Cynus (Ancient Greek:Κῦνος,romanized: Kynos)[1] was the principal sea-port of theOpuntian Locrians, situated on a cape at the northern extremity of theOpuntian Gulf in Greece.
Cynus was an ancient town, being mentioned in theHomericCatalogue of Ships in theIliad.[2] It was reported to have been the residence ofDeucalion andPyrrha; the tomb of the latter was shown there.[3] Beside Livy and Homer, Cynus is mentioned by other ancient authors, includingStrabo,[4]Pomponius Mela,[5]Pliny the Elder,[6] andPtolemy.[7]
Colonists from Cynus were said to have foundedAutocane inAeolis, situated opposite the island ofLesbos.[8] It was one of the places that suffered the destruction caused by atsunami that took place after an earthquake in 426 BCE.[9] In 207 BCE, during theFirst Macedonian War, Cynus, which appears defined as anemporium of Opus, was the place to which the fleet ofPublius Sulpicius Galba Maximus retired after failing in its attack againstChalcis.[10]
Ancient sources describe Cynus as sitting oppositeAedepsus inEuboea, and at the distance of 60stadia fromOpus.[3][11]Livy describes it as situated on the coast, at the distance of a mile from Opus.[10]
It took its name from Cynus, son ofOpus and father ofHodoedocus and Larymna.[12]
The site is marked by a tower[clarification needed], called Paleopyrgo (or Pyrgos), and someHellenic remains, about a mile to the south of the village ofLivanates.[13][14] The archaeological site is thus also referred to asPyrgos Livanaton. The site wasexcavated between 1985 and 1995 by the 14th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities inLamia. As of 2007[update], the findings of these excavations had only been made known in preliminary reports,[15] but archaeologists have found items from theBronze and EarlyIron Age.
Kynos, like nearbyMitrou,Kalapodi,Elateia, andLefkandi, shows continuous occupation throughout the transition from theMycenaean palatial period to the Early Iron Age.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Cynus".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|
38°43′24″N23°03′44″E / 38.7234°N 23.0622°E /38.7234; 23.0622
.jpg) | This article relating toarchaeology in Greece is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |