VIII – EPIRUS – PELASGIAN TESPROTIA

VIII – EPIRUS – PELASGIAN TESPROTIA

Epirus is located south of the 40 degree latitude line. It is a mountainous region, which during ancient times encompassed the entire western coast of Greece south to the Corinthian Gulf and north to the region settled by the Enhelec-Jagulari. On the west it bordered the Ionian Sea. The larger part of the Pindus Massif belongs to Epirus. The word “Epir” (Epirus) belongs to the Paleo Balkan Glossology and means dry, dry land.

During prehistoric times Epirus was inhabited by a Pelasgian tribe called the “Tesproti” and their country was called “Tesprotia”. Tesprotia was known for the famous Oracle of Dodone visited by Herodotus about which Homer (Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, XVI, 233, Novi Sad, 1985 (prev. MN Gjurigj)) wrote in the epic about Patrokles: “…O Pelasgian king and Dodonian, who rules far in Dodona with the cold, with “Seli” fortune tellers who do not wash their feet and who sleep on the ground, they are all with you...”

Because of an onslaught of new migrations from the north during the XIII century BC, the Tesproti Pelasgians were forced to leave their homeland and go east through the Pindus Mountains and settle in the Peneus River plains in Eolia. Since then the horonym of this region became known as “Thessaly”, which means “adopted country”. This migration was confirmed by Herodotus (Herodotus, History, VIII, 176, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) in his works about the “Thermopilean Gorge”, related to events about the war with the Persians, about which he said: “In earlier times there was a wall with a gate built in front of this gorge. The wall was built by the Fokeans because they were afraid of the Thessalians who came from Tesprotia and wanted to settle Eolia, where they are living today... The old wall was built many years ago and the greater part of it was destroyed by the test of time.”

Eventually the Thessalians occupied all of Eolia. The indigenous people who did not flee the occupation experienced a sad fate. The occupiers turned them into their servants. The servants however managed to teach their overlords their language, which they had brought with them from Pannonia. The people who left, fled to the neighbouring island Eubea, to Istieia and to Eritrea where the Phoenicians lived and from there moved on to the northwestern parts of Asia Minor where they established their new home called “Eolia”. (Papastavrou, I.: Istoria tis Arhaias Ellados, p. 47, Hiotelli, Athinai, 1972) This, according to Eratosthenes, took place in 1124 BC. The new occupiers of Tesprotia, now called Thessaly, spread around the entire region, except for Ftia, and created a kind of three part weak federation. The west part, where the Tesproti first moved, i.e. the regions of present day Trikala and Karditsa, were named “Tesaloitida”. The north part up to Macedonia was named “Histieotida” while the central part was named “Pelzgiotida”.

The Eolian cities “Kranon”, “Fera”, “Arg” etc. became the main centres of the new masters, such as the “Aleudi” Dynasty in Larissa and the “Skopadi” Dynasty in Kranon. These dynasties were also associated with the Persian invasions and later with the Macedonian Argaed Dynasty of Argos in Kostur.

IX – BOEOTIA – A COLONY OF THE MINI AND THE FLEGI

Boeotia is located between Thessaly and Attica. To its north and its west it is surrounded by the high mountains Eta (2152 m), Parnassus (2457 m), Helicon (1748 m) and Kiteron (1409 m). On Boeotia’s east lies the island Eubeia separated by a narrow bay, while on its west it borders with Fokida and the Corinthian Gulf. “Boeotia” means “cattle country”. In the middle of the narrow triangular plain, on the east side, there is an opening towards the Aegean Sea. Situated on it is the wide lake “Kopai” in which the River Kifis empties and is rich with fish, particularly eel. (Pauzania, Periigissis tis Ellados, IX, 24 (prev. Пасини: Guide Hellada), Logos, Split, 1989)

Located on the northwest coast of Lake Kopai is the “Atamant” plain on which king “Atamant”, a Pannonian and son of Eol (or Mini), settled. At first Atamant ruled from the city “Koronei”, southwest of Kefis and then built the city “Orhomen” and became king of Orhomena and Thebes. Herodotus (Herodotus, History, VII, 197, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) wrote about this and Kserksis’s march and his desire to visit the holy temple of Zeus Lafisti, erected by Atamant, son of Eol, to honour the Friksovian “murder” and salvation, and later banned all visitors from visiting the temple. Here is what Herodotus wrote: “Listening to this, Kserksis, passing by the holy temple, did not want to enter and banned his entire army from entering because he felt fear near the house of Atamant’s descendants and near the holy temple.” King Atamant was a major figure in Sophocles’ tragedies entitled “Atamant” and “Crowned Atamant” as well as in the Edipovian tragedy “Friks and Inona”.

“Friks” was the son of Atamant and the goddess Nefela and brother to Hela. Persuaded by his mortal wife Inona, Atamant decided to kill Friks for some crime. But at the last moment Nefeta saved her son with the help of the ram with the golden fleece, which flew to Kolhida. On the road to Kolhida, while the children were riding the ram with the golden fleece and flying over Propontida, Hela fell into the sea which now bears her name “Hellespont”. This is how the story of the “golden fleece” and the Mini-Argonauts came to be.

Atamant’s children from his third marriage with wife Temista were “Shenei”, “Leukon”, “Eristria” and “Ptoia”. Shenei was the founder of the cities “Sheneia” in Boeotia and Arcadia. When he moved to the “Shenei” valley, which was named after him, he built a racetrack. (Pauzania, Periigissis tis Ellados, VIII, 35 (prev. Пасини: Guide Hellada) Logos, Split, 1989) Shenei was also mentioned as being the father of “Atalanta”

and Clement. Atalanta participated in the “hunt of the Caledonian wild boar” and in the competitions after Pelinei’s death, where she defeated king Pelei of Ftia in Thessaly in wrestling. Atalanta was wounded during one of the Argonaut campaigns in which she participated. Atalanta married Melanion, king of Argos in the Peloponnesus, and gave birth to “Partenopei’ who later became a general and participated in the campaign of “Seven against Thebes” and fought against the Phoenician colonists, where he famously died. His son “Promahon” participated in the invasion of Epigon of Thebes ten years later.

According to archaeologists, one of the most beautiful “tolos” tombs was discovered in Orhomen, which was named “Minian treasure” after king Mini, legendary founder of Orhomen. In fact the ceramics discovered and the entire era was named after king Mini. From this we can verify that king Mini was indeed the founder of Orhomen in Boeotia. About this Pausanians said: (Pauzania, Periigissis tis Ellados, IV, 36 (prev. Пасини: Guide Hellada) Logos, Split, 1989) “Mini’s revenues were so large that he surpassed his predecessors in wealth. As far as we know, Mini was the first person to build a treasury in which he secured his wealth. It is a Hellenic trait to admire foreign miracles more than those in their own country. While famous historians describe the Egyptian pyramids in detail, they hardly mention anything about Mini’s treasury, the walls of Tirint, even though they are no less worthy of admiration.” Further on he said: “The reputation of the Minians was so great, so much so that Nelei, son of king Kret, king of Pila, married “Hlorida” from Orhomen, daughter of Amfiona and granddaughter of Jazi”.

One of the kings of the Thessalian Orhomen was Andrei. He married Euipa, Atamant’s niece who gave birth to Eteokle.

The Flegians of Boeotia and Thessaly

Eteokle had no descendants, so when he died the royal power was passed on to his relative Alm, Mini’s brother. Alm had two daughters “Hrisogenia” and “Hrisa”. Hrisa had a son with the god Ares named “Flegei”, who assumed power when Eteokle died. Flegei was ruler of Orhomen and founder of the city “Flegia” in Boeotia. Before that he founded “Flegia” in Trika, in Thessaly. Flegei recruited the best warriors and together they stole crops and livestock from their neighbours. Because of some criminality and insolence, the Flegeians brought an army from Delphi and robbed and burned Apollo’s shrine to sanctify it because Apollo apparently had harmed Flegei’s daughter Koronida. The Argives led by Filamon, son of Apollo, came to defend the shrine but Filamon was killed in the battle. Prior to that, having prepared an attack on the Peloponnesus, Flegei and his daughter Koronida crossed the Corinthian rift in order to examine the strength of their enemies. Koronida at that time had been raped by Apollo near Epidauros and gave birth to a son named Asclepius. This was the incident which sparked the burning of the shrine. In Eubeia Flegei killed Lik and Niktei.

Asclepius, son of Koronida and god Apollo, in mythology was the god of medicine which he mastered from the Centaur Hiron who was of “lapit” origin. Asclepius participated in the hunt of the Caledonian wild boar and in the Argonauts’ expeditions. He married Epiona who bore his sons “Podaliri” and “Mahaon”; the rulers of Trika (Trikala) in Thessaly. When the Trojan War broke out, they participated with 30 ships and were illustrious military doctors.

Asclepius also had several daughters, of whom the most famous was “Higenia” (Hygiene) who became the epitome of a healthy body and a healthy soul. During the VI century BC Higenia was raised to the level of deity.

Asclepius also had a cult whose centre was located in Epidaurus in the Peloponnesus, a city that flourished in the IV century BC and where Asclepius’s temple was located. Later, Hippocrates, the so-called “father of medicine” and his students at his medical school in Kos, considered themselves to be descendants and followers of Asclepius.

Because Flegei had no children of his own, rule of his kingdom was passed on to “Hris” son of Poseidon and “Hrisogenia” daughter of Alm. But Hris too did not have children of his own so the Alm line perished and rule of Orhomen was passed on to Clement, son of Prezbona who was niece to Friks and granddaughter to Amat. Clement had five sons. The oldest was “Ergin” followed by “Strati”, “Aron”, “Pilei” and “Azei”. Even though Ergin was mentioned in relation to the Thessalian Mini, more about him will be mentioned in relation to the Boeotian Orhomen.

Ergin became king of Orhomen after his father Clement was murdered by some Phoenicians from Thebes, during a ceremony dedicated to Poseidon. Because of this, Ergin and his brothers soon gathered a strong army and fought against Thebes. After they defeated the Thebans, they imposed an agreement on them requiring them to provide one hundred cattle every year for the next twenty years. But when Ergin sent his people to collect the imposed taxes, they were intercepted by Hercules, son of Zeus and great hero. Hercules cut off the noses and ears of the tax collectors and sent them back to king Ergin in Orhomen. Angered, Ergin again raised an army and attacked Thebes but Hercules stole their horses which hindered their combat abilities. After Hercules killed Ergin he committed his people to give the Thebans 200 cattle yearly. (Apollodori, Bibliotheca (I-II century BC), II, 4) According to another legend, after the battle, Ergin made peace, but by attempting to regain his former wealth and glory, he ignored everything else and in this way he became old, never married and had no children. Finally, as an old man, on the advice of a prophet from Delphi, he married a young woman who bore him two sons “Trofinei” and “Agamed”. (Pauzania, Periigissis tis Ellados, IX, 37 (prev. Пасини: Guide Hellada), Logos, Split, 1989) When his sons grew up they became diligent builders of divine shrines and gardens for the people.

Trofinei built a shrine in “Lebadei” known throughout the ancient world. The shrine was built beside the “Herkina” Stream and located near that were all the sources of water including “Leta” the source of forgetting and “Mnemosina” the source of memories. Visitors who went there to seek sanctuary and advice had to first drink water from Leta to forget everything they previously knew, and then drank water from Mnemosina to remember what they saw and experienced in the sanctuary. According to Hesiod (Hasiodus, Fragmenta & Theogonia, p. 277), Leta was one of the underworld streams whose waters were drunk by the souls of the dead to forget their earthly life.

Agamed built a number of buildings in the central part of Greece and in the Peloponnesus and became the most famous architect of his time. One of the most beautiful temples he built was that of the god Apollo in Delphi. Other buildings he built included Poseidon’s temple in Arcadia and Alkmen’s lodge in Thebes, as well as treasure houses outside of Greece. “Mini’s treasure house” was a real miracle. According to Papastavrou (Papastavrou, I.: Istoria tis Arhaias Ellados, p. 36, Hiotelli, Athinai, 1972), the Minians of Orhomen had a cyclopean Acropolis called “Goul” or “Gla” with a royal palace twice as large as that of Mycenae. It was built by the wealthy dynasties of Orhomen to protect themselves from the constant threat from the Phoenicians of Thebes. A disaster hit Orhomen earlier than any of the other centres, when the flood walls broke down and the river Kefis flooded the city and turned it into Lake Kefis. The acropolis “Gla” at that point became an island.

Ergin was succeeded by his brother Azei and Azei was succeeded by his son Aktor. Aktor was Astioha’s father. Astioha, in father god Arei’s house, gave birth to two sons “Askafal” and “Jalmen”, both Orhomen leaders who participated in the Trojan War with 30 tall ships. According to Homer (Homer, Iliad and Odyssey, II, 513, Novi Sad, 1985. (Prev. MN Gjurigj)): “The Aspledonian leaders of the Minian army of Orhomen were Askafal

and Jalmen, Arei’s grandchildren born of Astioha in the house of Aktor... they took to the road with thirty tall ships.”

Apart from Orhomen, which was the richest centre of high culture, with temples and shrines of Dionysus and Harith, with a “treasury”, with “megaroni” and with the graves of “Mini” and “Hesiod”, as well as Hercules’s temple, there were other celebrated cities belonging to the Minian Dynasty in Boeotia. About this, with regards to the answer Achilles gave to the Agamemnon expedition party, Homer said that Orhomen was considered a great treasury as well as the cities “Aspledon” and “Askra” which were rich in wheat. Askra was also the birthplace of Hesiod (born around 700 BC), poet and author of “Theogoni”, “Cosmogony”, “Works and Days” and the “Herculean shield”, acts that constitute an important source for the study of the old world and religion. According to some authors, (E.I.E., 1976, 1490) Hesiod wrote that he was the son of Zeus and that he had the same surname as the Macedonians and Macedonia.

Included in the remaining cities were the cities “Koroneia”, “Lebadia” in the flat plain and “Heronia”. About Heronia, Pausanias (Pauzania, Periigissis tis Ellados, IX, 40 (prev. Guide Hellada), Logos, Split, 1989) said that its old name was “Arna” and “about Arna they say that she was Eol’s daughter and that another town in Thessaly was also named after her. They say that Heronia’s current name comes from “Heron”, son of Apollo.” The fate of the people of Orhomen was sad after the Trojan War because there were major migrations from the north and persecution of the indigenous peoples. According to Thucydides (Thucydides, Povijest Peloponeskog installment, p. I, 12, Dere, Belgrade, 1991): “The current Boeotians, who sixty years after the seizure of Ilei (1183 BC according to Eratosthenes), were expelled from Arna in Thessaly and settled in present day Boeotia, which was earlier called “Kadmian land”, and the “Dorani” in the eighties with the “Heraklidi” occupied the Peloponnesus.”

According to Pasuanias (Pauzania, Periigissis tis Ellados, IX, 37 (prev. Guide Hellada), Logos, Split, 1989), the people of Orhomen, together with the “Kodrovi” sons of Athens, participated in flight to Ionia in Asia Minor where they brought with them their customs and Pannonian culture.

According to Papastavrou (Papastavrou, I.: Istoria tis Arhaias Ellados, p. 48, Hiotelli, Athinai, 1972), the ethnic name “Boeoti” (Voiotoi) comes from an oronim in Epirus called “Voion” (1802 m), with Gramos (2520) having the highest peak, located south of Oresteia, or modern day Kostur. Unlike the “Tesproti” of Epirus, who were of Pelasgian origin, in Thessaly where they quickly became masters, the Boeotians were unable to impose themselves on the Minians over many centuries. Koroneia became the city centre of Boeotia located south of Lebadia where the “Pan-Boeotian” festivities were held. In the VI century BC all Boeotian cities fell under Theban rule.

Digression:

According to Pausanias (Pauzania, Periigissis tis Ellados, IX, 4 (prev. Guide Hellada), Logos, Split, 1989), the road from Platea to Thebes follows alongside the river Asopo then turns at the lower ground and then approximately 40 stadiums later are the ruins of “Skol”. According to Herodotus (Herodotus, History, IV, 6, Matica Srpska, Belgrade, 1988) “the Hellenes called the Scythians ‘Skoloti’” named after their king.

The name “Boeotia” and its ethnic origin can be found in Mount Voion where the Boeotians once lived on the steep slopes of Mount Voion located between Epirus and Macedonia, where the mountain massif of Mount Pindus begins. According to legend, Pindus, the son of Macedon, was king of that region, after whom a river in Lokrid bears his name. There is also an entire mountain range in Western Macedonia extending to the Corinthian Gulf which also bears his name.

According to the Benseler-Kaegi “Greek-German Dictionary” (1909, Zagreb), “Boeotia” (Voiotia) means “land of cattle”, i.e. “Oxen” (Vol). So, the “Vo” in “Voiotia” is of Slavic or Scythian origin. Its linguistic roots can be found today in Slavic toponyms. Thus, the entire northern region of Pindus carries the title “Zagorie”, “Zagoria”. So we have Kostur (skeleton) in Kostur Region, Greben (comb) in Greven Region and Koza (goat) in Kozheni Region. The city “Konitsa” comes from the word “kon” (horse), the town “Metsovo” comes from the word “metse” (bear cub) in Ioanina Region. To the south we have the city “Lamia” (dragon) and “Kamena Bourna” (stony cane). We have a city named “Livadeia” (meadow) in Boeotia, etc…

If the Boeotians took their names with them during their migration: the sixtieth year after the capture of Ilei, when they were expelled from Arna by the Thessalians, they settled this Boeotia, formerly known as ‘Kadmian lands’…” (Thucydides, Povijest Peloponeskog installment, p. I, 12, Dere, Belgrade, 1991), then that Scythians or Proto-Slav move occurred in 1122 BC. According to Eratosthenes, it was in 1124 BC.

Regarding the Slavic tribe the “Voiuniti”, who lived in the upper part of the Bistritsa (Haliakmon) River, according to Slavevska (Slaveska, 2008,

249), moved to the coastal parts of Epirus close to Art, and in Boeotia and were recorded to having lived there until the fifteenth century AD.