Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Βοιωτία

1. History of the excavations

The remains of the Boeotian city of Korsiae are preserved close to the modern village Prodromos (Chostia). Research begun in the 20th century by J. Fossey of McGill University; in the mid-1960s Fossey organized a survey in the wider area, while in the early 1980s the American mission headed by J. Fossey and J.Morin conducted excavations for two consecutive years in the Castle of Choriae. The excavations yielded impressive results, shedding light on obscure aspects of this Boeotian city. This was an autonomous community, divided into five geographic areas – the mountains, the lower slopes, the ledge, the hillocks and a large plain. These surroundings defined the economic activities of the city’s inhabitants. For example, the lower slopes were ideal for planting olive trees, while the hillocks and the plain were suitable for animal husbandry and agricultural development.

2. Historical overview

The ancient town of Korsiae, which has been securely identified through epigraphic evidence, was situated close to the monastery of Taxiarches, built in the 11th c. AD. A proxeny decree (IG VII 2383) was unearthed close to the modern village Chostia; it records that the person being honoured had carried out a number of benefactions for the ‘Demos of Chorsiae’. More specifically the inscription relates: “...in a time of great famine…he lent the city a substantial amount of money”. Before 386 BC, the city was under the hegemony of Thespiae, while in the period between 371 and 362 BC it belonged to Thebes’ sphere of influence, finally becoming independent after 338 BC.

The earliest habitation remains dated to the Early Helladic period, while finds from the Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods confirm the site was continuously occupied. Towards the end of the Mycenaean period, the site of the castle was abandoned; this trend can be observed in other sites during this period, and apparently the inhabitants relocated to the site Mali, to the east. A settlement has been discovered at the top of the mountain, dating from Early Helladic ΙΙΙΒ to the Protogeometric period.

3. Archaeological remains

The city walls are still discernible on the eastern steep slope of the acropolis of Chorsiae, their form was similar to that of many fortified sites in the Corinthian Gulf (Siphai, Creusis); together with these two 4th c. BC sites, Chorsiae played an important role in the trade with the opposite shores of the Corinthian Gulf. Two building phases could be discerned in the surviving walls. The first building phase, in the Early Classical period, involved the construction of the defensive wall, erected using large blocks in lesbian masonry. In the second building phase, which surrounds the acropolis and the lower city, large square cut blocks were used in the isodomic system; this building phase suggests the site remained in use after the Battle of Leuctra (360 BC). Residential buildings and facilities have been discovered outside the acropolis (including water cisterns, parts of an oil-press etc.). The western side of the acropolis has yielded three rooms, used in Hellenistic times as weaving and dyeing workshops.

Following excavational research conducted on the north side of the acropolis and at the lower city, an elongated rectangular building of the Early Archaic period came to light (6th c. BC). Epigraphic testimonies confirm the cult of Hera and mention a temple dedicated to her (Heraion). An inscribed marble pedimental stele, unearthed in the castle of Chorsiae and dating to the 4th c. BC, enumerates in detail the votive offerings (whether money or vessels) of the Thespians to the sanctuary of Hera. On the inscription (SEG 24.361) one can read the characteristic phrase: “hιερὰ χρέματα Θεσσπιέων Διοπείθεος ἄρχοντος· ἐν hΕραίωι ...”

Graffiti, i.e. inscribed pottery sherds, have been found close to the northern gate of the acropolis, testifying the cult of Zeus Soter and of Hercules Charopus.

4. Destruction and re-establishment of the city

According to ancient sources (Diodorus XVI.), in 346 BC the city was captured by the Phocaeans who used it as a base for their operations in Boeotia; following the defeat of the Phocaeans in that same year, Thebes destroyed the city. The city walls were repaired after this destruction, with Chorsiae now becoming a proper city, much more than a simple settlement. The city was apparently destroyed during the Mithridatic Wars in the 1st c. BC; in the 2nd c. AD it was inhabited once again, and it was finally abandoned in the 5th c. AD.