1. Thisbe

1.1. Ancient Thisbe

In Antiquity, Thisbe was an important Boeotian city situated at the foothills of Mt Helicon, at a close distance to the Corinthian Gulf. In mythology, Thisbe was named after the nymph Thisbe, daughter of river-god Asopus. It was one of the cities that participated in the Trojan War, and in Homer it is described as “πολυτρήρωνα Θίσβη” (Il. 2,502) because of the large flocks of doves nesting in its rocky harbour, as attested by Strabo (ΙΧ, 411). In fact, Mycenaean finds reveal the existence of a significant Mycenaean settlement. The site remained inhabited during the Geometric and Archaic periods, and finds like bronze brooches and figurines testify to the existence of artist workshops, while a grave epigram dating to the late 6th cent. BC reveals that the city was inhabited by townsmen and foreigners.

In the Classical period, Thisbe became a member of the Boeotian League. Originally it was subsumed by the city of Thespiae, together with the neighbouring cities of Siphai and Korsiae; later it formed an autonomous city, always as a member of the Boeotian League. A strong defensive wall was erected in the 4th cent. BC; it measured 2.5 km in length suggesting the strategic and political importance of the city. These city walls belong to a wider group of fortifications, created following the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC in the cities of southern Boeotia. Remains of the ancient defensive walls are preserved in the two citadels of Thisbe, Palaiokastro and Neokastro. Hellenistic inscriptions (3rd and first half of the 2nd cent. BC) indicate that Thisbe maintained ties with Sicyon, Naupactus, Amphissa and Chalcis, and that it had entered into a financial agreement with the nearby city of Korsiae. Figurines unearthed at Thisbe are considered among the best examples of terracotta sculpture; these were probably produced during the Classical and early Hellenistic periods.

In 172 BC Thisbe sided with king Perseus; it was besieged and captured by the Romans in 171 BC. The pro-Macedonian party was ousted from power, and the city’s administration passed to pro-Roman citizens. Epigraphic evidence testify that by 170 BC internal civic matters pertaining to the limits of the city’s domain, its port and the fortification of its citadel with walls were decided by the Roman senate. Furthermore, inscriptions dated to the Roman era mention the disagreement between Thisbe and Coronea about the borders separating the domains of the two cities; this was resolved through interventions by the emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius.

The traveller Pausanias, who visited Thisbe in the 2nd cent. AD, described the Temple of Hercules which contained the hero’s marble statue and mentions the Heraclea festival in his honour. According to inscriptions, Apollo, Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter, Artemis, Asclepius and Dionysus were worshiped at Thisbe. Pausanias also mentions an embankment that was constructed to facilitate the rural activities of Thisbe’s inhabitants; in Antiquity the people of the city relied mainly on the cultivation of olive trees and grain, and these remain the area’s main agricultural products to date. Scholars believe this was an artificial dam, which formed part of a larger drainage project aimed at preventing floods in the area; this probably dated back to Mycenaean times, although according to another view, on the basis of its masonry it should be dated to the 3rd cent. BC. Remains of this structure are nowadays preserved along the road leading from Thisbe to Ayios Ioannis. Early Christian rock-cut tombs with arcosolia have also been discovered on the hillocks of Palaiokastro and Neokastro.

1.2. Thisbe during the Middle Ages and the Ottoman period

In the Byzantine period, Thisbe was renamed to Kastorion, and is considered the birthplace of the Hosios Loukas. Until the 10th cent., Kastorion was mentioned in literary sources as a village, while by the 11th and 12th centuries it was experiencing an unprecedented economic prosperity thanks to the silk trade and the production of the imperial purple dye; it became a bishopric and evolved into the most important city in Boeotia after Thebes. Architectural remains of Byzantine monuments attest to the significance of the city. Outstanding among the surviving Christian churches are those of Hosios Loukas, the church of Ayia Trias, and the Middle Byzantine single naved church of Ayios Konstantinos, as well as the Middle Byzantine single naved churches of Prophitis Ilias, the Taxiarchai and Ayios Vlassios.

In the period of Ottoman rule, Kastorion had become impoverished and was renamed to Kakosion or Kakosi, taking its name from an evil monk which according to a local tradition spent his ascetic life in the area. This name survived into the Modern era.

1.3. History of the research

In the Modern period a number of foreign travellers visited the area. In the 17th century, G. Wheler erroneously identified Thisbe’s site as that of Thespiae, but in the early 19th century the Englishman W. Leake recognized it as ancient Thisbe and provided a description of its ruins and inscriptions. The earliest archaeological excavations were conducted in the mid-19th century by the Archaeological Society at Athens, while other foreign archaeological schools expressed their interest to undertake excavations. In 1889 ο S.C. Rolfe conducted a short excavation and in 1915 W. Heurtley believed he had unearthed prehistoric graves, yet according to more recent research these were probably the cells of an Early Byzantine monastic community. In 1958, F.G. Maier published his scientific study on the city’s fortifications. Since 2002 systematic surface surveys are being carried out in the area by the Department of Byzantine Studies of the University of Birmingham.

2. Domvraina

Domvraina is very close to Thisbe. The name is of Slavic origin, and was probably coined by the Slavic tribes that settled in the region in the 6th cent. In the Ottoman period it was a thriving country town, profiting from the salt trade (neighbouring Alyki produced salt), agriculture and animal husbandry. The city’s prosperity is attested by its large stone-built residences, some of which still stand today. During the Greek War of Independence, the inhabitants of Domvraina and Thisbe actively participated in the revolutionary struggle – the Tower of Karaiskakis, built on a hilltop is a testament to the commander’s campaigns in the area.

During the German Occupation in WWII, and more specifically in August of 1944, Domvraina and the villages Thisbe and Prodromos were destroyed by the Germans in reprisal for the vigorous resistance of their inhabitants. After WWII, the majority of the inhabitants of these villages had to relocate to Athens and Thebes, while many others decided to immigrate to the USA.

Today Domvraina has become an important financial centre thanks to pipe producing factories and the power plants created in the wider area, and it is also famous for its local marble.

3. Area of Thisbe

Apart from the namesake country town and Domvraina, the area of Thisbe includes the villages Prodromos, Xironomi, Ellopia and the seaside settlements Alyki, Ayios Nikolaos and Ayios Ioannis.

3.1. Ayios Ioannis

The picturesque seaside settlement of Ayios Ioannis is today the port of Domvraina; it was possibly also the port of ancient Thisbe, although a number of scholars consider the site Vathi as Thisbe’s ancient port. Some also argue it is possible that both harbours were used in ancient times.

3.2 The monastery of Panayia Makariotissa

At a distance of six km northeast of Domvraina, on the southern slopes of Mt Helicon stands the monastery of Panayia Makariotissa, established in the Middle Byzantine period. The catholikon of the monastery is in the type of the four-columned cross-in-square church with an octagonal dome, while the cells and various other adjunct structures are among the auxiliary spaces of the complex. Over the years the monastery suffered various disasters. The gravest was visited upon it during the German Occupation in WWII, when the monastery was torched and became deserted. Today the monastery of Makariotissa is in use and efforts are being undertaken to preserve its buildings.

3.3 Prodromos - Korsiae

Close to the village Prodromos the ruins of the ancient seaside Boeotian city Korsiae survive, identified through literary and epigraphic evidence. The earliest habitation remains date to the Early Helladic period, while finds from the Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods suggest that the site was continuously occupied. In the early 4th cent. BC, Korsiae belonged to Thespiae, and in 346 BC it was captured by the Phocians who used it as a base for their military operations in Boeotia. In 346 BC the city was destroyed by Thebes and its population was probably sold into slavery. Inscriptional testimonies confirm a cult dedicated to Hera and the existence of a temple of Hera, while the existence of a cult of Zeus is also considered probable. Sections from the 4th cent. BC city walls have been preserved to this day.

The modern village Prodromos or Chostia is amphitheatrically built on the slopes of the hill; it is one of the most picturesque villages in Boeotia, and the nearby beach of Saranti is a popular seaside destination. The area is also worth visiting for the monastery of Hosios Seraphim Domvous, dedicated to the Transfiguration of Christ the Saviour and located on the southern slopes of Mt Helicon (it was established in the late 16th century), as well as for the Byzantine monastery of Taxiarchai north of the acropolis of ancient Korsiae.

3.4. Alyki - Siphai - Ayios Nikolaos

Alyki is a popular seaside destination in Boeotia, famous for its saltines and its fish taverns. It is situated in the cove of the bay of Domvraina; it has been identified as the ancient settlement of Siphai, a member of the Boeotian League, and the port of Thespiae in the 5th cent. BC. According to a mythological tradition, it was the birthplace of Tiphys, helmsman of the Argo, the famous ship that carried the Argonauts; due to this tradition, its inhabitants were famed for their seamanship in Antiquity . The site was inhabited during the Mycenaean period. The remains of a 4th cent. BC fortification wall are preserved, together with traces of various other Roman buildings, among which a small temple, possible identified as the Heracleion, a temple dedicated to the cult of Hercules in whose honour an annual festival was celebrated, as attested by Pausanias.

Remains of the fortified city of Upper Siphai survived on the hill called Mavrovouni or Goula above Alyki, together with a Geometric period shrine, probably dedicated to the cult of Artemis Agrotera; this sanctuary remained in use until the Hellenistic period.

Close to Alyki on the shores of the Corinthian Gulf is the beach of Ayios Nikolaos, one of the most beautiful in Boeotia; it was named after a small chapel of St Nicholas built on the north side of the beach.

3.5 Xironomi

The “γη των Δονακών” (=land of the reeds), mentioned in Pausanias, probably lay north of Xironomi it the area called Tatiza; this, according to a legend, contained the spring in whose pool of water Narcissus gazed upon and fell in love with his reflection. Architectural remains in this site are very scant. Built in a verdant valley, Xironomi is one of the most enchanting villages in the region. The villagers have shown keen interest in cultural activities and in 1979 they established a cultural society, while the village can also take pride in the private Folklore Museum of G. Blanos.

3.6 Ellopia

The village Ellopia is built on the southwest side of a rocky hill, in earlier times called Karantas (a word of Turkish origin), although the place name might be Arvanitan. In 1916 it was renamed as Ellopia, a place name attested in Stephanus of Byzantium and probably described a settlement in the area of Thespiae.