Thespiae
Thespiae (
Greek Θεσπιαι,
Thespiai) was an ancient
Greek city in
Boeotia. It stood on level ground commanded by the low range of hills which runs eastward from the foot of
Mount Helicon to
Thebes. According to
Pausanias, the most
worshipped at Thespiae was
Eros, whose primitive image was an unwrought stone. The city contained many works of
art, among them the
Eros of
Praxiteles, one of the most famous statues in the ancient world; it drew crowds of people to Thespiae. It was carried off to
Rome by
Caligula, restored by
Claudius, and again carried off by
Nero. There was also a bronze statue of Eros by
Lysippos. The Thespians also worshipped the
Muses, and celebrated a festival in their honor in the sacred grove on Mount Helicon. Remains of what was probably the ancient
citadel are still to be seen, consisting of an oblong or oval line of fortification, solidly and regularly built. The adjacent ground to the east and south is covered with foundations, bearing witness to the extent of the ancient city. In
1882, the remains of a
tomb, including a colossal stone lion, were discovered on the road to Leuctra. The tomb dates from the
fifth century BCE, and is probably that of the Thespians who fell at the
Battle of Plataea, for those who fell at the
Battle of Thermopylae were buried in the field.
Historically, Thespiae figures chiefly as an enemy of Thebes. During the
Persian invasion of
480 BCE it was one of the few cities in Boeotia to reject the treacherous example set by the Thebans, sending six hundred men with
Leonidas to Thermopylae. After the city was burned down by
Xerxes I, the remaining inhabitants furnished a force of 1800 men to the confederate Greek army at Plataea. During the
Athenian invasion of Boeotia in
424, the Thespian contingent of the Boeotian army sustained heavy losses at the
battle of Delium, and in the next year the Thebans took advantage of this temporary enfeeblement to accuse their neighbors of friendship towards Athens and to dismantle their walls. In
414 they interfered again to suppress a democratic rising. In the
Corinthian war Thespiae sided with
Sparta, and between
379 and
372 repeatedly served the Spartans as a base against Thebes. In the latter year they were reduced by the Thebans and compelled to send a contingent to the
Battle of Leuctra in
371. It was probably shortly after this battle that the Thebans used their new predominance to destroy Thespiae and drive its people into
exile. The town was rebuilt at some later time. In
171, true to its policy of opposing Thebes, it sought the friendship of
Rome. It is subsequently mentioned by
Strabo as a place of some size, and by
Pliny as a free city.
Although citizens of Thespiae are called Thespians, the common word
thespian meaning an actor comes not from this city but from the legendary first actor,
Thespis.
