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Elias Kapetanopoulos
Professor Dr. [Greece-Rome]
Department of History
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT 06050-4010 [USA]
Telephone: (860) 832-2820 (office) – (860) 229-9960 (home)
E-mail: Kapetanopoulos@ccsu.edu
Web site: www.history.ccsu.edu/elias/elias.htm
Areas of research: Attic epigraphy-Athenian institutions of
the Roman period (200 B.C.-3rd c. A.D.), and early Makedon(ia): Makedones as
Hellenes.
The Greek font is Athenian+Unicode. All rights reserved.
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MEROS AÉ > Part A
31 Dek. 2003 > 31
Dec. 2003 = 2 ÉIan. = 23 Dekembr€ou 2005 > 2 Jan. = 23
December 2005
Taliaros-Kapsalia [Tãliarow-Kacãlia]
[1525 m.], shown in part in front of Smolikas [2637 m.], is delineated by the
woody, dark horizontal line.
Photograph is reproduced from Makedonis V: MakBibliogrMerosA.htm [this
web site]; there see also under Hammond, N.G.L., <<The Ethne in Epirus and Upper
Macedonia>>. Taliaros is
also mentioned under Makedonis I [herein]. Mt. Boion [BÒÛon ˆrow=ÉAh-Liçw, 1805 m.] from whose lower
elevation the above photograph was taken by this writer is to the viewer’s back
(Orestis: Eparchia Boiou, Nomos Kozanes=ÉOrest€w:
ÉEparx€a Bo˝ou, NomoË Kozãnhw).
As Andreas Takalios [ÉAndr°aw
TakaliÚw] told this writer over the phone [31-12-2003] from Pentalophos
(Pentãlofow), [Tå Zmpãnia of <<KiÉ •jakÒsioi tre›w piastÆkan pareuyÁw ka‹ trãba
efiw tÚ Zoupãni nå toÁw de›w>>, commemorating the capture of 603
Italian soldiers [battalion from Grebena] by the people of Boion=BÒÛon and immediate area, 3 March 1943, at
the FardÊkampow/Mpãra/Mpougãzi Pass
of Siatista (Siãtista)], a
significant discovery has been made by chance at the Kapsalia-Taliaros by
Lampros Blioras [Lãmprow (=Xarãlampow) Bli≈raw] who was opening with
his bulldozer (§kskaf°aw) a new road
there.
The archaeological yield is impressive and consists of
pottery [going back to the 9th cent. B.C.] and a good number of weapons, even a
sarissa, including arrow heads.
Three archaeologists responded from Aiane, but they could
not visit the area where the weapons, etc., were found on account of the heavy
rains [country roads impassable]. This writer visited the site [22-7-04].
Spear points [dorata], from bottom: sword, sarissa point?;
from top, arrow point, third: curved knife, which may be the copis/kop‹w
in Curtius Rufus, 8.14.29: Copidas vocabant gladios leviter curvatos, falcibus
similes, …=makglossikaMerosB’3.htm herein (weapons show rusting) [photograph
provided by Stergios Tarnanas; scanned by this writer]. Ostraka, below.
(24-8-04)
Ostraka found at the site with the spear points [dorata] above, varying in date, 6th c.-Hellenistic period [photograph provided by Stergios Tarnanas; scanned by this writer]. (24-8-04)
See Newsletter, 30 Nov. 2005, vol.
9. No. 2 [American Society of Greek and Latin Epigraphy] 4, under Notes from
Members.
The Kapsalia, as noted elsewhere in this web site [Makedonis
V: MakBibliogrMerosA.htm, under Hammond, N.G.L., <<The Ethne in Epirus and Upper Macedonia>>], took
their name from the old practice of clearing out areas by fire for agricultural
purposes [there were also threshing floors [èl≈nia]
for the thrashing of the grain at the spot]. The cultivation of fields [xvrãfia] continued into the recent past
[with cultivation still taking place in the Eptachori(on) territory, besides
lumbering]. Moreover, some years ago the area was also full of flocks (goats,
sheep, and a number of horses/mules) during the summers. Departing at the end
of October [26 ÉOktvbr€ou, ÑAg€ou Dhmhtr€ou=26
October, St. Demetrios Day] the flocks [kopãdia/po€mnia]
wintered (stå xeimadiå/mantriå) in
Thessaly, and returned to Skapiton/Taliaros at the end of April [23 ÉApril€ou, ÑAg€ou Gevrg€ou=23 April, St.
George Day]. This transhumance moved through Grebena [Grebenå], and Chasia [Xãsia]
and ended at the immediate area of Tyrnabos [TÊrnabow],
with the movement being repeated at the end of April, as the flocks now moved
back to Skapiton/Taliaros [Skapito(n) (on the other side; skapit«, disappear from sight) is known
also as Phk‹y=§p°keina=on the other side of the mountain/bounÚ by the name of Rmçn=Roumãni,
facing Pentalophos]. In the
older days there was also some wintering of goats/sheep done in the Skapiton,
with the construction of appropriate kalÊbew/huts
[the best known and remembered is Tsitsikl∞
≤ kalÊba/<<Tsitsikles’ hut>> which was still preserved some
forty years ago (presently such wintering in the Pentalophos area is very
reduced)]. Probably the ancient Makedones of this area [and elsewhere]
maintained such pastoral establishments, truly echoing Eumaios and his hut of
Homer’s Odyssey, Bk. XIV. When this area
had <<life>> in modern times [cultivated fields, flocks of animals,
etc.]* there were partridges [p°rdikew]
of distinct beauty and singing, feeding in groups, and hares [lago‹=lagvo‹]
on the sunny [prosÆlio] side of
Skapiton [some hares can still be found, while this writer met p°rdikew on a higher elevation and remote
from Skapiton], while in the river below [megãlo
potãmi], almost dry in summers, tasty fish of a blackish color [they can
still be seen]. Moreover, bears, wild boars and some zarkãdia [roes] are still there [in earlier days there were §lãfia (deer), and égriÒgida (wild goats) in
the Boion area, which disappeared around 1930 when hit by a disease, called kvlamãra [paralysis of hind legs]; and of course lÊkoi (wolves), élp¢w=élepoËdew (foxes), lÊgkew [lynxes], and whatever else [and not to leave out the stauraeto‹ [a kind of eagle] and ˆrnia/gÊpew [vultures] which no longer fly the sky of the area].
[[While hunting for mushrooms, a subtle delicacy worth roaming through the
forests of the Pentalofos region,** in another area than the one considered
here and rather recently a few roof tile fragments were observed by this writer-in
the Riachobo/Riãxvbo area, as it is
recalled, some distance to the east from Skapiton]].
The new discoveries
appear to bear out the old practice of farming wooded areas, that is, the
ancient Makedones who occupied this area may have done the same thing; on the
other hand, the weapons may indicate a military post there, and Taliaros may have formed the
boundary between Epeiros and Upper Makedonia [the passage through of an army and bivouacking there is
excluded, since the pottery goes
back to the 9th cent. B.C.]. Taliaros-Kapsalia is more or less on the same line
with Polyneri, Nomos Grebenwn=Polun°ri NomoË Greben«n, where again
important discoveries have been made (see in this web site, under
MakBibliogrMerosB.htm: TUMFAIA [Kastr€, Polun°ri Greben«n], Polup°rxvn/blaxox≈ria country). The western side of Taliaros facing
Smolikas more or less overlooks to the left [from viewer’s side] the
Tseros/Lykokremasma [Ts°row-Lukokr°masma, NtoutskÚ=DotsikÚn] Pass/Passage used during the Ottoman period by raiding
companies of Tourkoarbanitades,
and in more recent times the Italians attacking from Albania tried to
advance through the Lykokremasma, but they met a quick defeat in the Battle of
Pindos (H Mãxh t∞w P€ndou),
November (No°mbriow)
1940, with the cavalry playing a leading role in this Greek victory (NOTE,
recent events: In the first week of July 1944 [2-12 July=N.G.L. Hammond, DUTIKH
MAKEDONIA: SUMMAXIKH
STRATIVTIKH APOSTOLH 1943-1944, met. P.I. Papayanas€ou, EKDOSEIS PAPAZHSH
(AYHNA [1990]) 134],
when the Germans swept through this area the whole population of Pentalofos
[following Agios Kosmas’ instructions of the end of the 18th c.], the antartes
and the British Mission at Pentalofos sought refuge in the extended area of
Taliaros and to the south [Skãpiton=Skapiton], extending to at least Polyneri [Basilitsa (Basil€tsa) near Polyneri at the time served
as the <<éerodrÒmio=airport>> where the British dropped supplies and l€rew (British gold sovereigns, for the
antartes and the Italians above and the British Mission)] – with the exception
of some casualties the Germans dislodged neither the antartes nor the British -
as soon as the Germans vacated the
area the antartes and the British instantly reappeared). The Tseros-Lykokremasma Pass must have
been very important in antiquity, too, as Taliaros and Polyneri and other sites
still to be discovered will eventually show. And the name Taliaros appears to go to the ancient Talares
of this immediate area [see under Makedonis I and Makedonis V:
MakBibliogrMerosA.htm, under Hammond, N.G.L., <<The Ethne in Epirus and Upper Macedonia>> in
this web site].
At any rate, it must be awaited for the full investigation
of the discovery/area, and what the archaeological new findings may tell.
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*The area supplied
timber, firewood [and still does], acorns [for pigs, goats, sheep], mushrooms
[in greater quantities than today], lime [ésb°sth],
as limestone kilns [ésbestÒfournoi/kam€nia]
were operated there, tender oak tree branches [klad‹]
and grass [xÒrto] to feed the animals
in the winter, pine wood splinters [dad‹]
to light the fire and use as light at night, cedar bushes [k°dra] used to bake the bread and pitta [p€tta], and in the spring to collect rad€kia (dandelions) and lãpata (sorrels) to be dried for winter
time [sacks of them – sakiã], etc.
There were wild apple trees [égriomhli°w],
pear trees [égriogkortsi¢w] with
small, round fruit best when overripe [and some are still there but old, gerasm°new], plum trees [égriokoromhli°w], producing yellow
olive-shaped plums [korÒmhla],
ripening late in fall and they can be eaten then but mostly used to make jnãda/junãda, a kind of sour
<<preserve/jam>> that stirred the body to life. Cornel-trees [krani¢w] are also found, especially by the
river bank and the country chapel (§jvkl∞si)
of Agios Nikolaos/St. Nicholas=ÑAh-MkÒlaw/ÜAgiow
NikÒlaow.
The area has a variety of trees, oaks, particularly of the
ones called ts°row [of at least two
kinds], which are distinguished from
the ¥merow d°ntrow (<<domesticated
oak>>) which produces acorns that even humans can eat [during the
Italian/German occupation, 1941-1944, some acorn flour was used for bread and
acorns were roasted to make [Greek] coffee], cedars [k°dra], beech [Ùju¢w],
pines [peÊka], firs [¶lata], plane-trees [platãnia], etc. The pines and firs are on
the rise, reaching close to Pentalophos, and their appearance has done havoc to
the chestnut trees [tå kamãria toË
PentalÒfou], as well as a chestnut tree disease which manifested itself
in recent times, as the fulloj°ra=phylloxera
of some fifty years ago eliminated the vineyards and their sar€kia/rozak€, kastorianå [kÒkkina mosxãta], nt°mpnew
[êspra eÈ≈dh stafÊlia], and others
[present grapes in no way can compare to the nobility of these old ones]. In
the Skapito(n) near Splena [Spl∞na,
lower neck [aÈx°naw] of Roumãni (above)], there was a lonely,
isolated colony of chestnut trees[TÉSamarç
ofl kastani°w]. Today they are not to be seen, as the pines/firs have
taken over. The other thing to be mentioned is that the area under review lacks
good (watering) springs in the summer. NOTE. The Taliaros forest, including the
lower forest of Boion facing Taliaros, had been destroyed by a great fire in
1945, but today one cannot tell that the area had experienced such a
conflagration [the forest is fully grown].
The people, that is, ofl
pappoËdew (ancestors), of some one hundred years ago, or more, had
constructed slab roads [kalntir€mia]
to reach the area of Skapiton. Traces of them are still to be seen, and one can
tread paths created by human feet years ago [since human feet have been
mentioned, this writer while out to gather tsãi
(the aromatic mountain tea) with Triantãfullow
(jãderfow) and K≈staw (ge€tonaw)
came upon a rock with a clear and distinct human footprint [‡xnow podioË/patsiå] – on the same line as
Skapiton but closer to Eptachori – it has been photographed].
** Kinds of
mushrooms (e‡dh manitari«n): basilikå (basilika)=<<regal>>,
which can be the size of large pans [very tasty fird with or without garlic,
etc.] – giantsãrew (giantsares)(Amanita Caesarea=ÉAman€thw toË Ka€sara) of special taste and
color [some would eat them raw, but best fried with eggs or roasted (baked)
with olive oil (a wandering salesman=manãbhw
gave this writer a giantsara which he had found, but he called it kokkinoËska = something like kokkinoskouf€tsa)] – kalogrãkia (kalograkia) (Boletus
Aereus/Boletus Reticulatus=Bvl€thw ı xalkÒxrvmow/Bvl€thw ı diktuvtÚw)
[again a very tasty mushroom fired, roasted, etc.] – mourts°kia (mourtsekia) (Morchella Esculenta=Morx°lla ≤ fag≈simh [not plentiful and used
to be found in vineyards – they can be eaten differently, but roasting brings
out their juices and aroma] – probatomãntara/probatomãntarew/probatomantãrew
(probatomantara/probatomantares), usually found where animals have bedded
[again roasting is good for their juices and taste] (in appearance there is a
resemblance with the bella mushrooms) – ftãkia (ftakia, literally
<<ears>> (Cantharellus Cibarius=Kanyar€skow
ı fag≈simow) of a reddish-orangy-yellowish color, they are the ambrosia
when fried with eggs. LASTLY there are the numerous galats€dew (galatsides, milky-mushrooms) [some of them are
poisonous, but in any case the galatsides are not eaten in the Pentalofos area]
– this is also true of the snaÛãkia (snaiakia) (Boletus Satanas=Bvl€thw ı Satanãw) [others would eat this
kind of mushroom after some sort of treatment – they are easy to recognize and
become bluish when broken – however, this writer found a mushroom that clearly
was a Boletus Satanas, but it had taken the form of a regular Boletus
Aereus/Reticulatus]. These mushrooms must have been present in ancient times
and must have been part of the Makedones’ diet. NOTE. One other thing to be
mentioned here is the patatÒmplo (=patatÒmhlo=patatomplo) [=potatoapple] found
in the vineyards of some areas. They grow/grew like potatoes underground and
had a distinct taste and they were the <<connoiseurs’ victims>>
[eaten raw].
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DIAITA/FAGHTA=Diet/Food.
Bread (cvm€), almost exclusively made of wheat flour
(as the pittes below), was the chief component, followed by the p€ttew (pittes, just pittes
and not pies). A variety of traditional pittes were/are made: prasÒpta=prassÒpitta (leek pitta), kolokuyÒpta=kolokuyÒpitta (pumpkin pitta), lapatÒpta=lapatÒpitta (sorrel/dock pitta), piturÒpta=petourÒpitta [made of individual leaves/layers=p°toura],
turÒpta=turÒpitta [with feta/f°ta or other type of cheese], aÈgatÒpta=aÈgatÒpitta [made with eggs and sometimes at the
moment with twelve eggs to please individual desires], mpountsÒpta=mpountsÒpitta [made with onions and plums/korÒmhla – this pitta was baked in a mpÒntsa, made of clay and hay], galatÒpta=galatÒpitta [made of specially <<fermented>>
milk – not the order of the day – this writer ate it only once, but of an
extraordinary taste], zumarÒpta=zumarÒpitta [made
of individually baked layers], paspatÒpta=paspatÒpitta [a
mixture of vegetables (xortarikå) and flour or disolved in water
– it made its appearance during the Katoxh=German/Italian occupation, 1941-1944
(a healthy treat)], kromdÒpta=kremmudÒpitta [best
with kremmudãkia=scallions], traxanÒpta=traxanÒpitta [of crushed wheat=traxançw (it had its distinctiveness)]. The best of
pittes were made with the mill ground wheat flour and l€da/l€gda (specially prepared lard) or with butter
(of goat’s or sheep’s milk) or olive oil. Placed in the appropriate pan (tac‹) they were baked covered with the gãstra (gastra) [the round shield-shaped cover]
(the best pittes and gkioub°tsia [gkioubetsia/gkiouvetsia] were those that had been baked with klÆmata=over a fire of grape vine branches - the gkioub°tsi [singular] usually consisted/consists of
a plãth [of a young goat/lamb shoulder], cooked with rice, macaroni, potatoes,
for example).
With the advent
of corn/kalampÒki, kalamkÒptew=kalampokÒpittew were made [usually in layers and a mix of pumpkin
cubes which gave a sweet taste to the pitta affected, although the old [than
present] corn flour had a sweetness itself],
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The Homeric-like life of this area [which brings one closer
to the Homeric epics’ life style] survived to about 1950, with accelerated
changes after that year, and particularly after 1970. The economics of the area may throw some light on how the
ancient Makedones existed in this mountainous area. There was a limited
cultivation of wheat (sitãri), barley (kriyãri)
and rye (br€za), besides corn (kalampÒki)
of modern times [plus ta˛
(tai), a kind of fodder for large animals:
mules, horses, etc.].
The k∞poi=<<gardens>>
mostly in the periphery of the town (Pentalophos in this instance) beans (fasÒlia), leeks (prãssa),
onions (kremmÊdia/krommÊdia) and pumpkins (kolokÊyew)
[plus potatoes and tomatoes of modern times were planted].
Commonly present fruit trees, which had been planted: almond trees (émugdali¢w),
pear trees (éxladi¢w/gkortsi¢w=épidi¢w), plum (prune) trees (damaskhni¢w) [of at least two kinds, small
and large fruit, and again of great taste], walnut trees (karudi¢w)
mostly by river/stream banks, cherry trees
(kerasi¢w) [all of these may
not have been planted (there were some wild cherry trees=égriokerasi¢w), but their fruit was very
tasty], plum trees (koromhli¢w)
[a number of them must have been native, that is no human planting], quince
trees (kudvni¢w) [two kinds, (1) could be eaten raw, (2) needed
preparation (various glukå made)], peach trees (rodakini¢w)
[limited in number, but the fruit had a distinct aroma and taste that
contemporary peaches lack], and vines (émp°li/kl∞ma/êmpelow, commented
above). The Skapiton (above) is
not conducive to that type of fruit tree growing.
SELF-grown trees: (1) Cornel-trees (krani¢w) [producing
two kinds of reddish fruit (berries?) late summer-fall – one kind, the fruit
can be eaten like cherries, but the other kind tends to be sour (a kind of
liqueur is made with the fruit (krãna)
called krãno (krano) of
krana+sugar+Metaxa (or something else)+sun in a glass vase– the krano also
serves as a sort of medicine for minor annoyances (stomach, etc.)]. In some
places the cornel-trees formed a small forest [there is also a kind of
cornel-tree/bush that does not produce fruit]. (2) Hazelnut trees/actually bushes (ftoukaru¢w=fountouki¢w=leptokaru¢w),
growing in large numbers and producing late summer/fall hazel nuts (ftÒkara=fountoÊkia=leptokãrua). (3) the sourbiå
(sorb-apple tree), very limited but of distinct fruit when properly ripe. (4)
filouriå (filÊra – lime/linden tree?) [it produces
elongated flowers which are used as tea or for minor medicinal purposes – when
in full bloom, its aroma betrays its presence from a distance]. (5) The other native tree to be mentioned is the chestnut tree (kastaniå=kastan°a)
forming distinct forests and producing the chestnuts (kãstana) of varied sizes but of a sweet taste (boiled or
roasted), but as mentioned above the chestnut trees are on the decline due to
disease, neglect and the pine/fir aggressor/intruder. Besides the fruit the
chestnut trees gave timber, firewood, and fodder=leafy, dried branches for the
animals in winter. All these supplemented the people’s subsistence diet.
This type of natural environment probably existed in
antiquity as well in some degree and illumines in a way the ancient Makedones
of Taliaros and Grantiska [which the soldiers in 1947-1949 renamed the DÒnti = <<Tooth>>] (and in a
way resembles a tooth). For Grantiska, see herein in this web site
(photographs, etc.). The broken (pottery) shards begin its life in the Bronze
Age and the Roman coin(s) extend(s) it to late antiquity.
Sunex€zetai/continued:
MEROS BÉ > PART B=TaliarosB1(A-M).htm, TaliarosB1(N-
V).htm, TaliarosB2.htm.
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Elias Kapetanopoulos
Professor Dr. [Greece-Rome]
Department of History
Central Connecticut State University
New Britain, CT 06050-4010 [USA]
Telephone: (860) 832-2820 (office) – (860) 229-9960 (home)
E-mail: Kapetanopoulos@ccsu.edu
Web site: www.history.ccsu.edu/elias/elias.htm
Areas of research: Attic epigraphy-Athenian institutions of
the Roman period (200 B.C.-3rd c. A.D.), and early Makedon(ia): Makedones as
Hellenes.
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