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The Homeric ‘Windy Enispe’: a Prehistoric Settlement in North-Western Arcadia near the River Ladon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2013

C. T. Syriopoulos
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Extract

In 1939, during road construction near the modern village Dimitra in the district of Gortynia in north-western Arcadia, digging works brought to light considerable prehistoric remains from the eastern slope of a small hill called Troupes (= ‘holes’) about 2 km. north-east of the village of Dimitra.

Type
Research Article
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 68 , November 1973 , pp. 193 - 205
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 1973

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References

I am grateful to Mr. H. W. Catling, Director of the British School at Athens, for reading my manuscript and making suggestions for its improvement.

In addition to the standard abbreviations I have made use of the following:

CS = Hope Simpson, R.-Lazenby, J. F., The Catalogue of the Ships in Homer's Iliad (Oxford, 1970).Google Scholar

GL = Philippson-Kirsten, Griechische Landschaften, vol. iii, Der Peloponnese.

HHI = Page, D. L., History and the Homeric Iliad (California, 1959).Google Scholar

NK = Burr, V., Νεῶν Κατάλογος Untersuchungen zur homerischen Schiffskatalog, Klio Beiheft xlix (Leipzig, 1944).Google Scholar

PBG = Meyer, Ern., Pausanias Beschreibung Griechenlands (Zürich, 1954).Google Scholar

PP = Syriopoulos, C. T., Ἡ Προιστορία τῆς Πελοπονυησου (Athens, 1964).Google Scholar

PPA = J. Hejnic, Pausanias the Periegete and the Archaic History of Arcadia (1961).

PS = Syriopoulos, C. T., Ἡ Προιστορία τῆς Στερεᾶς Ἑλλάδος (Athens, 1968).Google ScholarForschungen zur antiken und mittelalterischen Topographie von Arkadien und Achaia (Zürich-Leipzig, 1939).

SGA = Callmer, Ch., Studien zur Geschichte Arkadiens (Lund, 1943).Google Scholar

1 The area of Dimitra, formerly Divritsa, is described in Frazer, , Pausanias iv. 287–90Google Scholar, PW 70–5, GL iii. 276. The road, during whose construction the prehistoric finds came to light, branches off the main carriage road from Tripolis to Olympia at its 83rd kilometre in the village of Stavrodromi and leads through the villages of Tropaia, Vachila, Dimitra, Kontovazaina, Voutsi, and Monastiraki, towards Koumani village and the carriage road from Pyrgos to Patras via Platanos. It has not yet been completed.

2 Written in 1954–7 at Cambridge and published in Greek by the Archaeological Society of Athens in 1964; cf. PP 31, 57, 74, 92, 158, 175, 243, 271.

3 BSA lxv (1970) 98–9.

4 A brief communication on the subject of this paper has been given in the International Colloquium on Prehistoric Studies held at Athens from 4 to 11 April 1971.

5 Strabo viii. 388.

6 I tried to explore the cave. I crawled through one of these openings for about a 100 m., but for want of light I did not manage to reach the bottom (an oil lamp I had went out in the heart of the cave); furthermore, the sides of the cave were unstable and dangerous. However, from the time that it took small pebbles falling through gaps under my feet to reach the bottom of the cave, I estimated that the cave must be very deep, and possibly serves as a reservoir for the perennial sources that pour their water into the Kako-Lagadi river. The area of the prehistoric settlement is also known as Damari (= ‘quarry’) from a quarry at the south-western foot of the prehistoric hill whence building-stones for the construction of the road were cut.

7 Pausanias viii. 25. 2, Frazer, , Pausanias iv. 287–9Google Scholar, PW 70–5.

8 Pausanias viii. 21. 25, PW 84–5, GL iii. 276–8.

9 On Galatas hill see Frazer, , Pausanias iv. 312Google Scholar, PW 48–59, SGA 15, PPA 22–3. For the historical remains on Ay. Petros pass see Ergon 1968, 12–16; 1969, 86–90; PAE 1968, 12–24; 1969 73–7.

10 ADelt 1891, 98–100; PAE 1891, 23–5; BCH xv (1891) 657; JHS xiii (1892–3) 149–50; Frazer, , Pausanias iv. 289Google Scholar; PW 76; AE 1965 Chron. 8–9, PAE 1966, 116–17. The remains of the temple lie in a field belonging to Mr. George Bibikos of Dimitra. The site is called Paliopoli and is situated about 2 km. south-east of Dimitra close to a locality called Parampelia.

11 PP 140–1 n. 2.

12 CAH i (Part 1, 3rd edn.) 557–618.

13 BSA lxv (1970) 117.

14 BCH lxxxiv (1960) 693; Arch. Rep. 1959–1960, 10; BSA lxv (1970) 117.

15 Frazer, , Pausanias iv. 289–90Google Scholar; PW 76–7.

16 HHI 118–77.

17 For the location of all known Arcadian towns see SGA map on p. 8. For sites accompanied by prehistoric remains see CS 92–4, 158 n. 1 and BSA lxv (1970) 79–127, with map. But the numbers in the Catalogue and on the map are discrepant.

18 HHI 122.

19 Boblay, Rech, sur les ruin, de Morée 124; Curtius, E., Peloponnesos i. 373, 396Google Scholar; Hiller von Gaertringen, IG v(2). 101; PW 85–6; NK 69; RE iv(a) 256, 330–1.

20 The three towns, Ripe, Stratie, and Enispe, apart from being mentioned by Homer, are also cited by Strabo viii. 388; Statius, , Thebais iv. 287Google Scholar; Pliny, , Nat. Hist. iv. 20Google Scholar; Pausanias viii. 25. 12; Nonnus, , Dionysiaca xiii. 290Google Scholar; Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Enispe, Ripe, Stratie; Eustathius, Iliad 301. 30. Modern references include Boblay op. cit. 124, 152; Hiller von Gaertringen IG v(2), pp. xi, xxxiii. 101; RE i(a) 919, iv(a) 256, v(2) 2570; SGA 46–8, NK 69; HHI 122; PPA 87, 108, 119; CS 92, 94.

21 NK 69.

22 RE i(a) 1, 919 s.v. Ripe.

23 Patsiouria is the ancient Arsen: Pausanias viii. 25. 1; PW 84–6. Stavri today is the name of a locality, not a village as Burr (NK 69) says, following earlier authors (see IG v(2) 101, PW 85–6, etc.). The French map in Exped. Scient, de Morée, Atlas (abstract of which accompanies SGA) indicates a village Stavri at the site today called Stavri, and another village, Kerpini, near the prehistoric settlement by Dimitra. Both villages, Stavri and Kerpini, have now disappeared even from the memory of the inhabitants of Dimitra. Their names denote districts of the territory of Dimitra. There was probably a settlement at Stavri during the Turkish and/or Medieval periods, because at a locality now called Paliochori (= ‘old village’) there are plenty of roofing tiles on the surface. This is an area with two springs between the farms of Kolipetsas and Karmales, west of the supposed prehistoric site of Stratie.

24 Pausanias viii. 25. 1. Frazer, , Pausanias iv. 285.Google Scholar Map with the territories of the Arcadian towns see in IG v(2) Tabula viii (bottom left).

25 Frazer, , Pausanias iv. 282.Google Scholar

26 Papandreou, Azanias 28.

27 HHI 122.

28 Arch. Rep. 1959–60, 10; P. Ålin, Das Ende der mykenischen Fundstäten 74; R. Hope Simpson, A Gazetteer and Atlas of Mycenaean Sites 41 no. 93; CS 93; BSA lxv (1970) 101 n. 54. For Ongeion by Kalliani see Pausanias viii. 25. 4 and PBG 403, 656 n. 2. The information about the L.H. tombs comes from the newspaper Ethnikos Keryx 1 December 1959 p. 1 (no further publication). I communicated with Mr. N. Papanikolaou, one of the two persons who found the tombs, and discussed the matter with him and other persons in Kalliani during summer 1970. The information given to me does not justify identifying the tombs as Mycenaean.

29 PBG 404, 656 nn. 5–6; Frazer, , Pausanias iv 293.Google Scholar

30 Pausanias viii. 24. 10 and 28. 4.

31 SGA 48.

32 PP 572–4.

33 N. M. Valmin, The Swedish Messenia Expedition 239–41; E. J. Holmberg, The Swedish Excavation at Asea in Arkadia (= Asea) 32–61; PP 141–4, 159–60, 164–5.

34 For a lug similar to PLATE 46a. 12 see BSA lxv (1970) 83 pl. 28a. 1; from Roussis-Merkou; for a crescent-shaped handle like PLATE 46a. 16–18 see loc. cit. 97–8 pl. 34b. 11 from Kinonia-Stymphalos (p. 107, ‘horseshoe-shaped’).

35 AE 1908, 65–6 fig. 1 (Chaeronea); Kunze, E., Orchomenos ii pl. 3Google Scholar; Walker-Kosmopoulos The Prehistoric Inhabitation of Corinth, pl. 1b; PP 145–6 (Class A 3γ), 147 (Class B 3α); PS 168, 170.

36 The sherds from Nemea are illustrated, with the finds from Gonia, , in Metr. Mus. Stud. iii. 1 (1930) 57 fig. 3.Google Scholar See also Asea pl. 1a.

37 Seager, R. B., Transact. Dep. of Arch. Uniu. of Pens. i. 3 (1905) 215 ff. pls. 34, 35Google Scholar; Korakou 7; Zygouries 79, 213.

38 For potter's marks see Phylakopi (JHS Suppl. Paper iv, 1904) 177–85; The Swed. Mess. Exped. 389–97. Other potter's marks from the Peloponnese: see PP 235, 236. 267, 269, 274, 284 (E.H.); 392, 393, 396, 403 (M.H.). From Kea, , Hesperia xxxv (1966) 367Google Scholar; Kadmos ix (1970) 107–17. From the Aeolian, islands, Minos ii (1952) 5–28.Google Scholar For potter's marks like ours see Zygouries 107 fig. 92; Eleusiniaka 75 fig. 50; Eutresis 122 fig. 168.

39 N. M. Valmin, The Swed. Mess. Exped. 259 ff.; E. J. Holmberg, Asea 106–10; BSA lxv (1970) 111; PP 376, 384.

40 The Swed. Mess. Exped. 263; PP 376, 384.

41 References to Furumark, A., The Mycenaean Pottery, Analysis and Classification (Stockholm, 1941)Google Scholar, for shapes of pots are made by F followed by the relevant number of Furumark's Catalogue in pp. 585–643 of the work cited; for motives the number of Furumark's motive is preceded by a FM.

42 The Swed. Mess. Exped. 377–8.

43 Zygouries 200 fig. 118.12; Asea 124–5; Krisa, BCH lxii (1938) 145.

44 For the explanation of the object and its distribution from Troy to Central Europe and Spain see W. Dörpfeld, Troja und Ilion 388 fig. 368. Similar finds: from Vardaroftsa, , BSA xxvii (1925–1926) 33 fig. 16.13Google Scholar; from Thermi, Thermi 359 fig. 44.30, 20 (terracotta); from Asine, Asea, and Malthi see respectively Asine, 244, 248; Asea 126 nn. 1–2 fig. 118.1–2: The Swed. Mess. Exped. 352–4; for Kirrha, Kirrha 105–6.

45 The finds from Dimitra-Enispe described in this paper will be deposited in the Museum of Dimitsana, the capital of the district of Gortynia.

46 Prehistoric Macedonia 97 and index: Pottery, Details, Handles, Wish-bone Handles.

47 Dimini-Sesklo 269–72 figs. 187–92; Prehistoric Thessaly 185–6.

48 Lianokladhi, Prehistoric Thessaly fig. 134; Orchomenos iii pl. 30. 4a–b; Astakos and Thermon, PS 325, 342, 357, 362.