Olynthus, an ancient city of Chalcidice, situated in a fertile plain at the head of the Gulf of Torone, near the neck of the peninsula of Pallene, at some little distance from the sea, and about 60 stadia (7 or 8 miles) from Potidaea. Chalcidice or Khalkidhikí or Halkidiki (in Greek Χαλκιδική) is one of the fifty-one prefectures of Greece. ...

The district had belonged to a Thracian tribe, the Bottiaeans, in whose possession the town of Olynthus remained till 479 BC In that year the Persian general Artabazus, on his return from escorting Xerxes to the Hellespont, suspecting that a revolt from the Great King was meditated, slew the inhabitants and handed the town over to a fresh population, consisting of Greeks from the neighboring region of Chalcidice (Herod. viii. 127). Olynthus thus became a Greek polis, but it remained insignificant (in the quota-lists of the Delian League it appears as paying on the average 2 talents, as compared with 9 paid by Scione, 8 by Mende, 6 by Torone) until the synoecism (i~rvvoiKwubs), effected in 432 through the influence of King Perdiccas II of Macedon, as the result of which the inhabitants of a number of petty Chalcidian towns in the neighborhood were added to its population (Thucyd. i. 58). Thrace is a historical and geographic area in south-east Europe spread over southern Bulgaria, north-eastern Greece, and European Turkey. ... 479 pr. ... Artabazus was the name of two satraps of Hellespontine Phrygia (now northwest Turkey), under the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia. ... Xerxes I (خشایارشاه), was a Persian king (reigned 485 - 465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... Hellespont (i. ... Bust of Herodotus Herodotus (Greek: ΗΡΟΔΟΤΟΣ, Herodotos) was an ancient historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC - c. ... The Delian League was an association of Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. As it was led by Athens, it is sometimes pejoratively referred to as the Athenian Empire. ... The Mende are a large tribe (population approximately 700,000) living primarily in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. ... Perdiccas II was king of Macedonia from about 454 BC to about 413 BC. He was the son of Alexander I. Categories: Stub | Macedonian monarchs ... Thucydides (between 460 and 455 BC–circa 400 BC) was an ancient Greek historian, and the author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens. ...

Henceforward it ranks as the chief Hellenic city west of the Strymon. It had been enrolled as a member of the Delian League in the early days of the league, but it revolted from Athens at the time of its synoecism, and was never again reduced. It formed a base for Brasidas during his expedition (424). In the 4th century it attained to great importance in the politics of the age as the head of the Chalcidic League (r~ KOLIbP Twi- XaX,ainiv). The league may probably be traced back to the period of the peace of Nicias (421), when we find the Chalcidians (ot ~ri OpcL,c~c XaXKu~4jc) taking diplomatic action in common, and enrolled as members of the Argive alliance. The Delian League was an association of Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. As it was led by Athens, it is sometimes pejoratively referred to as the Athenian Empire. ... The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... Brasidas (d. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC - 420s BC - 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC Years: 429 BC 428 BC 427 BC 426 BC 425 BC - 424 BC - 423 BC 422 BC... (5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Invasion of the Celts into Ireland Gauls sack Rome Kingdom of Macedon conquers Persian empire The Scythians are beginning to be absorbed into the Sarmatian people. ... The Peace of Nicias was a peace treaty that was signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in 421 BC, ending the first half of the Peloponnesian War. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC - 420s BC - 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC Years: 426 BC 425 BC 424 BC 423 BC 422 BC - 421 BC - 420 BC 419 BC...

There are coins of the league which can be dated with certainty as early as 405; one specimen may perhaps go back to 415-420. Unquestionably, then, the league originated before the end of the 5th century, and the motive for its formation is almost certainly to be found in the fear of Athenian attack. After the end of the Peloponnesian War the development of the league was rapid. About 390 we find it concluding an important treaty with Amyntas, king of Macedon (the father of Philip), and by 382 it had absorbed most of the Greek cities west of the Strymon, and had even got possession of Pella, the chief city in Macedonia (Xenophon, Hell. V. 2, 12). Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC - 410s BC - 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC Years: 420 BC 419 BC 418 BC 417 BC 416 BC - 415 BC - 414 BC 413 BC... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC - 420s BC - 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC Years: 425 BC 424 BC 423 BC 422 BC 421 BC - 420 BC - 419 BC 418 BC... (6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Demotic becomes the dominant script of ancient Egypt Persians invade Greece twice (Persian Wars) Battle of Marathon (490) Battle of Salamis (480) Athenian empire rises and falls Peloponnesian War... Map of the Greek world at the start of the Peloponnesian War Temple of Apollo at Corinth The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC between the Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian League which included Sparta and Corinth. ... Amyntas II (or III), son of Arrhidaeus, great-grandson of Alexander I, king of Macedon from 393 (or 389) to 369 BC. He came to the throne after the ten years of confusion which followed the death of Archelaus II, the patron of art and literature, and showed the same... Philip II of Macedon (Macedonia) (382 BC - 336 BC), King of Macedon (ruled 359 BC - 336 BC), was the father of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) and Philip III of Macedon. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC - 380s BC - 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC Years: 387 BC 386 BC 385 BC 384 BC 383 BC - 382 BC - 381 BC 380 BC... For other places named Pella, see: Pella (disambiguation). ... Xenophon (circa 427-355 B.C.) was an Athenian citizen, an associate of Socrates, a Philodorian and is known for his writings on Hellenic history and culture. ...

In this year Sparta was induced by an embassy from Acanthus and Apollonia, which anticipated conquest by the league, to send an expedition against Olynthus. After three years of indecisive warfare Olynthus consented to dissolve the confederacy (379). It is clear, however, that the dissolution was little more than formal, as the Chalcidians (XaAiabi~c hirb Op~Kfls) appear, only a year or two later, among the members of the Athenian naval confederacy of 378-377. Twenty years later, in the reign of Philip, the power of Olynthus is asserted by Demosthenes to have been much greater than before the Spartan expedition. The town itself at this period is spoken of as a city of the first rank (ir6~is j-wpiavt5pos), and the league included thirty-two cities. When war broke out between Philip and Athens (357), Olynthus was at first in alliance with Philip. Subsequently, in alarm at the growth of his power, it concluded an alliance with Athens; but in spite of all the efforts of the latter state, and of its great orator Demosthenes, it fell before Philip, who razed it to the ground (348). For the Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War, see Demosthenes (general). ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC - 340s BC - 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 353 BC 352 BC 351 BC 350 BC 349 BC - 348 BC - 347 BC 346 BC 345...

The history of the confederacy of Olynthus illustrates at once the strength and the weakness of that movement towards federation which is one of the most marked features of the later stages of Greek history. The strength of the movement is shown both by the duration and by the extent of the Chalcidic League. It lasted for something like seventy years; it survived defeat and temporary dissolution, and it embraced upwards of thirty cities. Yet, in the end, the centrifugal forces proved stronger than the centripetal; the sentiment of autonomy stronger than the sentiment of union. It is clear that Philips victory was mainly due to the spirit of dissidence within the league itself, just as the victory of Sparta had been (cf. Diod. XVi. 53, 2 with Xen. Hell. V. 2, 24). The mere fact that Philip captured all the thirty-two towns without serious resistance is sufficient evidence of this. It is probable that the strength of the league was more seriously undermined by the policy of Athens than by the action of Sparta. The successes of Athens at the expense of Olynthus, shortly before Philip's accession, must have fatally divided the Greek interest north of the Aegean in the struggle with Macedon. Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian, born at Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira, in the Province of Enna). ...

Modern Olynthos

The modern city, also called Olinthos, sits on a small plateau on the western side of the river Olinthios (in ancient times known as Sandanos) across from the ruins of the ancient city. There is a small museum featuring artifacts recovered from old Olynthus, and at least part of the ruins are open to public tours during daylight hours. Of particular note are some of the earliest known mosaic decorated floors in the ancient Greek world. For alternate uses of the term, see Plateau (disambiguation). ... This article is about a decorative art. ...

Authorities

The chief passages in ancient literature are the Olynthiac Orations of Demosthenes, and Xenophon, Hell. v. 2. See EA Freeman, History of Federal Government, ch. iv.; AHJ Greenidge, Handbook of Greek Constitutional History (1896), p. 228; BV Head, Historia Numorum, pp. 184-186; G Gilbert, Griechische Staatsaltertkmer, vol. ii. pp. 197-198. Edward Augustus Freeman (August 2, 1823 - March 16, 1892) was an English historian. ...

The view taken by all these authorities as to the date of the formation of the Confederacy of Olynthus differs widely from that put forward above. Freeman and Greenidge suppose the league to have originated in 382, Head in 392, Hicks (Manual of Greek Inscriptions, No. 74) before 390. The decisive test is the numismatic one. There are coins of the league in the British Museum which are earlier than 400, and one in the possession of Professor Oman, of Oxford, which he and Mr Head are disposed to think may be as early as 415-420. The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum is one of the worlds greatest and most famous museums. ...

Reference

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.