Dulichium (/d(j)ʊˈlɪkiəm/dew-LICK-ee-əm;Ancient Greek:Δουλίχιον,Doulíkhion),[1] also calledDolicha (/ˈdɒlɪkə/DOLL-ick-ə;Δολίχα,Dolíkhā) orDoliche (/ˈdɒlɪˌkiː/DOLL-ih-KEE;Δολίχη,Dolíkhē), was a place noted by numerous ancient writers that was either a city on, or an island off, theIonian Sea coast ofAcarnania,Greece.
In theIliad, theCatalogue of Ships says thatMeges, son ofPhyleus, led 40 ships toTroy from Dulichium and the sacred islands he callsEchinae (theEchinades), which are situated beyond the sea, oppositeElis.[1] Phyleus was the son ofAugeas, king of the Epeians in Elis, who emigrated to Dulichium because he had incurred his father's anger.
In theOdyssey, however, Dulichium is implied to be part ofOdysseus's kingdom, not of Meges's kingdom. In the Odyssey, the island is ruled by king Acastus (Od.14. 335-6) and has the largest contingent of suitors, fifty two in total, who are led by Amphinomus, Penelope's favourite owing to his good nature (Od. 16. 247-8; 394-398)). Disguised as the beggar Aethon of Crete, Odysseus claims that he arrived on Ithaca en route from Thesprotia to Dulichium, where he was to be received by its king. Dulichium is frequently mentioned along withSame,Zacynthus, andIthaca as one of the islands associated with Odysseus' territorial possessions, and is celebrated for its fertility.[2] Nonetheless, theOdyssey does not explicitly state that Dulichium is a subject state under the rule of Odysseus' Ithacan kingdom.
Another story has Dulichium placed approximately 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from the island of Cephalonia but reportedly sunk following an earthquake.[3]
The site of Dulichium gave rise to much dispute in antiquity.Hellanicus supposed that it was the ancient name ofCephalonia; andAndron, that it was one of the cities of Cephalonia, whichPherecydes supposed to be Pale, an opinion supported byPausanias.[4] However,Strabo maintains that Dulichium was one of the Echinades, and identifies it with Dolicha (ἡ Δολίχα), an island which he describes as situated oppositeOeniadae and the mouth of the Achelous, and distant 100 stadia from the promontory ofAraxos in Elis.[5] Dolicha appears to be the same which now bears the synonymous appellation ofMakri, derived from its long narrow form.[6]
Most modern writers have followed Strabo in connecting Dulichium with the Echinades, though it seems impossible to conclusively identify it with any particular island. It is observed byLeake thatPetalas, being the largest of the Echinades, and possessing the advantage of two well-sheltered harbours, seems to have the best claim to be considered the ancient Dulichium. It is, indeed, a mere rock, but being separated only by a strait of a few hundred meters from the fertile plains at the mouth of the Achelous and river of Oenia, its natural deficiencies may have been there supplied, and the epithets of grassy and abounding in wheat, which Homer applies to Dulichium[7]—Δουλιχίου πολυπύρου, ποιήεντος—may be referred to that part of its territory. But Leake adds, with justice, that there is no proof in the Iliad or Odyssey that Dulichium, although at the head of an insular confederacy, was itself an island: it may very possibly, therefore, have been a city on the coast of Acarnania, opposite to the Echinades, perhaps at Tragamesti, or more probably at the harbour named Pandeleimona or Platya, which is separated only by a channel of a mile or two from the Echinades.Wilhelm Dörpfeld supported the theory of Hellanicus that Dulichium was the Homeric name of Cephalonia.[8]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Dulichium".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.