led by Asius . Ancient Thrace was home to numerous other tribes, such as the Edones , Bisaltae , Cicones , and Bistones in addition to the tribe that Homer specifically calls the "Thracians". Greek mythology is replete with Thracian kings, including Diomedes , Tereus , Lycurgus , Phineus , Tegyrius , Eumolpus , Polymnestor , Poltys , and Oeagrus (father of Orpheus ). Thrace

4268-422: The Trojan elder Antenor , is also given as a Thracian king. Homeric Thrace was vaguely defined, and stretched from the River Axios in the west to the Hellespont and Black Sea in the east. The Catalogue of Ships mentions three separate contingents from Thrace: Thracians led by Acamas and Peiros, from Aenus ; Cicones led by Euphemus , from southern Thrace, near Ismaros ; and from the city of Sestus , on

4365-461: The area suffered a Mongol raid from the Golden Horde , led by Nogai Khan , and between 1305 and 1307 was raided by the Catalan company . In 1352, the Ottoman Turks conducted their first incursion into the region subduing it completely within a matter of two decades and ruled it for five centuries in general peace. In 1821, several parts of Thrace, such as Lavara , Maroneia , Sozopolis , Aenos , Callipolis , and Samothraki rebelled during

4462-402: The authority of Rome and into the hands of Germanic tribal rulers. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Thracia turned into a battleground territory for the better part of the next 1,000 years. The surviving eastern portion of the Roman Empire in the Balkans, later known as the Byzantine Empire , retained control over Thrace until the 7th century when the northern half of the entire region

4559-404: The beginnings of a modern economy, with the use of artisans to 'do the technical work in making his plow and wagon' and the beginnings of sea commerce and its increasing importance in the economic life of Greece. According to myth, the Boeotians ( Ancient Greek : Βοιώτιοι , romanized :  Boiotioi ) lived in Thessaly , especially in the area around Arne , though some may have gone to

4656-505: The belief that this western section was the area where the first Boeotian settlement took place, and where Boeotian institutions were first established in the new homeland. The advance eastward eventually proceeded both to the north and to the south of Copais lake . On the north side it ultimately reached Anthedon , a town credited with once having been occupied by the Thracians . On the south side it came as far as Thebes and Thespiae . In Thebes, according to one version, Damasichthon took

4753-493: The closing years of the Peloponnesian War; but their greatest achievement was the decisive victory at the Battle of Delium over the Athenian army (424 BC) in which both their heavy infantry and their cavalry displayed unusual efficiency. According to the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia , in 395 BC the Boeotian League comprised eleven groups of sovereign cities and associated townships, each of which elected one Boeotarch or minister of war and foreign affairs, contributed sixty delegates to

4850-417: The cry "euae" in lyric passages, and in Euripides ' play, The Bacchae . Iacchus , Ἴακχος a possible epithet of Dionysus, associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries . In Eleusis , he is known as a son of Zeus and Demeter . The name "Iacchus" may come from the Ιακχος ( Iakchos ), a hymn sung in honor of Dionysus. Indoletes , Ἰνδολέτης , meaning slayer/killer of Indians. Due to his campaign against

4947-443: The dealings with Philip of Macedon the cities merely followed Thebes. The federal constitution was also brought into accord with the democratic governments now prevalent throughout the land. Sovereign power was vested in the popular assembly, which elected the Boeotarchs (between seven and twelve in number), and sanctioned all laws. After the Battle of Chaeroneia , in which the Boeotian heavy infantry once again distinguished itself,

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5044-422: The death of Xanthus symbolized traditionally the completion of the conquest of Boeotia under the kings and the consequent immediate extinction of the kingship. During the Persian invasion of 480 BC, Thebes assisted the invaders. In consequence, for a time, the presidency of the Boeotian League was taken from Thebes, but in 457 BC the Spartans reinstated that city as a bulwark against Athenian aggression after

5141-421: The end of the myth, all three turn into birds – Procne into a swallow , Philomela into a nightingale , and Tereus into a hoopoe . The city of Dicaea in Thrace was named after the son of Poseidon , Dicaeus . Indigenous Thracians were divided into numerous tribes. The first to take greater control of Thrace, in part or whole, were the Achaemenian Persians in the late 6th century BC . The region

5238-451: The federal council at Thebes, and supplied a contingent of about 1000 infantry and 100 cavalry to the federal army. A safeguard against undue encroachment on the part of the central government was provided in the councils of the individual cities, to which all important questions of policy had to be submitted for ratification. These local councils, to which the propertied classes alone were eligible, were subdivided into four sections, resembling

5335-411: The federating policy of Thebes led to the interference of Athens on behalf of the former; on this occasion, and again in 507 BC, the Athenians defeated the Boeotian levy. The Works and Days by Hesiod is often used by economists and historians alike to provide invaluable evidence for the Boetian economic system and its developments in the Homeric Age. In the poem Hesiod, who lived in Boeotia, describes

5432-477: The first says that Coronea and Orchomenus were captured virtually simultaneously and then the sanctuary of Itonian Athena was founded. It is clear that both traditions envisaged the Boiotoi as following a well-known invasion route from Thessaly , the one via Thermopylae and Hyampolis to Chaeronea , where the invaders would be poised to attack both Orchomenus and Coronea . Having gained control of Chaeronea , Orchomenus and Coronea , and their territories,

5529-421: The gaining of Thebes . The Thebans remembered, according to Thucydides, that the Asopus valley and Plataea were reduced later than the rest of Boeotia and were occupied in accordance with an agreed plan. The Boeotian advance was apparently stalled on what became the Athenian-Boeotian frontier, by the efforts of local forces, if the legend of Xanthus and Melanthus has any historical significance. In any event

5626-479: The god taking both an active male and a passive female role. It is subversive for Dionysus to receive anal sex; a high status male was expected to penetrate his youthful lovers. Anthroporraistes , Ἀνθρωπορραίστης ("man-destroyer"), a title of Dionysus at Tenedos. Bassareus , Βασσαρεύς a Thracian name for Dionysus, which derives from bassaris or "fox-skin", which item was worn by his cultists in their mysteries. Bougenes , Βουγενής or Βοηγενής ("borne by

5723-415: The god. Dimetor Διμήτωρ ("twice-born") Refers to Dionysus's two births. Dendrites Δενδρίτης ("of the trees"), as a fertility god. Dithyrambos , Διθύραμβος used at his festivals, referring to his premature birth. Eleutherios Ἐλευθέριος ("the liberator"), an epithet shared with Eros . Endendros ("he in the tree"). Enorches ("with balls"), with reference to his fertility, or "in

5820-400: The hands of Dionysus' followers in later myths, but as an epithet of Dionysus himself, whose mythology describes a god who must endure suffering before triumphing over it. According to Kerényi, the title of "man who suffers" likely originally referred to the god himself, only being applied to distinct characters as the myth developed. The oldest known image of Dionysus, accompanied by his name,

5917-498: The head, panther or tiger skins, serpents, phallic symbolism (Shiva lingam), association as a wanderer and outcaste and association with ritual ecstasy. Shiva is understood to be one of a triple godhead that includes Vishnu and Brahma. Dionysus is noted in several references with an association with the east and India. A Mycenaean variant of Bacchus was thought to have been "a divine child" abandoned by his mother and eventually raised by " nymphs , goddesses , or even animals." Dionysus

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6014-399: The imperial period many Thracians – particularly members of the local aristocracy of the cities – had been granted the right of the Roman citizenship (civitas Romana) with all its privileges. Epigraphic evidence show a large increase in such naturalizations in the times of Trajan and Hadrian, while in 212 AD the emperor Caracalla granted, with his well-known decree ( constitutio Antoniniana ),

6111-408: The inscription on item KH Gq 5 is thought to confirm Dionysus's early worship. In Mycenaean Greek the form of Zeus is di-wo . The second element -nūsos is of unknown origin. It is perhaps associated with Mount Nysa , the birthplace of the god in Greek mythology, where he was nursed by nymphs (the Nysiads ), although Pherecydes of Syros had postulated nũsa as an archaic word for "tree" by

6208-492: The islands of Lemnos and Thera . The Argonauts were sometimes referred to as Minyans. Also, according to legend the citizens of Thebes paid an annual tribute to their king Erginus . The Minyans may have been proto-Greek speakers. Although most scholars today agree that the Myceneans descended from the Minyans of the Middle Helladic period , they believe that the progenitors and founders of Minyan culture were an indigenous people . The early wealth and power of Boeotia

6305-436: The land never again rose to prosperity. The destruction of Thebes by Alexander the Great (335 BC) destroyed the political energy of the Boeotians. They never again pursued an independent policy, but followed the lead of protecting powers. Although military training and organization continued, the people proved unable to defend the frontiers, and the land became more than ever the "dancing-ground of Ares". Although enrolled for

6402-575: The modern geographical region. In its early period, the Roman province of Thrace was of this extent, but after the administrative reforms of the late 3rd century, Thracia's much reduced territory became the six small provinces which constituted the Diocese of Thrace . The medieval Byzantine theme of Thrace contained only what today is East Thrace . The largest cities of Thrace are: Istanbul , Plovdiv , Çorlu , Tekirdağ , Burgas , Edirne , Stara Zagora , Sliven , Yambol , Haskovo , Komotini , Alexandroupoli , Xanthi , and Kırklareli . Most of

6499-463: The mountainous regions maintained a warrior tradition, while the tribes based in the plains were purportedly more peaceable. Recently discovered funeral mounds in Bulgaria suggest that Thracian kings did rule regions of Thrace with distinct Thracian national identity. During this period, a subculture of celibate ascetics called the Ctistae lived in Thrace, where they served as philosophers, priests, and prophets. Sections of Thrace particularly in

6596-529: The myth, but also the god's transformations into lion and bull, and the boisterousness of those who drink alcohol. Also cognate with the "roar of thunder", which refers to Dionysus' father, Zeus "the thunderer".) Choiropsalas χοιροψάλας ("pig-plucker": Greek χοῖρος = "pig", also used as a slang term for the female genitalia). A reference to Dionysus's role as a fertility deity. Chthonios Χθόνιος ("the subterranean") Cistophorus Κιστοφόρος ("basket-bearer, ivy-bearer"), Alludes To baskets being sacred to

6693-439: The name Dionysus means "young Zeus". Robert S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin of the name, since all attempts to find an Indo-European etymology are doubtful. Later variants include Dionūsos and Diōnūsos in Boeotia ; Dien(n)ūsos in Thessaly ; Deonūsos and Deunūsos in Ionia ; and Dinnūsos in Aeolia , besides other variants. A Dio- prefix is found in other names, such as that of

6790-499: The name seem to point to an original *Dios-nysos . The earliest attestation is the Mycenaean Greek dative form 𐀇𐀺𐀝𐀰 (di-wo-nu-so) , featured on two tablets that had been found at Mycenaean Pylos and dated to the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. At that time, there could be no certainty on whether this was indeed a theonym , but the 1989–90 Greek-Swedish Excavations at Kastelli Hill , Chania, unearthed, inter alia , four artefacts bearing Linear B inscriptions; among them,

6887-423: The newly installed democracies; but in 447 BC the people revolted, and after a victory at the Battle of Coronea regained their independence. In the Peloponnesian War the Boeotians fought zealously against Athens. Although slightly estranged from Sparta after the peace of Nicias , they never abated their enmity against their neighbours. They rendered good service at Syracuse and at the Battle of Arginusae in

6984-452: The north to modern-day Northern Bulgaria and Romania and to the west into Macedonia . The word Thrace , from ancient Greek Thrake (Θρᾴκη), referred originally to the Thracians (ancient Greek Thrakes Θρᾷκες), an ancient people inhabiting Southeast Europe. The name Europe (ancient Greek Εὐρώπη), also at first referred to this region, before that term expanded to include its modern sense . The region could have been named after

7081-521: The other two: the two generations until the expulsion from Thessaly after the War and the two generations until Thebes is gained give the four generations cited by Hieronymus in his tale of the Cadmean return to Thebes after the war. The entry-point to Boeotia by Boeotians seems to be put in the same general area by all traditions. The second tradition gives Chaeronea as the first place attacked, while

7178-478: The performance of sacred dramas enacting his myths, the initial driving force behind the development of theatre in Western culture . The cult of Dionysus is also a "cult of the souls"; his maenads feed the dead through blood-offerings, and he acts as a divine communicant between the living and the dead. He is sometimes categorised as a dying-and-rising god . Romans identified Bacchus with their own Liber Pater ,

7275-560: The principal river there, Hebros , possibly from the Indo-European arg "white river" (the opposite of Vardar , meaning "black river"), According to an alternative theory, Hebros means "goat" in Thracian . According to Stephanus of Byzantium , long before the ancient Greeks started referring to the region as Thrace , it was known as Aria (Αρια) and Perki (Περκη). In Turkey, it is commonly referred to as Rumeli , "Land of

7372-743: The region (see 1934 Thrace pogroms ). From Bulgaria and Romania between 1934 and 1938 a large wave of Muslims immigrants called Göçmenler went to East Thrace . Today, Thracian is a geographical term used in Bulgaria , Turkey , and Greece . The Trakiya Heights in Antarctica "are named after the historical region." 42°N 26°E  /  42°N 26°E  / 42; 26 Boeotia Boeotia ( / b i ˈ oʊ ʃ ( i ) ə / bee- OH -sh(ee-)ə ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( Greek : Βοιωτία ; modern : Viotía ; ancient : Boiōtía ),

7469-661: The rule from Autesion , son of Tisamenus , son of Thersander , another stemma that puts the Boeotians in Thebes two generations after the Trojan War . The tradition intimates that there was a peaceful take-over, with Autesion joining the Dorians . There must have been another pause for some time. The next advance, into the Asopus valley, was led by Xanthus , son of Ptolemy , son of Damasichthon , that is, two generations after

7566-506: The sixth century BC. On a vase of Sophilos the Nysiads are named νύσαι ( nusae ). Kretschmer asserted that νύση ( nusē ) is a Thracian word that has the same meaning as νύμφη ( nýmphē ), a word similar with νυός ( nuos ) (daughter in law, or bride, I-E *snusós, Sanskr. snusā ). He suggested that the male form is νῦσος ( nūsos ) and this would make Dionysus the "son of Zeus". Jane Ellen Harrison believed that

7663-430: The son of Peneleus , one of the leaders of the Boeotian contingent in the Catalogue , and living one generation after the war. It is not until the reign of Damasichthon , son of Opheltas , that control of Thebes was gained by the Boiotoi. Hence in this tradition one generation after the war, the Boiotoi were expelled and western Boeotia was invaded; two generations after the war, Thebes was won. A third tradition combines

7760-537: The south started to become hellenized before the Peloponnesian War as Athenian and Ionian colonies were set up in Thrace before the war. Spartan and other Doric colonists followed them after the war. The special interest of Athens to Thrace is underlined by the numerous finds of Athenian silverware in Thracian tombs. In 168 BC, after the Third Macedonian war and the subjugation of Macedonia to

7857-499: The south, Attica in the southeast, Euboea in the northeast, Opuntian Locris (now part of Phthiotis ) in the north and Phocis in the west. The main mountain ranges of Boeotia are Mount Parnassus in the west, Mount Helicon in the southwest, Cithaeron in the south and Parnitha in the east. Its longest river, the Cephissus , flows in the central part, where most of the low-lying areas of Boeotia are found. Lake Copais

7954-669: The south, and by Illyria to the west. This largely coincided with the Thracian Odrysian kingdom , whose borders varied over time. After the Macedonian conquest, this region's former border with Macedonia was shifted from the Struma River to the Mesta River . This usage lasted until the Roman conquest. Henceforth, (classical) Thrace referred only to the tract of land largely covering the same extent of space as

8051-444: The standard Greek pantheon at a relatively late date, based on his myths which often involve this theme—a god who spends much of his time on earth abroad, and struggles for acceptance when he returns to Greece. However, more recent evidence has shown that Dionysus was in fact one of the earliest gods attested in mainland Greek culture. The earliest written records of Dionysus worship come from Mycenaean Greece , specifically in and around

8148-528: The testicles" in reference to Zeus' sewing the baby Dionysus "into his thigh", understood to mean his testicles). Used at Samos according to Hesyichius , or Lesbos according to the scholiast on Lycophron's Alexandra . Eridromos ("good-running"), in Nonnus' Dionysiaca. Erikryptos Ἐρίκρυπτος ("completely hidden"), in Macedonia. Euaster (Εὐαστήρ), from the cry "euae". Euius ( Euios ), from

8245-470: The thirteenth century BC, the core religion of Dionysus was in place, as were his important myths. At Knossos in Minoan Crete , men were often given the name "Pentheus", who is a figure in later Dionysian myth and which also means "suffering". Kerényi argued that to give such a name to one's child implies a strong religious connection, potentially not the separate character of Pentheus who suffers at

8342-480: The tholos tomb he called the "Tomb of Minyas ", a Mycenaean monument that equalled the beehive tomb known as the Treasury of Atreus at Mycenae . In 1893, A. de Ridder excavated the temple of Asclepios and some burials in the Roman necropolis. In 1903–05, a Bavarian archaeological mission under Heinrich Bulle and Adolf Furtwängler conducted successful excavations at the site. Research continued in 1970–73 by

8439-560: The times of Diocletian, the two provinces were joined and formed the so-called "Dioecesis Thracia". The establishment of Roman colonies and mostly several Greek cities, as was Nicopolis, Topeiros, Traianoupolis, Plotinoupolis, and Hadrianoupolis resulted from the Roman Empire's urbanization. The Roman provincial policy in Thrace favored mainly not the Romanization but the Hellenization of the country, which had started as early as

8536-477: The tragic Greek poets, Aeschylus , Sophocles , and Euripides : They were also used in lost plays such as Aeschylus's Niobe and Euripides's Antiope . Boeotia was also notable for the ancient oracular shrine of Trophonius at Lebadea . Graea , an ancient city in Boeotia, is sometimes thought to be the origin of the Latin word Graecus , from which English derives the words Greece and Greeks . The major poets Hesiod and Pindar were Boeotians. Nonetheless,

8633-510: Was a large lake in the center of Boeotia. It was drained in the 19th century. Lake Yliki is a large lake near Thebes . The origin of the name "Boeotians" may lie in the mountain Boeon in Epirus . The earliest inhabitants of Boeotia, associated with the city of Orchomenus , were called Minyans . Pausanias mentions that Minyans established the maritime Ionian city of Teos , and occupied

8730-531: Was a temple of Dionysus Lysius. Melanaigis Μελάναιγις ("of the black goatskin") at the Apaturia festival. Morychus Μόρυχος ("smeared"); in Sicily, because his icon was smeared with wine lees at the vintage. Thrace Thrace ( / θ r eɪ s / , thrayss ; Bulgarian : Тракия , romanized :  Trakiya ; Greek : Θράκη , romanized :  Thráki ; Turkish : Trakya )

8827-428: Was born in Thrace, traveled abroad, and arrived in Greece as a foreigner. His attribute of "foreignness" as an arriving outsider-god may be inherent and essential to his cults, as he is a god of epiphany , sometimes called "the god who comes". Wine was a religious focus in the cult of Dionysus and was his earthly incarnation. Wine could ease suffering, bring joy, and inspire divine madness. Festivals of Dionysus included

8924-704: Was incorporated into the First Bulgarian Empire and the remainder was reorganized in the Thracian theme . The Empire regained the lost regions in the late 10th century until the Bulgarians regained control of the northern half at the end of the 12th century. Throughout the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century, the region was changing in the hands of the Bulgarian and the Byzantine Empire (excluding Constantinople). In 1265

9021-839: Was incorporated into their empire as the Satrapy of Skudra , after the Scythian campaign of Darius the Great . Thracian soldiers were used in Persian armies and are depicted in carvings of the Persepolis and Naqsh-e Rostam . Persians' presence in Thracia lasted for more than a century, ending with the conquests in the 4th century BC by Alexander the Great of Macedon , who divided the vast realm between his generals. Notably, Thracian troops are known to have accompanied Alexander when he crossed

9118-530: Was now growing rife, and Sparta fostered this feeling by insisting on the complete independence of all the cities in the Peace of Antaclidas (387 BC). In 374 BC, Pelopidas restored Theban dominance. Boeotian contingents fought in all the campaigns of Epaminondas against the Spartans, most notably at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, and in the Third Sacred War against Phocis (356–346 BC); while in

9215-495: Was split from Attica and Boeotia Prefecture . As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Boeotia was created out of the former prefecture Boeotia. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below. The provinces were: Boeotia is the home of the third largest pasta factory in Europe, built by MISKO ,

9312-542: Was the metamorphosis, at the hand of the god, of his followers into hybrid creatures, usually represented by both tame and wild satyrs , representing the transition from civilized life back to nature as a means of escape. While scholarly references are scarce, there exists a notable overlap between the Greco-Roman Dionysus and the Hindu god Shiva. Shared iconography and background include a crescent or horns on

9409-779: Was variably known with the following epithets : Acratophorus , Ἀκρατοφόρος ("giver of unmixed wine"), at Phigaleia in Arcadia . Acroreites at Sicyon . Adoneus , a rare archaism in Roman literature, a Latinised form of Adonis , used as epithet for Bacchus. Aegobolus Αἰγοβόλος ("goat-shooter") at Potniae , in Boeotia . Aesymnetes Αἰσυμνήτης ("ruler" or "lord") at Aroë and Patrae in Achaea . Agrios Ἄγριος ("wild"), in Macedonia . Androgynos Ἀνδρόγυνος ( androgynous , specifically in intercourse) referring to

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