Listed 5 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for destination: "TANAGRA Ancient city VIOTIA".
An ancient city some 20 km E of Thebes and 5 km SE of Schimatari.
The city was situated on a hill off the E end of Mt. Kerykeion, on the left bank
of the Asopos where it meets the Lari stream. The hill, which slopes down in terraces
toward the NE, stands in a rich rolling plain.
Tanagra, which is not mentioned in the Catalogue of Ships of the Iliad,
is said to have played a part in the founding of Heraklea Pontica and of Cumae
in Italy. From the 6th c. the city minted silver coins, and was part of the Boiotian
League up to 480 B.C. Not far from the city were fought the battles of Tanagra
and Oinophyta (457), and Delion (424), where many Tanagrans fell, their names
being inscribed on a stele in the museum. From 386 to 374 or 372 it was occupied
by a Spartan garrison. After 338 its territory comprised Delion, Hyria, the sanctuary
of Aulis, Salganeus on the Euripos, and the Tetrakome (Mykalessos, Harma, Heleon,
Pharai). In 145 B.C. Rome granted the city the status of civitas libera et immunis:
in the 1st c. A.D. Tanagra and Thespiai were the only prosperous cities in Boiotia.
The site has never been excavated systematically. Only the Mycenaean
necropolis (LH III B), at the place called Gephyra, has been excavated since 1969;
a number of fine painted terracotta sarcophagi, now in the Thebes Museum, and
pottery have been unearthed. The Classical city is covered over with a thick layer
of spoiled earth. The rampart, which forms a rough irregular pentagon, runs round
the edge of the hill. At the highest point, to the W, is a tower that overlooks
the city and the Asopos valley. In the W wall, which is 1.90 m thick and built
of irregular blocks of dark gray local limestone, was a gate that looked toward
Chalkis; the N, NE, and SE walls are fortified with a number of towers (roughly
one every 30 m) and surround the lower city. To the E was the Athens gate and
in the S corner that of Thebes. The SW wall links up with the great tower on the
top of the hill. In 1950 sections of the rampart were uncovered, intact, in the
upper part of the city when a canal was dug to drain the waters of Lake Iliki
to the Marathon reservoir.
Beside the citadel is a ruined chapel that was built on the foundations
of a temple (of Dionysos?). Both the black stone of the foundations and entablature
and the crumbly yellowish limestone of the columns and Ionic capitals were used
for the building (remains in the museum). A little lower down to the NE is the
great theater, without stone seats; here the musical contests of the Sarapieia
were held in Hellenistic and Roman times. To the NE, on the next terrace down,
Leake discovered the well-built foundations of a large rectangular building, possibly
a temple, of local black stone; they are no longer visible. Beyond the N rampart
some 20 m farther on are the foundations, still standing, of a small temple "outside
the walls". No trace can be seen of the temples, public buildings, or statues,
including that of the poetess Korinna, mentioned by Pausanias. Several hundred
inscriptions found on the site or nearby are in the museums at Schimatari and
Thebes or are set in the walls of buildings (Church of Haghios Thomas).
A number of necropoleis were uncovered beginning in 1870, notably
on the other side of the Lari, in the plain to the NW, and along the side of roads
leading out of the city. In these tombs were found the thousands of terracotta
figurines for which Tanagra is renowned. From the pre-Hellenic, then the archaic,
period, the workshops of Tanagra, Rhitsona, Thebes, and Thespiai turned out statuettes,
popular votive offerings that were placed in temples or familiar objects that
were laid inside or on top of tombs. In the 7th c. the use of molds increased
production and made it possible for these figurines to be sent out throughout
the Greek world. The bell-shaped idols of the 8th c. were succeeded by flat idols
with modeled, then molded, heads. In the 6th c. appeared replicas of the great
religious statues, chariots, riders, everyday subjects. From the end of the 6th
c. to ca. 350, these familiar subjects disappeared, giving way chiefly to statuettes
inspired by the works of the great sculptors--Kalamis, Phidias, Polykleitos--offered
in the sanctuaries. Toward 350-330 the production of Tanagra increased considerably
and developed along different lines from the other workshops, possibly under the
influence of Praxiteles. The beauty of these figurines, representing women in
different attitudes, ephebes, actors, and people from everyday life, accounts
for their growing popularity: statuettes and molds were exported in great numbers,
especially to the Aeolian city of Myrina. Production slowed down at the beginning
of the 2d c. B.C. and ceased in Imperial times.
P. Roesch, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
A titular see in Hellas,
suffragan of Corinth; it was
a town of Boeotia, in a fertile
plain on the right bank of the Aesopus.
It was also called Poemandria and its territory Poemandris.
In 457 B. C. the Athenians were defeated near Tanagra by the Lacedaemonians,
but early in the following year they in turn defeated the Boeotians, thereby becoming
masters of Boeotia. The city walls were destroyed. In 426 the Athenians invaded
the territory of Tanagra and defeated the Tanagrians and Boeotians. The people
of Tanagra were noted for their frugality, loyalty, and hospitality. Their land
yielded little wheat, but the best wine in Boeotia, and the town was also noted
for its fighting-cocks.
Under Augustus Tanagra and Thespiae
were the chief towns of Boeotia.
It had numerous temples, one of Dionysius with a famous statue by Calanus and
a remarkable Triton, other temples of Themis, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes Criophorus,
and Hermes Promaclius. The gymnasium contained a portrait of the poetess, Corinna,
who was born at Tanagra and commemorated there by a monument.
Pliny calls Tanagra a free state. It was still important in the sixth
century, but must soon after have been destroyed by Slavic invasions. A station
on the railway between Athens
and Thebes is now called Tanagra;
it connects with the village of Skimatari,
about eight miles south of which are the ruins of the ancient town including the
acropolis, necropolis etc. Excavations have made the tombs famous for the pretty
little terra-cotta figurines which they contain.
Only one bishop is known, Hesychius, who in 458 signed the letter
from the provincial synod to the Emperor Leo.
S. Petrides, ed.
Transcribed by: Douglas J. Potter
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
Now Grimadha or Grimala; a celebrated town of Boeotia, situated on a steep ascent on the left bank of the Asopus, thirteen stadia from Oropus, and 200 stadia from Plataeae, in the district Tanagraea, which was also called Poemandris. Tanagra was supposed to be the same town as the Homeric Graea. Being near the frontiers of Attica, it was frequently exposed to the attacks of the Athenians; and near it the Athenians sustained a celebrated defeat, B.C. 457. Here was a temple to Dionysus, and minor temples erected to Themis, Aphrodite, Hermes Criophorus, and Hermes Promachus. Recent excavations at Tanagra have discovered the line of the walls, the site of many of the towers, and of the theatre. In 1873 the Necropolis was explored and yielded many terra-cotta statuettes and "figurines".
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Eth. Tanagraios: the territory Tanagraia, Paus. ix. 22. § 1, and Tanagraike
or Tanagrike, Strab. ix. p. 404: Adj. Tanagrikos: Grimadha or Grimala), a town
of Boeotia, situated upon the left bank of the Asopus, in a fertile plain, at
the distance of 130 stadia from Oropus and 200 from Plataeae (Dicaearch. Stat.
Gr. pp. 12, 14, ed. Hudson). Several ancient writers identified Tanagra with the
Homeric Graea (Graia. Hom. Il. ii. 498; Lycophr. 644); but others supposed them
to be distinct places, and Aristotle regarded Oropus as the ancient Graea. (Steph.
B. s. v. Tanagra; Strab. ix. p. 404; Paus. ix. 20. § 2.) It is possible, as Leake
has remarked, that Tanagra, sometimes written Tanagraea, may be connected with
the ancient name Graea, Tana, being an Aeolic suffix, and that the modern name
Grimadhla or Grimala may retain traces of the Homeric name. Tanagra was also called
Poemandria, and its territory Poemandris, from the fertile meadows which surrounded
the city. (Steph. B. s. v.; Strab. ix. p. 404.) The most ancient inhabitants of
Tanagra are said to have been the Gephyraei, who came from Phoenicia with Cadmus,
and from thence emigrated to Athens. (Herod. v. 57; Strab. ix. p. 404). From its
vicinity to Attica the territory of Tanagra was the scene of more than one battle.
In B.C. 457 the Lacedaemonians on their return from an expedition to Doris, took
up a position at Tanagra, near the borders of Attica, with the view of assisting
the oligarchical party at Athens to overthrow the democracy. The Athenians, with
a thousand Argeians and some Thessalian horse, crossed Mount Parnes and advanced,
against the Lacedaemonians. Both sides fought with great bravery; but the Lacedaemonians
gained the victory, chiefly through the treacherous desertion of the Thessalians
in the very heat of the engagement. (Thuc. i. 107, 108; Diod. xi. 80.) At the
begining of the following year (B.C. 456), and only sixty-two days after their
defeat at Tanagra, the Athenians under Myronides again invaded Boeotia, and gained
at Oenophyta, in the territory of Tanagra, a brilliant and decisive victory over
the Boeotians, which made them masters of the whole country. The walls of Tanagra
were now razed to the ground. (Thuc. i. 108; Diod. xi. 81, 82.) In B.C. 426 the
Athenians made an incursion into the territory of Tanagra, and on their return
defeated the Tanagraeans and Boeotians. (Thuc. iii. 91.) Dicaearchus, who visited
Tanagra in the time of Cassander, says that the city stands on a rugged and lofty
height, and has a white chalky appearance. The houses are adorned with handsome
porticoes and encaustic paintings. The surrounding country does not grow much.
corn, but produces the best wine in Boeotia. Dicaearchus adds that the inhabitants
are wealthy but frugal, being for the most part landholders, not manufacturers;
and he praises them for their justice, good faith, and hospitality. In the time
of Augustus, Tanagra and Thespiae were the two most prosperous cities in Boeotia.
(Strab. ix. p. 403.) Tanagra is called by Pliny (iv. 7. s. 12) a free state; it
is mentioned by Ptolemy (iii. 15. § 20); and it continued to flourish in the sixth
century. (Hierocl. p. 645.) Its public buildings are described at some length
by Pausanias (ix. 20. § 3, seq.). The principal temple was that of Dionysus, which
contained a celebrated statue of Parian marble, by Calamis, and a remarkable Triton.
Near it were temples of Themis, Aphrodite and Apollo, and two of Hermes, in one
of which he was worshipped as Criophorus, and in the other as Promachus. Near
the latter was the theatre, and probably at no great distance the gymnasium, which
contained a picture of Corinna, who was a native of Tanagra. There was also a
monument of this poetess in a conspicuous part of the city. Pausanias remarks
as a peculiarity in Tanagra, that all their sacred buildings were placed by themselves,
apart from the houses of the town (ix. 22. § 2.) He likewise notices (ix. 22.
§ 4) that Tanagra was famous for its breed of fighting-cocks, a circumstance which
is mentioned by other writers. (Varr. de Re Rust. iii. 9. § 6; Hesych. s. v. Koloiphrux;
Suidas, s. v. Tanagraioi alektoriskoi.) Tanagra possessed a considerable territory;
and Strabo (ix. p. 405) mentions four villages belonging to it, Eleon or Heleon,
Harma, Mycalessus, and Pharae. (Pherae, Plin. iv. 7. s. 12).
The ruins of Tanagra are situated at an uninhabited spot, called Grimadha
or Grimala, situated 3 miles south of the village of Skimatari. The site is a
large bill nearly circular, rising from the north bank of the Asopus. The upper
part of the site is rocky and abrupt, looking down upon the town beneath; and
it was probably upon this upper height that the sacred edifices stood apart from
the other buildings of the town. The walls of the city which embraced a circuit
of about two miles, may still be traced, but they are a mere heap of ruins. About
100 yards below the height already described are the remains of the theatre, hollowed
out of the slope. On the terrace below the theatre to the NE. are the foundations
of a public building, formed of marble of a very dark colour with a green cast.
The ground is thickly strewn in every direction with remains of earthenware, betokening
the existence of a numerous population in former times.
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
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