Expert: Irulan Serena - 3/17/2004

Question
Hello I was reading this website (http://wagon4.www9.50megs.com/Alcibiades/Al.html) and in the second paragraph they make a reference to a place called Tangea.  Do you know where this is?

Thank you

Answer
Hello Tzeitel,

The spelling in the site you read is wrong, the city is not Tangea, it is Tegea.

Tegea was one of the oldest cities of Arkadia.  It was first recorded in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships.

In the Archaic period the 9 villages of Tegea joined in a synoicism [union] to form one large city (cf. Mantinea and Sparta).  

After a long period of struggles, Tegea was forced into the role of a vassal state by Sparta at during 560 B.C. It remained under Spartan control until it joined the Arkadian League and fought against Sparta in 362 B.C.

In  370 B.C. Tegea constructed its first city walls. During the 3rd century, however, Tegea suffered 3 defeats by the Spartans.

In 222 B.C. Tegea was forced into the Achaean League and it continued to lose political power during the Hellenistic period. The city retained its prosperity and commercial importance, however, and flourished well into the Roman period.

In A.D. 395 Tegea was destroyed by the Goths, but was rebuilt under the name Nikli, and became one of the most important Byzantine cities in the Peloponnese.

Cordially,

IS