Amphicaia
Coordinates: 38 ° 38 ′ 16 ″ N , 22 ° 35 ′ 21 ″ O Amphikaia ( Greek Ἀμφίκαια ) was an ancient Greek city in eastern Phocis on Parnassus , on the southern edge of the central Kephisostal . Traces of settlement have been documented since the late Mycenaean period. During the Persian invasion of 480 BC BC and 346 BC During the Third Holy War the city was destroyed and then rebuilt as Amphikleia ( Ἀμφίκλεια ).
According to Pausanias , the name of the city was originally Ophiteia . In connection with this name, derived from "snake" ( ophis ), he reports the following legend: A chief, who feared that his son was threatened with murder, put him in a basket and hid it in the wilderness. When a wolf tried to eat the baby, a snake curled around the basket and protected the baby. When the father returned, mistaking the snake for an attacker, threw his spear and killed both the snake and his son. Clarified the truth by shepherds, he set up a common pyre for snake and child.
In Amphikleia there was an oracle sanctuary of Dionysus . However, after Pausanias there are no sculptures to be seen there and no shrines to be visited, the cult celebrations, however, are worth seeing. Dionysus works there as a healing god who heals through dreams that are interpreted by a priest of God.
In Byzantine times there was a guard post at Kephisos. In the Middle Ages the city was called Dadi or Dadion, now again Amphikleia.
literature
- Giovanna Daverio Rocchi: Amphikaia. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 1, Metzler, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-476-01471-1 , Sp. 611-611.