As one proceeds a little farther, however, there are still two small towns belonging to the Boeotians: Larymna, near which the Cephissus empties, and, still farther on, Halae, which bears the same name as the Attic demes (Strab. 9,2,13).
...
This is best shown by the Cephissus, which fills lake Copais; for when the lake had increased so much that Copae was in danger of being swallowed up (Copae is named by the poet, and from it the lake took its name), a rent in the earth, which was formed by the lake near Copae, opened up a subterranean channel about thirty stadia in length and admitted the river; and then the river burst forth to the surface near Larymna in Locris; I mean the Upper Larymna, for there is another Larymna, which I have already mentioned, the Boeotian Larymna on the sea, to which the Romans annexed the Upper Larymna (Strab. 9,2,18).
These extracts are from: The Geography of Strabo, ed. H. L. Jones, Cambridge. Harvard University Press
Cited Aug 2002 from Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks
On crossing Mount Ptous you come to Larymna, a Boeotian city on the coast, said to have been named after Larymna, the daughter of Cynus.
City of Boeotia, anciently belonged to Opus.
In the fourth century B.C. a port was built at Larymna making it the easternmost harbor of Locris...Larymna is a village of Opuntian Locris which sits on the north coast of the Euboean Gulf. In the fourth century B.C. a port was built at Larymna making it the easternmost harbor of Locris.
Larumna. The name of two towns in Boeotia, on the river Cephissus,
distinguished as Upper and Lower Larymna. (Strab. ix.) Strabo relates that the
Cephissus emerged from its subterranean channel at the Upper Larymna, and joined
the sea at the Lower Larymna; and that Upper Larymna had belonged to Phocis until
it was annexed to the Lower or Boeotian Larymna by the Romans. Upper Larymna belonged
originally to the Opuntian Locris, and Lycophron mentions it as one of the towns
of Ajax Oileus. (Lycophr. 1146.) Pausanias also states, that it was originally
Locrian; and he adds, that it voluntarily joined the Boeotians on the increase
of the power of the Thebans. (Paus. ix. 23. § 7.) This, however, probably did
not take place in the time of Epaminondas, as Scylax, who lived subsequently,
still calls it a Locrian town. Ulrichs conjectures that it joined the Boeotian
league after Thebes had been rebuilt by Cassander. In B.C. 230, Larymna is described
as a Boeotian town (Polyb. xx. 5, where Larumnan should be read instead of Labrunan);
and in the time of Sulla it is again spoken of as a Boeotian town.
We may conclude from the preceding statements that the more ancient
town was the Locrian Larymna, situated at a spot, called Anchoe by Strabo, where
the Cephissus emerged from its subterranean channel. At the distance of a mile
and a half Larymna had a port upon the coast, which gradually rose into importance,
especially from the time when Larymna joined the Boeotian League, as its port
then became the most convenient communication with the eastern sea for Lebadeia,
Chaeroneia, Orchomenos, Copae, and other Boeotian towns. The port-town was called,
from its position, Lower Larymna, to distinguish it from the Upper city. The former
may also have been called more especially the Boeotian Larymna, as it became the
seaport of so many Boeotian towns. Upper Larymna, though it had joined the Boeotian
League, continued to be frequently called the Locrian, on account of its ancient
connection with Locris. When the Romans united Upper Larymna to Lower Larymna,
the inhabitants of the fomer place were probably transferred to the latter; and
Upper Larymna was henceforth abandoned. This accounts for Pausanias mentioning
only one Larymna, which must have been the Lower city; for if he had visited Upper
Larymna, he could hardly have failed to mention the emissary of the Cephissus
at this spot. Moreover, the ruins at Lower Larymna show that it became a place
of much more importance than Upper Larymna. These ruins, which are called Kastri,
like those of Delphi, are situated on the shore of the Bay of Larmes, on a level
covered with bushes, ten minutes to the left of the mouth of the Cephissus. The
circuit of the walls is less than a mile. The annexed plan of the remains is taken
from Leake.
Leake adds, that the walls, which in one place are extant to nearly
half their height, are of a red soft stone, very much corroded by the sea air,
and in some places are constructed of rough masses. The sorus is high, with comparison
to its length and breadth, and stands in its original place upon the rocks: there
was an inscription upon it, and some ornaments of sculpture, which are now quite
defaced. The Glyfonero is a small deep pool of water, impregnated with salt, and
is considered by the peasants as sacred water, because it is cathartic. The sea
in the bay south of the ruins is very deep; and hence we ought probably to read
in Pausanias (ix. 23. § 7), limen de sphisin estin athnchibathes, instead of limWe,
since there is no land-lake at this place. The ruins of Upper Larymna lie at Bazaraki,
on the right bank of the Cephissus, at the place where it issues from its subterranean
channel.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Anchoe, a place on the borders of Boeotia and of Locris, near Upper Larymna, at
which the waters of the Cephissus broke forth from their subterraneous channel.
There was also a lake of the same name at this place. (Strab. ix. pp. 406, 407;
Plin. iv. 7. s. 12; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 289.)
Larymna, (Larumna), a daughter of Cynus, from whom the Boeotian town of Larymna is said to have derived its name. (Paus. vi. 21.7.)
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!
