Calydon (Greek: Καλυδών; gen.: Καλυδῶνος) was an ancient Greek city in Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus. According to Greek mythology, the city took its name from its founder Calydon, son of Aetolus. Close to the city stood Mount Zygos, the slopes of which provided the setting for the hunt of the Calydonian Boar. The city housed the important Aetolian sanctuary known as the Laphrion, dedicated to Artemis Laphria and Apollo Laphrios. In 31 BC, the Roman Emperor Octavian removed the population of the city to the new colony of Nicopolis, founded to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Actium earlier that year. At the same time, the Romans removed most of the art and treasures of the city to Patras, including the gold and ivory cultic statue of Artemis. Strabo, in his Geographia, comments on the former beauty of Calydon, which by his time lay desolate: '...Calydon and Pleuron, which are now indeed reduced, though in early times these settlements were an ornament to Greece.'
Coordinates: 38°22′41″N 21°31′58″E / 38.37806°N 21.53278°E
CALYDON (KaXvSeev), an ancient town of Aetolia, according to Pliny, 72 Roman m. from the sea, on the river Euenus. It was said to have been founded by Calydon, son of Aetolus; to have been the scene of the hunting, by Meleager and other heroes, of the famous Calydonian boar, sent by Artemis to lay waste the fields; and to have taken part in the Trojan war. In historical times it is first mentioned (391 B.C.) as in the possession of the Achaeans, who retained it for twenty years, by the assistance of the Lacedaemonian king, Agesilaus, notwithstanding the attacks of the Arcarnanians. After the battle of Leuctra (371 B.C.) it was restored by Epaminondas to the Aetolians. In the time of Pompey it was a town of importance; but Augustus removed its inhabitants to Nicopolis, which he founded to commemorate his victory at Actium (31 B.C.). The walls of Calydon are almost certainly to be recognized, in the Kastro of Kurtaga. These comprise a circuit of over 2 m., with one large gate and five smaller ones, and are situated on a hill on the right or west bank of the Euenus. Remains of large terrace walls outside the town probably indicate the position of the temple of Artemis Laphria, whose gold and ivory statue was transferred to Patras, together probably with her ritual. This included a sacrifice in which all kinds of beasts, wild and tame, were driven into a wooden pyre and consumed.
See W. M. Leake, Travels in N. Greece, i. p. 109, iii. pp. 533 sqq. W. J. Woodhouse, Aetolia, pp. 95 sqq. (E. GR.)
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From Ancient Greek Καλυδών (Kaludōn).
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