Boeotia
Boeotia provided the largest number of leaders, places and fighters: Iliad, Book 2, lines 496 to 508. Perhaps that is why they were listed first. Strangely, however, the Boeotians played only a minor role in the poem. They came from 29 cities or places. They provided fifty ships. On board each ship were 120 men according to the poet (Iliad, 2.510). The leaders were Leïtus, Peneleos, Arcesilaus, Prothoenor and Clonius. Significant Mycenaean places in Boeotia do not appear in the Catalogue, like the fortress of Gla in Lake Copais. Some of these are included at the end of this section of the poem's list of places.
Hyria - Dramesi
The location of Hyria (Iliad, 2.496) is uncertain. Strabo said it was "near Aulis" (9.2.12). Pausanias didn't mention it. A few possibilities have been proposed. One is at Pyrgos, a low hill above the village of Dramesi (now Paralia Avlidos) near the coast about 7 kilometres from Aulis. There is a chapel Ayia Paraskevi on its slope. In 1945 unauthorised excavations uncovered a stone pillar with carvings of three ships on it. This is on display in the Archaeological Museum of Schimatari. It was examined by the archaeologist, Carl W. Blegen, in 1946. He suggested it was a monument for the leader of the Hyrian contingent to Troy. Accordingly, he placed Homeric Hyria here.
Location: 38°23'03.5"N 23°37'35.6"E
Hyria - Glypha Hill
Another possibility is the hill of Tseleroni, also known as Glypha or Vlicha, near Chalkis, about 3 kilometres from Aulis. Stephanos of Byzantium remarked that Hyria was on the Euripos, as this hill indeed is. Prehistoric remains have been found on the site. The archaeologist, John M. Fossey, placed Homeric Hyria here.
Location: 38°27'17.3"N 23°34'04.3"E
Aulis - Mikro Vathy
There are two harbours near the ancient village of Aulis (Iliad, 2.496). One was a deep harbour now called Megalo Vathi, the site of the Chalkis Shipyards, and a smaller harbour 2 km north, now called Mikro Vathy, which has a cement factory on its northern shore. Close to its southern shore was a 5th century BC Temple of Artemis and a spring. These were discovered in 1941. Strabo visited the two harbours. He considered the smaller one was only large enough for 50 ships, and therefore supposed the ships of the Achaeans were stationed at the larger harbour (9.2.8). He may have overestimated the size of Mycenaean ships, however, for there would have been room for many more such ships on the shores of Mikro Vathy. Pausanias also visited the site. He saw in the temple statues and the remains of the plane tree mentioned by Homer (Iliad, 2.307), and the spring by which the plane tree grew, and on a hill nearby the bronze threshold of Agamemnon's tent (9.19.7). Recent geoarchaeologuical reasarch has established that Mikro Vathy was much larger in antiquity than it is today. It extended south into a shallow cove or open lagoon. This area is now covered with olive trees. The bay and the lagoon would have provided ships with good protection from strong winds and currents.
Locations: 38°26'14.4"N 23°35'38.8"E (Mikro Vathy), 38°26'00.1"N 23°35'32.9"E (the Temple), 38°25'59.6"N 23°35'33.7"E (the spring)
Eteonus
The location of Eteonus "with its many ridges" (Iliad, 2.497) is not known. Strabo did not know. He noted: "The name of Eteonus was changed to that of Scarphe, which belongs to Parasopia" (9.2.24). Pausanias never mentioned it.
Schoenus
Strabo placed Schoenus (or Schoinos) (Iliad, 2.497) about 10 km from Thebes along the road to Anthedon, with a river of the same name passing through it (9.2.22). This has led scholars to the modern village of Mouriki. Above this village is an acropolis, a flat area with a small church, Ayios Ilias (Prophet Elias). Modern construction has completely obliterated any ancient remains. The river Schoenus once flowed about 500 metres south of Mouriki. It is now dry. It flowed into Lake Yliki (Hyliki). No archaeological evidence has been found in the area earlier than 700 BC, so whether the acropolis or village are the Homeric Schoenus is open to question.
Locations: 38°25'27.0"N 23°21'26.2"E (Mouriki), 38°25'24.0"N 23°20'51.3"E (River Schoenus, where video was taken, on road to the waterworks), 38°25'39.3"N 23°21'44.2"E"E (Prophet Elias Church)
Scolus
The whereabouts of the village of Scolus (or Skolos) (Iliad, 2.497), mentioned by Strabo (9.2.23) and Pausanias (9.4.4), are not precisely known. However, scholars have identified the mountain of the same name, known to some in Thiva 7 km to the west, as "the mountain of the gods". It is a very arduous climb to the summit from the fields below. It matches Strabo's description as "a place that is rugged and hardly habitable; whence the proverb, ‘neither go to Scolus thyself nor follow another thither’." The inhabitants probably lived closer to their fields, near Neochoraki, and went up to the mountain for worship or refuge. Mycenaean pottery has been uncovered on the mountain, and Mycenaean tombs have been found in the area.
Location: 38°19'4" N 23°24'14" E (summit marker)
Thespeia
Ancient Thespeia (Iliad, 2.498) lay beneath the modern village of Thespies and in the fields below. The archaeologist John Fossey wrote in 1988: "There can be no site in Boiotia more depressing than Thespiai, not in itself but on account of the inexcusable destruction wrought there by Jamot in the years 1888-1891, for he completely dismantled the fortifications which had survived well until his day.” (Topography and Population of Ancient Boiotia, vol. 1, p. 135) Mycenaean sherds have been found in the area. Later inscriptions confirm it was the site of ancient Thespaia. But there is nothing to be seen today.
Locations: 38°18'14.9"N 23°09'10.8"E (Archaeological Museum of Thespies), 38°17'37.7"N 23°09'05.6"E (field 500 metres south of Thespies)
Graea
Several proposals have been made for the location of Graea (or Graia, Greia) (Iliad, 2.498): a site near Skala Oropou, a mound near Skala Oropou, modern Tanagra and Ancient Tanagra, and Dramesi/Paralia Avlidos (= Hyrie). There is nothing to be seen at the site, now built over, near Skala Oropou. Nor at the mound about a kilometre east of Nea Palatia, a suburb of Skala Oropou, which is now covered with olive trees. Modern Tanagra is a modern village with a museum. Ancient Tanagra has the remnants of a gate and the shape of a theatre both of which post-date Homer. Many Mycenaean graves have been found in the area. The beach of Skala Oropou looks across to Eritrea on Euboea.
Locations: 38°19'21.4"N 23°47'01.7"E (Skala Oropou), 38°19'07.3"N 23°47'01.7"E (Skala Oropou property), 38°18'56.6"N 23°48'26.8"E (Skala Oropou mound), 38°19'38.0"N 23°32'13.0"E (Modern Tanagra), 38°18'28.5"N 23°35'00.4"E (Ancient Tanagra), 38°18'21.4"N 23°35'05.7"E (Ancient Tanagra theatre gate), 38°23'04.0"N 23°37'38.4"E (Dramesi/Paralia Avlidos)
Mycalessus
The location of "spacious Mycalessus" (Mykalessos) (Iliad, 2.498), and identified by scholars, is about 500 metres south-west of the locality of Ritsona, and 300 metres from the Thebes-Chalcis (Thivas-Chalkidas) road. Strabo mentioned it: "It is situated on the road that leads from Thebes to Chalcis; and in the Boeotian dialect it is called Mycalettus.” (9.2.11) It is barely recognisable from the road. There is no signpost. There is a modern pumping shed over a spring about 100 metres south-east of the site. Vineyards grow around. Mycenaean sherds have been revealed by ploughing. Old rocks, remnants of a wall perhaps, are visible. None looks fashioned. Much of the site is covered in bushes.
Location: 38°24'23"N 23°31'8"E
Harma
The location of Harma (Iliad, 2.499) was on the Thebes-Chalcis (Thivas-Chalkidas) road near Mycalessus (Mykalessos) according to Strabo and Pausanias. It was a deserted village in Strabo's day (9.2.11) and in ruins in Pausanias's (9.19.4). One possible site is a 290-metre hill one kilometre north of the Thebes-Chalcis road, and about three kilometres north-east of Mycalessus. Some scholars seem to describe a location, not precisely given, that differs from that on this hill, for example: "The summit, at the south end of the hill is enclosed by a wall of polygonal masonry" (Hope Simpson) which was not seen. The summit is mostly covered in scrub. The modern town called Harma is three kilometres south of the Thebes-Chalcis road, and seven kilometres south-west of Mycalessus. It is not on the Thebes-Chalcis road.
Locations: 38°23'18" N 23°29'14" E (hill near Thebes-Chalcis road), 38°21'05.1"N 23°29'08.8"E (modern Harma)
Eilesium
The location of Eilesium (or Eilesion) (Iliad, 2.499) is not known. Neither Strabo nor Pausanias knew where it was. Strabo speculated it had been close to marshes, based on the name's etymology “hele” = “marsh” (9.2.17). It may have been close to Lake Kopais, now drained and fertile fields.
Erythrae
There are two possible locations proposed by scholars for Erythrae (Erythrai) (Iliad, 2.499). Both are near or on the slopes of Mt Kithairon, where Strabo (9.2.12) and Pausanias (9.2.1) imprecisely placed it. The first is above the chapel of Pantanassa about 1.5 kilometres east of Erythres (formerly Kriekouki). There are now electricity transmission lines crossing the hill, and no obvious signs of sherds or building stones. The remaining walls beneath the "acropolis" may have been old enclosures of fields. The second location is about 1 kilometre west of Dafni (formerly Darimari) where the remains of a "Μετοχή Παλαιό Αλώνι" (Metochí Palaió Alóni), as the roadsign near the church of Aghios Georgios describes it. There are abundant sherds in the freshly-ploughed fields round about. Most stones have been removed and piled up. A modern pump house covers a natural spring, which can be heard gurgling in the darkness; the water itself cannot be seen. There is a good view over the plain. Close to water and fields, it was a good place for habitation. Whether either location is the Homeric Erythrae cannot be known for certain.
Locations: 38°13'16.0"N 23°20'31.0"E (hill above chapel of Pantanassa), 38°14'34.8"N 23°24'14.7"E (Metochí Palaió Alóni near Dafni), 38°14'38.0"N 23°24'17.0"E (pump house near Metochí)
Eleon
The Eleon mentioned by Homer (Iliad, 2.500) was most likely the site now known as Ancient Eleon outside the modern village of Harma. It is a spectacular site for settlement, a spacious plateau on a low hill protected by steep cliffs with a spring, the Akídousa, still running, at its south-west corner on the other side of the road from the church of Ágios Vasíleios (Saint Basil) at the foot of the cliffs. Excavations on the top of the hill have revealed extensive remains from the Bronze Age to the Medieval Age. There is an impressive Late Classical polygonal wall, about 70 metres in length and at one corner about 5 metres high, and a ruined medieval tower (pyrgos).
Locations: 38°21'19.8"N 23°28'49.8"E (Ancient Eleon), 38°21'19.3"N 23°28'40.8"E (Akídousa spring), 38°21'20.7"N 23°28'41.4"E (church of Ágios Vasíleios - Saint Basil)
Hyle
The location of Hyle (Iliad, 2.500) cannot be determined with certainty. According to Strabo, it was near a lake originally called the Cephissian Lake or Lake Hylice. Hyle was a village nearby (9.2.20). The Cephissian Lake may have been Lake Copais, now drained. East of this are two lakes. Limni Iliki and, nearby to the east, Lake Paralimni. Between these two lakes is a modern farming hamlet called Iliki. Homer's Hyle was probably beside or near one of these lakes. One possible location is on the shore of, and now partly submerged in, Lake Paralimni. On the north-west corner of this lake are significant remains of Mycenaean walls and circle graves. The graves have been looted, but there are abundant sherds along the lake shore. Above the settlement (and a steep, hard, three-hour scramble over rocks and through dense shrubbery) are the remains of an enclosure. It has been described as an acropolis, but it is too remote and inaccessible to have served that purpose. It has not been properly excavated. Perhaps it was a refuge, for people or cattle.
Locations: 38°27'06.2"N 23°19'06.7"E (walls and graves on the shore of Lake Paralimni), 38°27'32.1"N 23°19'03.4"E ("acropolis"), 38°26'00.7"N 23°18'12.2"E (hamlet of Iliki)
Peteon
Peteon (Iliad, 2.500) was, according to Strabo, a village in Theban territory "near the road to Anthedon" (9.2.26). Strabo is the only source we have on the locality. As the distance between these two localities is about 30 km, there can be several possibilities and no certainty. One proposed location is a hill 1 km east of the village of Platanakia on the Mouriki-Drosia road (which passes through Loukissia, Ancient Anthedon, and modern Anthidona). Pottery ranging from the early Bronze Age to the Roman period has been found on the hill, though there is no evidence of any structural remains. Another proposed location is on the south-eastern bank of Lake Paralimni (Skala Paralimni). The precise location of Homeric Peteon, however, is unknown.
Locations: 38°26'17.2"N 23°24'51"E"E (hill above Platanakia), 38°27'43.5"N 23°23'06.9"E (Skala Paralimni, approximate).
Ocalea
The location of Ocalea (Iliad, 2.501) is unknown. Strabo said it was midway between Haliartus and Alalcomene at a distance of 30 stadia (ca. 6 km) from each (9.2.26). His distance between these two towns (12 km) is too long; it is in fact ca. 8 km. In any case, no ancient site has been found midway between the two places. It was somewhere around Lake Copais (Strabo, 9.2.27), but where precisely we do not know.
Medeon
"Medeon, the strong-founded citadel" (Iliad, 2.501), was possibly located on the hill about 5km east of Aliartos on what used to be the shores of Lake Copais. It was, or was like, an island, with cliffs on the northern lake side. These may have given rise to Homer's epithet, for there are no visible signs of any citadel on or around the summit. Archaeologists have uncovered fragments from Early Bronze Age to Hellenistic times, but today grass covers most of the ancient remains. Fikio Mountain is nearby, formerly called Mt Phagas, and Mt Phoinikion by Strabo (9.2.26).
Location: 38°23'12.8"N 23°09'59.0"E