Chaeronea

Chaeronea (/ˌkaɪrəˈniːə/ or /ˌkɛrəˈniːə/;[2] Greek: Χαιρώνεια Khaironeia, Ancient Greek: [kʰai̯rɔ̌ːneːa]) is a village and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece, located about 80 kilometers east of Delphi. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Livadeia, of which it is a municipal unit.[3] The municipal unit has an area of 111.445 km², the community 26.995 km².[4] Population 1,382 (2011). It is located by the mountain Thourion and in the Kifisós river valley, NW of Thebes.

Chaeronea Χαιρώνεια
Chaeronea Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 38°31′N 22°51′E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Central Greece
Regional unit	Boeotia
Municipality	Livadeia
• Municipal unit	111.445 km^2 (43.029 sq mi)
Elevation	130 m (430 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Municipal unit	1,382
• Municipal unit density	12/km^2 (32/sq mi)
Community [1]
• Population	556 (2011)
• Area (km^2)	26.995
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Vehicle registration	ΒΙ

History

The Lion of Chaeronea

Plutarch's bust at Chaeronea

First settled in the Prehistoric period at the site now known as Magoula Balomenou (Μαγούλα Μπαλωμένου), its older name was Arne, and it was originally on the shore of Lake Copais (later drained). Chaeronea was subject to Orchomenus which was, beginning in 600 BCE, a member of the Boeotian League. In the late 5th century BCE, Chaironeia belonged to one of the 11 Boeotian districts along with Acraephnium and Copia.

Chaeronea was the site of several historical battles. Best known is that of 338 BCE, between Philip II of Macedon and a coalition of various Greek states, mainly Thebes and Athens. During the battle, the elite unit of Theban soldiers known as the Sacred Band of Thebes was wiped out completely (See Battle of Chaeronea). In 1818, the so-called Lion of Chaeronea, a nearly 20-foot-tall (6.1 m) funerary monument erected in honor of the Sacred Band, was rediscovered by English travellers. The fragmentary monument was reassembled and installed in 1902 by an organisation called the Order of Chaeronea atop a pedestal at the site of its discovery.[5] The ancient biographer and essayist Plutarch was born in Chaeronea, and several times refers to these and other facts about his native place in his writings.

Other battles around Chaeronea:

• After capturing Chaeronea in 447 BCE the Athenians were attacked and defeated in the same year by the Boeotians at the Battle of Coronea.
• In 146 BCE the Roman general Matellus defeated a unit of 1,000 Arkadians.
• In 86 BCE, Archelaus and Taxilos, generals of Mithridates VI of Pontus, landed in Boeotia. They were met by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla near Chaeronea and in the ensuing battle the Mithridatics were defeated and retreated to Chalcis.[6]
• Battle between Catalans and Franks on March 15, 1311. The Catalan Company defeated the Franks and took control of great part of Greece. Turks participated with the side of Catalans. The battle is described by Ramon Muntaner, a Catalan soldier.
• Battle between Greeks and Turks in 1823 and 1825 during the Greek Revolution (1821–1828).

Funerary relief for Athenian footman Pancahres, who probably fell at the battle of Chaeronea

The site of the Theban mass grave was excavated in 1879–80 by P. Stamatakis, and the prehistoric site of Magoula Balamenou 23 years later by the archaeologist G. Soteriadis.

References

1. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
2. Frank H. Vizetelly, A Desk-Book of Twenty-five Thousand Words Frequently Mispronounced (New York and London: Funk & Wagnalls, 1917), p. 252.
3. Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (in Greek)
4. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
5. 'An Army of Lovers' – The Sacred Band of Thebes
6. Dictionary of battles from the earliest date to the present time (1904), pp. 54, 55.