Euboea
Island in GreeceWikipedia
52
MENTIONS
14
EPISODES
12
PODCASTS
Search complete. 52 mentions across 14 episodes found for "Euboea".
Nov 3, 2026
speaker_0HOST
Two years later, a second expedition of roughly 25,000 men sailed under Generals Datis and Artefernes.
speaker_0HOST
They crossed the Aegean, burned Eretria on the island of Euboea, and landed on the plain of Marathon, 26 miles northeast of Athens.
speaker_0HOST
What happened there in 490 BCE became a turning point remembered for centuries.
speaker_0HOST
The Athenian hoplites, heavily armoured and fighting on familiar ground, charged the Persian line at a run.
speaker_0NARRATOR
When the Greeks were besieging Troy, he says, a prophet told them that they could not take the city until they brought to Troy an arrow of Heracles and a bone of Pelops, so the shoulder blade was brought from Pisa.
speaker_0NARRATOR
But on the way home, the ship carrying it was wrecked off the island of Euboea, and the bone was lost.
speaker_0NARRATOR
Many years later, a fisherman named Amarmenos brought up in his net a bone so huge that he was astonished and hid it in the sand.
speaker_0NARRATOR
He went to Delphi to ask whose bone it was and what he should do with it.
13 MINS LATER
speaker_0NARRATOR
It turns, instead, into something darker.
speaker_0NARRATOR
After the race, in the version told by Apollodorus, Pelops set out with Hippodamia and Myrtilos, travelling together, and on the way, Pelops left them for a moment to fetch water for Hippodamia, who was thirsty, and while he was gone, Myrtilos tried to force himself on her.
speaker_0NARRATOR
When Pelops came back, and Hippodamia told him what had happened, He took Myrtilus to a headland called Gerastos, at the southern tip of the island of Euboea, and threw him off the cliff into the sea.
speaker_0NARRATOR
In other versions, there is no attack on Hippodamia.
Scott EmmonsHOST
Well, while Xerxes is waiting for the Greek army to run away, we can turn our attention about 40 miles, or 65 kilometers if you prefer, to the east and check in with the Greek fleet at Artemisium.
Scott EmmonsHOST
Where's Artemisium? In past episodes, I've referred several times to Euboea, which is the long, narrow island that runs parallel to the east coast of central Greece.
Scott EmmonsHOST
A narrow channel called the Euripus runs between Euboea and the mainland.
Scott EmmonsHOST
At the north end of the island is the town of Artemisium, where the Greek fleet was stationed.
Scott EmmonsHOST
From there, a sailor serving in the fleet would look north across a gap to see a peninsula called Magnesia, which juts south and then the tip of it turns westward toward the mainland.
Scott EmmonsHOST
Three Greek ships were out doing reconnaissance when they were attacked by an advance force of Persian vessels.
Scott EmmonsHOST
One of them got away, but the Persians captured two of them.
Scott EmmonsHOST
And according to Herodotus, that spooked the Greek commanders to the point where they withdrew into the Euripus, that strait between Euboea and the mainland.
Robin CotterNARRATOR
Now the Abantis were the first to cut their hair in this manner, not under instruction from the Arabians, as some suppose, nor yet in emulation of the Mysians, but because they were warlike men and close fighters, who had learned beyond all other men to force their way into close quarters with their enemies.
Robin CotterNARRATOR
Archilochus is witness to this in the following words, Not many bows indeed will be stretched tight, nor frequent slings be whirled, when Ares joins men in the moil of war, upon the plain but swords will do their mournful work, for this is the warfare wherein those men are expert, who lord it over Euboea and are famous with the spear.
Robin CotterNARRATOR
Therefore in order that they might not give their enemies a hold by their hair, they cut it off.
Robin CotterNARRATOR
And Alexander of Macedon doubtless understood this, when, as they say, he ordered his generals to have the beards of their Macedonians shaved, since these afforded the readiest hold in battle.
1 HR 2 MINS LATER
Robin CotterNARRATOR
But when he desired to rule again as before and to direct the state, he became involved in factions and disturbances.
Robin CotterNARRATOR
He found that those who hated him when he went away had now added to their hatred contempt, and he saw a large part of the people were corrupted and wished to be cajoled into service instead of doing silently what they were told to do.
Robin CotterNARRATOR
Attempting then to force his wishes upon them, he was overpowered by demagogues and factions, and finally, despairing of his cause, he sent his children away privately into Euboea to Elephenor, the son of Chalcodon, while he himself, after invoking curses upon the Athenians at Gargettus, where there is to this day the place called Aratorion, sailed away to the island of Scyros, where the people were friendly to him, as he thought, and where he had ancestral estates.
Robin CotterNARRATOR
Now Lycomedes was at that time king of Scyros.
speaker_2NARRATOR
Then also, King Philip, consider how the Thropenny bit in another and actual way, not of pure reason, but, if I may say so, in a material manner, commends itself, for is it not true that whereas all other nations whatsoever, being by nature servile, will use a nickel-piece, or some other denomination for whatever is small, but it is not of bronze, The Macedonians, being deigned by the gods for the command of all the human race, have very tenaciously clung to the thruppenny bit, through good and through evil repute, and have, even under the sternest penalties, enforced it upon their conquered subjects.
speaker_2NARRATOR
For when your majesty discovered, if you will remember, that the people of Euboea, in manifest contempt of your crown, paid back your majesty's treasure all their taxes in the shape of thruppenny bits, At this moment King Philip gave a loud shout, uttering in Greek the word Eureka, which signifies, to those who drop their H's, I've got it.
speaker_2NARRATOR
"'Got what?' said the philosopher, startled into a common diction by the unexpected interjection of the despot.
speaker_2NARRATOR
"'Get out!' said King Philip.
speaker_2NARRATOR
"'You suppose that any rambling Don is going to take up my time when by sheer accident his verbosity has started me on a true scent?' Out, Aristotle, out! Or stay, take this note with you to the captain of the guard.
speaker_2NARRATOR
And King Philip hastily scribbled upon a parchment an order for the immediate execution of the whole of the inhabitants of Euboea, saving such as could redeem themselves at the price of ten drachma, or said some, upon no account whatsoever, to be paid in coin containing so much as one threepenny-bit.
speaker_2NARRATOR
but the offended philosopher had departed and being well wound up could not any more than any other member of the academies cease from spouting so that king philip was intolerably aggravated to hear him as he waddled down the palace stairs still declaiming in a loud tone and sixteenthly the threepenny bit has about it this noble quality that it represents an eloquent part of that sum which is paid to me daily from the royal treasury in silver a metal upon which we have always insisted and seventeenthly but king philip banged the door
speaker_0ADVERTISER
At Vrbo, we understand that even the best of plans sometimes need a little support.
Adrian GoldsworthyGUEST
So they go home, the other king goes home, and Cleomenes is left with not much of an army, so abandons it.
Adrian GoldsworthyGUEST
And his allies from Thebes and from Eretria on this big island, Euboea, which is to the the east of Attica, the Athenians defeat both of them in turn.
Adrian GoldsworthyGUEST
So it's one of those interesting things.
Adrian GoldsworthyGUEST
Herodotus, who tells us about this, tells us that when the Athenians became democratic, the biggest change was that they became much better at fighting.
speaker_4NARRATOR
He found that those who hated him when he went away, had now added to their hatred contempt, and he saw a large part of the people were corrupted, and wished to be cajoled into service, instead of doing silently what they were told to do.
speaker_4NARRATOR
Attempting then to force his wishes upon them, he was overpowered by demagogues and factions, and finally, despairing of his cause, he sent his children away privately into Euboea, to Elephenor, the son of Chalcodon, while he himself, after invoking curses upon the Athenians at Gargetus, where there is to this day the place called Araterion, sailed away to the island of Scyros, where the people were friendly to him, as he thought, and where he had ancestral estates.
speaker_4NARRATOR
Now Lycomedes was at that time king of Scyros.
speaker_4NARRATOR
To him, therefore, Theseus applied with the request that his lands should be restored to him, since he was going to dwell there, though some say that he asked his aid against the Athenians.
5 HRS 13 MINS LATER
Graham RedmanNARRATOR
There they lie buried with their faces toward the setting sun.
Graham RedmanNARRATOR
Thereupon Solon sailed by night to the island, and made sacrifices to the heroes Periphemus and Sicyrius.
Graham RedmanNARRATOR
Then he took five hundred Athenian volunteers, a decree having been made that these should be supreme in the government of the island if they took it, and setting sail with a number of fishing boats convoyed by a thirty-oared ship, he anchored off the island of Salamis at a point of land looking towards Euboea.
Graham RedmanNARRATOR
But the Megarians in the city of Salamis, hearing only an uncertain report of what had happened, armed themselves hurriedly and set out for the place, at the same time dispatching a ship to spy out the enemy.
JJ VanceGUEST
It's a, it's a variation of ancient Greek.
JJ VanceGUEST
Says Lake Athens, Eu- Euboea had a form of lambda that resembled the Latin form of sigma.
Tim ConstantineHOST
But, but they-
JJ VanceGUEST
It's, it's similar
Tim ConstantineHOST
The, the-
JJ VanceGUEST
No, no.
JJ VanceGUEST
The, the language and the alphabet, their Euboea alphabet...
JJ VanceGUEST
Oh, was I not sharing that?
speaker_0NARRATOR
All mountain peaks and high headlands of lofty hills and rivers flowing out to the deep, and beaches sloping seawards, and havens of the sea are your delight.
speaker_0NARRATOR
Shall I sing how at the first Leto bare you to be the joy of men, as she rested against Mount Synthus in that rocky isle in secret Delos, while on either hand a dark wave rolled on landwards, driven by shrill winds, whence arising you rule over all mortal men? Among those who are in Crete, and in the township of Athens, and in the isle of Aegina and Euboea, famous for ships, in aege and iresae and paparethus near the sea in thracian athos and pelion's towering heights and thracian samos and the shady hills of ida in syros and phocaea and the high hill of otokane and fair-lying imbros and smouldering lemnos and rich lesbos home of machar the son of iolus and chios brightest of all the isles that lie in the sea and craggy mimis and the heights of coricus and gleaming claros and the sheer hill of isagia and watered samos and the steep heights of mycale in miletus and cos the city of meropean men and steep nidos and windy carpathos in naxos and paros and rocky so far roamed leto in travail with the god who shoots afar to see if any land would be willing to make a dwelling for her son but they greatly trembled and feared and none not even the richest of them dared receive phoebus until queenly leto set foot on delos and uttered winged words and asked her Delos, if you would be willing to be the abode of my son, Phoebus Apollo, and make him a rich temple, for no other will touch you, as you will find, and I think you will never be rich in oxen and sheep, nor bear vintage, nor yet produce plants abundantly.
speaker_0NARRATOR
But if you have the temple of far-shooting Apollo, all men will bring you hecatombs and gather here.
speaker_0NARRATOR
an incessant savour of rich sacrifice will always arise and you will feed those who dwell in you from the hand of strangers for truly your own soil is not rich so spake leto and delos rejoiced and answered and said leto most glorious daughter of great joyfully would i receive your child the far-shooting lord for it is all too true that i am ill-spoken of among men whereas thus i should become very greatly honoured but this saying i fear and i will not hide it from you they say that apollo will be one that is very haughty and will greatly lord it among the gods and men all over the fruitful earth therefore i greatly fear in heart and spirit that as soon as he sees the light of the sun HE WILL SCORN THIS ISLAND, FOR TRULY I HAVE BUT A HARD ROCKY SOIL, AND OVERTURN ME AND THRUST ME DOWN WITH HIS FEET IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA.
8 MINS LATER
speaker_0NARRATOR
And they, even gold-tressed Leto and wise Zeus, rejoice in their great hearts as they watch their dear son playing among the undying gods.
speaker_0NARRATOR
How then shall I sing of you, though in all ways you are a worthy theme for song? Shall I sing of you as wooer, and in the fields of love, how you went wooing the daughter of Azan, along with godlike Iscus, the son of well-horsed Alateus, or with Forbus sprung from Triops, or with Eurytheus, or with Leucippus, and the wife of Leucippus, you on foot, he with his chariot, yet he fell not short of Triops? Or shall I sing how at the first you went about the earth seeking a place of oracle for men, O far-shooting Apollo? To Paeria first you went down from Olympus, and passed by Sandilectus, and Enienae, and through the land of the Peribi.
speaker_0NARRATOR
Soon you came to Iolcus, and set foot in Canium, in Euboea, famed for ships.
speaker_0NARRATOR
You stood in the Lelantine plain, but it pleased not your heart to make a temple there, and wooded groves.
Leon HarveyNARRATOR
In the Aegean Islands, 41%.
Leon HarveyNARRATOR
In Euboea, 28%.
Leon HarveyNARRATOR
In the Ionian Islands, 26.59%.
Leon HarveyNARRATOR
In Thessaly, 74%.
1 HR LATER
Leon HarveyNARRATOR
But enough evidence exists to make it likely that malaria was never absent.
Leon HarveyNARRATOR
Heliodorus, the novel writer, mentions fever, while Xenophon, another author of the same school, shows how common faith cures and other superstitious methods of treatment must have been.
Leon HarveyNARRATOR
A late Athenian inscription refers to Quartan fever, and a similar one has been found in Euboea.
Leon HarveyNARRATOR
Both of these seem to be borrowing the words of the curse in Deuteronomy.
4 more episodes mention Euboea.
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