Troezen
（
Τροιζήν). Now Dhamala; the capital of
Troezenia (
Τροιζηνία), a district
in the southeast of Argolis, on the Saronic Gulf, and opposite the island of Aegina. The town
was situated at some little distance from the coast, on which it possessed a harbour called
Pogon (
Πώγων),
opposite the island of Calauria. Troezen was a very ancient city, and is said to have been
originally called Poseidonia, on account of its worship of Poseidon. It received the name of
Troezen from Troezen, one of the sons of Pelops; and it is celebrated in mythology as the
place where Pittheus, the maternal grandfather of Theseus, lived, and where Theseus himself
was born. In the historical period it was a city of some importance. The Troezenians sent five
ships of war to Salamis and 1000 heavy-armed men to Plataea. When the Persians entered Attica
the Troezenians distinguished themselves by the kindness with which they received the
Athenians, who were obliged to abandon their city (
Herod.viii. 41;
Plut. Them. 10). The friendship continued till
the Peloponnesian War, when the Troezenians allied themselves with Sparta (
Thuc.ii. 56).
