- Type
- Fortress
- Location
- Central Greece, Greece
- Coordinates
- 38.3194°, 23.3167°
History
In the Mycenaean age, in the 14th–13th centuries BC, the hill that myth says Cadmus founded was crowned by a palace, in whose ruins Linear B tablets and cylinder seals from the Near East have been found. In the classical period the Cadmea was the fortified heart of Thebes. In 382 BC the Spartan commander Phoebidas seized it by treachery in peacetime, and in 379 BC Theban conspirators led by Pelopidas drove the Spartan garrison out. When Alexander the Great razed Thebes in 335 BC, a Macedonian garrison remained in the citadel. In the Middle Ages, under Frankish rule in the Duchy of Athens, the Saint-Omer family built a castle on the hill, of which a tower survives.
What to see
The Cadmea hill is now the centre of the town of Thiva, and the remains of the Mycenaean palace have been uncovered in scattered excavations between the houses. On the edge of the hill stands the stone tower of the Frankish castle, and right beside it the Archaeological Museum of Thebes with Linear B tablets, painted sarcophagi and finds from the palace.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q1276854
Popularity: articles about this site in 18 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).