The Ancient City of Abe and its famous Sacred Oracle
Abe (Abae) was an ancient city located in the region of Phocis, near the borders with Boeotia and Opuntian Locris, close to the town of Hyampolis. According to Pausanias, the city was situated to the left of the road between Orchomenus in Boeotia and Opus.
The archeologic site of Iampolis in modern Kalapodi Fthiotis, central Greece
Pausanias also recounts the tradition that the city's inhabitants claimed their ancestors came from Argos, and that the city was named after its founder, Abas. However, Aristotle described the residents of Abe as Thracians and further suggested that some of the inhabitants of this city in Phocis had colonized the island of Euboea, giving its people the name Abantes, a term that Homer used to refer to the inhabitants of Euboea in the 'Catalogue of Ships' from the Iliad.
Abe was home to a famous oracle of Apollo, which housed many treasures and votive offerings. Originally, this oracle was considered as prestigious as the great sanctuaries of the god. Herodotus mentioned it as one of the oracles consulted by King Croesus, and Sophocles referred to it alongside the oracles of Delphi and Olympia. The grand statues constructed by the Phocians after their victory over the Thessalians were divided between Delphi and Abe.
During the Persian Wars, Abe was destroyed by the Persian troops of Xerxes I, and the temple was set on fire in 480 BCE. Despite the destruction, the oracle remained in operation. It was consulted soon after by Mardonius and later by the Thebans before the Battle of Leuctra. In 352 BCE, during the Third Sacred War, the Boeotians set fire to the sanctuary, which resulted in the death of supplicants who had sought refuge there.
Nevertheless, Abe received special privileges from the kings of Macedonia as well as from the Romans. The city, revered for its oracle of Apollo, was granted independence. Additionally, the Roman Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of a smaller temple dedicated to Apollo next to the older one, containing statues of Apollo, Leto (Latona), and Artemis.
In Pausanias' time, the city still had an ancient theater and agora. The ruins of the city, near the modern village of Exarchos, reveal a double wall with polygonal masonry, and a well-preserved gate. Excavations in the sanctuary of Apollo, located outside the city, have uncovered the remains of the two temples and a portico.
Last update: October 24, 2024
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