Ancient Greek:Ἡράκλεια ἡ ἐν Τραχῖνι | |
 The site of Heraclea in Trachis. | |
  Heraclea in Trachis Shown within Greece | |
| Alternative name | Trachis (Τραχίς) |
|---|---|
| Location | Greece |
| Region | Central Greece |
| Coordinates | 38°47′27″N22°26′33″E / 38.79077°N 22.4425°E /38.79077; 22.4425 |
Heraclea (Herakleia) in Trachis (Ancient Greek:Ἡράκλεια ἡ ἐν Τραχῖνι), also calledHeraclea Trachinia (Ἡράκλεια ἡ Τραχινία),[1] was a colony founded by theSpartans[2] in 426 BC, the sixth year of thePeloponnesian War.[3] It was also apolis (city-state).[4]
Originally calledTrachis (Τραχίς), or byStrabo,Trachin (Τραχίν),[5] the city was in the region ofMalis, in the district called after, itTrachinia. It was located on a rocky plateau above the left bank of theAsopos River, at the point where it leavesMount Oeta for the plain ofLamia.[6] It stood in a little to the north or rather west ofThermopylae, thus commanding the approach to Thermopylae fromThessaly, and was, from its position, of great military importance.[7][5][8] The entrance to the Trachinian plain was only half a plethrum [50 feet (15 m)] in breadth, but the surface of the plain was 22,000 plethra [8 miles (13 km)], according toHerodotus.[7] The same writer states that the city Trachis was 5stadia from the riverMelas, and that the river Asopus issued from a gorge in the mountains, to the south of Trachis.[9] According toThucydides, Trachis was 40 stadia from Thermopylae and 20 from the sea.[10] Trachis (as Trachin) is mentioned in theCatalogue of Ships in theIliad byHomer as one of the cities subject toAchilles,[11] and is celebrated in the legends ofHerakles as the scene of his death.[12]
It became a place of historical importance in consequence of the colony founded here by the Lacedaemonians in the sixth year of the Peloponnesian War, 426 BC. TheTrachinians (a tribe of theMalians) and the neighbouringDorians, who suffered much from the predatory incursions of theOetaean mountaineers, solicited aid from the Spartans, who eagerly availed themselves of this opportunity to plant a strong colony in this commanding situation. They issued an invitation to the otherDorian states of Greece to join in the colony; and as many as 10,000 colonists, under three Spartanoecists (Leon,Alcidas, and Damagon), built and fortified a new town, to which the name of Heraclea was given, from the great hero, whose name was so closely associated with the surrounding district.[13][14] It was usually called the Trachinian Heraclea, to distinguish it from other places of the same name, and by later writersHeraclea in Phthiotis (Ἡράκλεια Φθιώτιδος),[15] as this district was subsequently included in the ThessalianPhthiotis. Thucydides also tells us that the Spartans thought the town would "lie conveniently for the purposes of the war withAthens." From Heraclea the Spartans could ready a fleet to threatenEuboea, and the town would be "a useful station on the road toThrace."
The new colonists also built a port with docks near Thermopylae. It was generally expected that this city, under the protection of Sparta, would become a formidable power in Northern Greece; however, soon after the town was founded, things began to go quite badly. It was attacked from the beginning by theThessalians, who regarded its establishment as an invasion of their territory; and the Spartans, who rarely succeeded in the government of dependencies, displayed haughtiness and corruption in its administration. Hence the city rapidly dwindled down. Six years after its founding a battle took place between the inhabitants of Heraclea and the assembled forces of theAenianes,Dolopes, Malians, and Thessalians who were directly menaced by the colony. Sparta was unable at the time to send assistance to their colony; the Heracleots were defeated, and the town so reduced that in the following year, theBoeotians occupied it to prevent it falling into Athenian hands, and dismissed the Lacedaemonian governor, on the ground of misconduct.[16] Thucydides tells us that the Spartans were "offended at the Boeotians for what they had done."[17]
The Lacedaemonians, however, regained possession of the place; and in the winter of 409-408 BC, they experienced here another disaster, 700 of the Heracleots being slain in battle, together with the Lacedaemonianharmost (military governor).[18] But, after the Peloponnesian War, Heraclea again rose into importance, and became the headquarters of the Spartan power in Northern Greece. In 399 BC,Herippidas the Lacedaemonian, was sent there to repress some factious movements in Heraclea ; and he not only put to death all the opponents of the Lacedaemonians in the town, but expelled the neighbouring Oetaeans and Trachinians from their abodes.[19] In 395 BC, theThebans, under the command ofIsmenias, wrested this important place from the Spartans, killed the Lacedaemonian garrison, and gave the city to the old Trachinian and Oetaean inhabitants.[20]
The walls of Heraclea were destroyed byJason of Pherae, lest any state should seize this place and prevent him from marching into Greece.[21] At a later time Heraclea came into the hands of theAetolians, and was one of the main sources of their power in Northern Greece. After the defeat ofAntiochus III at theBattle of Thermopylae (191 BC), Heraclea was besieged by theRomanconsulAcilius Glabrio, who divided his army into four bodies, and directed his attacks upon four points at once; one body being stationed on the river Asopus, where was thegymnasium; the second near the citadel outside of the walls (extra muros), which was almost more thickly inhabited than the city itself; the third towards theMaliac Gulf; and the fourth on the river Melas, opposite the temple ofDiana. The country around was marshy, and abounded in lofty trees. After a siege of twenty-four days the Romans succeeded in taking the town, and the Aetolians retired to the citadel. On the following day the consul seized a rocky summit, equal to the citadel in height, and separated from it only by a chasm so narrow that the two summits were within reach of a missile. Thereupon the Aetolians surrendered the citadel.[22]William Martin Leake, who visited the site in the early 19th century, remarks that it seems quite clear from this account of Livy that the city occupied the low ground between the rivers Karvunariá (Asopus) and Mavra-Néria (Melas), extending from the one to the other, as well as a considerable distance into the plain in a south-eastern direction. There are still some vestiges of the citadel upon a lofty rock above; and upon its perpendicular sides there are many catacombs excavated. "The distance of the citadel above the town justifies the words extra muros, which Livy applies to it, and may explain also the assertion of Strabo,[5] that Heraclea was six stadia distant from the ancient Trachis; for, although the town of Heraclea seems to have occupied the same position as the Trachis of Herodotus, the citadel, which, according to Livy, was better inhabited in theAetolian War than the city, may very possibly have been the only inhabited part of Heraclea two centuries later.[23]
The city is attested at least until the 6th century, whenProcopius of Caesarea mentions it as part ofJustinian I's efforts to fortify the nearby pass ofThermopylae. According to Procopius, a wall was erected across the valley of the Asopos, and the town was strengthened with an otherwise unidentified fortress called Myropoles. Traces of Byzantine fortifications, as well as acistern, survive on the site.[6] The town was apparently abandoned in the following decades. Some modern scholars have tried to identify it with the later medieval settlements ofRavennika orSiderokastron, but these identifications are generally rejected as incompatible with the literary evidence.[6]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Trachis".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.