Aegīna
(
Αἴγινα).
1.
A daughter of the river Asopus, carried away by Zeus under the form of an eagle, from
Phlius to the island of Oenoné. She gave her name to the island.
2.
An island in the Sinus Saronicus, near the coast of Argolis. The earliest accounts given by
the Greeks make it to have been originally uninhabited, and to have been called, while in
this state, by the name of Oenoné; for such is evidently the meaning of the fable,
which states that Zeus, in order to gratify Aeacus, who was alone there, changed a swarm of
ants into men, and thus peopled the island (Pausan. ii, 29, and
Apollod. iii. xii. 7). It afterwards took the name of Aegina, from the daughter of
the Asopus. But, whoever may have been the earliest settlers on the island, it is evident
that its stony and unproductive soil must have driven them at an early period to engage in
maritime affairs. Hence they are said to have been the first who coined money for the purpose
of commerce, and
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Temple of Aegina. (Restoration.)
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used regular measures, a tradition which, though no doubt untrue, still
points very clearly to their early commercial habits. (See
Numismatics.) It is more than probable that their commercial relations
caused the people of Aegina to be increased by colonies from abroad, and Strabo expressly
mentions Cretans among the foreign inhabitants who had settled there. After the return of the
Heraclidae, this island received a Dorian colony from Epidaurus (Pausan. ii. 29), and from
this period the Dorians gradually gained the ascendency in it, until at last it became
entirely Doric, both in language and form of government. Aegina, for a time, was the maritime
rival of Athens, and the competition eventually terminated in open hostilities, in which the
Athenians were only able to obtain advantages by the aid of the Corinthians, and by means of
intestine divisions among their opponents (
Herod.viii. 46, and v.
83). When Darius sent deputies into Greece to demand earth and water, the people of Aegina,
partly from hatred towards the Athenians, and partly from a wish to protect their extensive
commerce along the coasts of the Persian monarchy, gave these tokens of submission (
Herod.vi. 49). For this conduct they were punished by the Spartans. In
the war with Xerxes, therefore, they sided with their countrymen, and acted so brave a part
in the battle of
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West Pediment of the Temple of Aegina.
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Salamis as to be able to contest the prize of valour with the Athenians themselves,
and to bear it off, as well by the universal suffrages of the confederate Greeks (
Herod.viii. 93) as by the declaration of the Pythian oracle. After the
termination of the Persian war, however, the strength of Athens proved too great for them.
Their fleet of seventy sail was annihilated in a sea-fight by Pericles, and many of the
inhabitants were driven from the island, while the remainder were reduced to the condition of
tributaries. The fugitives settled at Thyrea in Cynuria, under the protection of Sparta, and
it was not until after the battle of Aegos-Potamos, and the fall of Athens, that they were
able to regain possession of their native island (
Hist. Gr. ii. 2, 5). They
never attained, however, to their former prosperity. The situation of Aegina made it
subsequently a prize for each succeeding conqueror, until at last it totally disappeared from
history. In modern times the island nearly retains its ancient name, being called Aegina or,
with a slight corruption, Engia, and is often visited by travellers, being beautiful,
fertile, and well cultivated. As far back as the time of Pausanias, the ancient city would
appear to have been in ruins. That writer makes mention of some temples that were standing,
and of the large theatre built after the model of that in Epidaurus. The most remarkable
remnant of antiquity which this island can boast of at the present day is the Temple of
Pallas Athené, situated on a mount of the same name, about four hours' distance
from the port, and which is supposed to be one of the most ancient temples in Greece, and one
of the oldest specimens of the Doric style of architecture. See
Aeginetan Sculptures.