Thespiae
Thespiae, located in southern Boeotia, Greece, is a historically significant town nestled between Thebes and Mount Helicon, near the river Thespius. Inhabited since the Neolithic era, it emerged as a vital commercial center during the Late Bronze Age. The town's name is attributed to various legends, including being named after Thespia, the daughter of the river-god Asopus. Thespiae played a notable role in several historical events, including the defense of Thermopylae against the Persians, where 700 Thespians fought valiantly.
The city experienced various shifts in power, with its fortifications being destroyed and rebuilt multiple times throughout its history, reflecting its strategic importance. Under Roman rule, it was granted certain privileges and became a hub for Pan-Hellenic festivals honoring the Muses and Eros, showcasing its rich cultural legacy. Archaeological discoveries, including temples dedicated to Apollo and other deities, highlight Thespiae's historical and religious significance. The remnants of its ancient walls and inscriptions provide insight into the city’s vibrant past and its interactions with various cultures over the centuries.
Subject Terms
Thespiae
Thespiai or Thespeia
The chief town of southern Boeotia (central Greece), situated between Thebes and Mount Helicon, at the foot of twin hills beside the right bank of the river Thespius (Kanavari). Its ports Creusis, Siphae (Aliki) and Chorsiae (Paralia) stood on the Corinthian Gulf. Inhabited since Neolithic times, Thespiae was an important commercial center in the Late Bronze (Mycenaean) Age. According to conflicting traditions it was named after Thespia, daughter of the river-god Asopus, or (as the Athenians maintained) after Thespius, son of their monarch Erechtheus.
Hesiod, c 700 BC (?), complains of the greed and corruption of the `kings’ (aristocracy) of Thespiae. It was the scene of a crushing defeat c 540 of the Thessalians by a Theban army, which put an end to Thessalian encroachments in central Greece. In 506, according to Herodotus, Thebes—which was only fifteen miles away—cited the Thespians among their loyal allies. In 480 seven hundred of them helped (unlike most other Boeotians) to defend Thermopylae to the end against the Persian king Xerxes I: who in consequence razed their city to the ground.
Its subsequent reconstruction by the Athenians was resented by Thebes. Yet Thespiae played an important part in the restored Boeotian Confederacy (446), exercising control over the Sanctuary of the Muses on Mount Helicon. During the Peloponnesian War one hundred and two Thespians, listed on inscriptions, fell fighting against the Athenians—on the Theban side—at Delium (424). Nevertheless, its fortifications were destroyed by the Thebans in the following year. But they were rebuilt in 382 by Sparta, which employed the city as a base for its anti-Theban policy. In 371, Epaminondas degraded Thespiae to the status of a Theban village, but after his death it revived, and figured prominently in the resuscitated Boeotian League (338). Richly endowed by the Attalids of Pergamum, its citizens also enjoyed good relations with the Macedonians and then with the Romans—although Lucius Mummius Achaicus took away all their statues (except those that were consecrated) in 146.
Under Roman rule Thespiae was granted freedom and immunity from taxes (47) and survived as one of the principal Boeotian cities, organizing Pan-Hellenic festivals in honor of the Muses (locally known as the Thespiadae, whose temple has been located on the acropolis) and to celebrate the principal civic patron-deity Eros, of whom an archaic image, as well as statues by Lysippus and Praxiteles, were to be seen; the masterpiece of Praxiteles, according to Cicero, `is what people go to Thespiae to see, for there is no other reason to go there.’ Pausanias records that the statue was removed by the emperor Gaius (AD 37–41), returned by Claudius, removed again by Nero and later destroyed by fire. He also refers to a sanctuary of Heracles and Black Aphrodite, who appears on the local coinage as a moon-goddess. The traces of a temple of Apollo, dating from the fifth century BC, have been discovered; he appears as Citharoedus (Lyre-Player) on an isolated local coinage of imperial date under Domitian (81–86). The demolition of what remained of the ancient walls yielded more than three hundred and fifty inscriptions.