Site details

Pyrgos: Ancient Arne-Kierion: Titanos

PK	C1344
TITLE	Pyrgos: Ancient Arne–Kierion: Titanos
WGS84	39.366944° N, 22.066788° E
Accuracy	Exact

LAT/LON	39.366944, 22.066788
LON/LAT	22.066788, 39.366944

DMS

39° 22' 0.9984" N

22° 4' 0.4368" E

W3W	monuments, winked, unfreeze
UTM	34 S, 591897, 4358041
EGSA87	333312, 4358994

Elevation m	174
Elevation feet	570.9
Region	Thessaly

GENERAL SITE TYPE Sherds

TYPE

1.    Artifacts.   AD[1996], 359
2.    Buildings.   Ålin [1962], 138    ' ... und unterhalb die Reste anderer kyklopischer Bauten.'
3.    Hab.   AA [1955], 229
4.    Sherds.   Simpson [1981], 173    '...Mycenaean sherds have been found on the hill...'
5.    Sherds.   Simpson [1965], 161    'Mycenaean sherds were recorded on the hill ... and it seems a priori likely that there was a small Mycenaean fort here, ... '
6.    Sherds.   Simpson and Dickinson [1979], 296    'But LH sherds have been found on the hill ..., '
7.    Town.   Iliad,     ' ... and that held Asterium and the white crests of Titanus, these were led by Eurypylus, ...'
8.    Wall.   Ålin [1962], 138    '1955 fand Milojčič am Hügelhang kyklopische Mauerreste ohne Türme ... '
9.    Wall.   Simpson and Dickinson [1979], 296    'A circuit wall of very large blocks ... surrounds the summit, enclosing ... '

SITE SIZE

- Simpson and Dickinson [1979]  p. 296,  Size: 28000 sq. m.  ' ..., enclosing an area c. 200 m. N-S by 140 m.'

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. Late Helladic: (1700 BC - 1050 BC)
    a.    AD[1996]: 359,
    b.    Simpson [1965]: 161, ' ... small Mycenaean fort here, ... '
    c.    Ålin [1962]: 138, 'Auch Theocharis konnte hier sowie bei Kutsocheiron, Pyrasos und Magula Wrastira mykenische Reste feststellen.'
    d.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 296, 'But LH sherds have been found on the hill ..., ', ' ..., and there may have been a small LH fort here, ... '

2. LH IIIA: (1410 BC - 1315 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1981]: 173, 'LH III(A-B) G A C H'
    b.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 296, 'LH III(A-B) G A ... '

3. LH IIIB: (1320 BC - 1190 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1981]: 173, 'LH III(A-B) G A C H'
    b.    AA [1955]: 229,
    c.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 296, 'LH III(A-B) G A ... '

4. Geometric: (900 BC - 700 BC)
    a.    AA [1955]: 229,
    b.    Ålin [1962]: 138, 'Geometrische, archaische ... Befestigungen wurden auch gefunden, ... '
    c.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 296, 'LH III(A-B) G A ... '

5. Archaic: (700 BC - 480 BC)
    a.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 296, 'LH III(A-B) G A ... '

NOTE

1. This account is based on Simpson [2018] 477 ff. ('Asterion and Titanos (Il. 2.735). His explanation there is fairly opaque and I attempt to clarify it here.

The Iliad mentions two toponyms 'Asterion' and 'Titanus'. Iliad (2.735) " ..., and that held Asterium and the white crests of Titanus, these were led by Eurypylus, ... "

Where are Asterion and Titanus?

Asterion was one of the Argonauts and he was, presumably, the eponym for the place 'Asterion'. He lived at a place called Peiresiai which is equated with Asterion.[1] Peiresiai is not located for certain but the main candidate is the hill of Strongilovouni (F2606, 39.509478°, 22.087774°) which is near the west Thessalian village of Vlochos (F5810, 39.520895°, 22.090886°). [2]

So where is the other Homeric site, Titanos? The main candidates are:

Arne/Kierion (C1344): Strabo suggested that Titanos is near Homeric Arne, the historic Kierion. [3]
Vlochos (F5810). Leake thought it was near or at Vlochos. ' ... the white calcareous rocks of the conspicuous summit at Vlochos are ... well suited to the name Titanos.'

Simpson [2018] passim appears to favor Vlochos/Strongylovouni (C6906) for Asterion and Arne/Kierion (C1344) for Titanos. I use these equivalents in the atlas but these toponymical questions will probably never be settled for certain and the reader should use caution when dealing with these names. The whole argument is more fully fleshed out in Simpson op. cit.

NOTES

Apollonios Rhodios (Argonautica 1. 35-39). Simpson [2018] 477 says (citing Allen 1921,123-125, esp. 124) : " … Allen deduced that the Argonaut Asterion, presumed to be the eponymous hero of Asterion, lived at Peiresiai and Stephanus of Byzantium equated the historic Peiresiai with Asterion." Allen, T.H. 1921. The Homeric Catalogue of Ships, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
This equation was also favored by Leake.
Wace also thought that this place (Kierion/Arne) might be Titanos.

rhc

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. AD[1996]: Archaiologikon Deltion, Athens, Greece, v. 51, '', pg. 359.

2. AA [1955]: Archaeologischer Anzeiger: Beiblatt zum Jahrbuch des Deutschen archäologischen Instituts, Berlin. 1955, '', pg. 229.

3. Ålin [1962]: Ålin, Per. Das Ende der mykenischen Fundstätten auf dem griechischen Festland. Carl Bloms Boktryckeri A.-B., Lund, 1962., 'Kirion', pg. 138.

4. Iliad: Homer. Iliad. The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924., '2.735', Online here.

5. Simpson [1965]: Simpson, R. Hope. A Gazetteer and Atlas of Mycenaean Sites. London, Institute of Classical Studies, 1965., ''541 Ancient Arne-Kierion at Pyrgos (Mataranga)'', pg. 161.

6. Simpson [1981]: Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press, 1981., 'J 5 Pyrgos Kieriou: Ancient Arne-Kierion', pg. 173. Online here.

7. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: Simpson, Richard Hope and O.T.P.K. Dickinson. A Gazetteer of Aegean Civilization in the Bronze Age, Vol. I: The Mainland and the Islands. Paul Åströms Förlag, Goteborg. 1979., 'J 8 Pyrgos Kieriou: Ancient Arne-Kierion', pg. 196. Online here.