Lilaea was one of the most important ancient Phocian towns, built on the north slopes of Mt. Parnassus.
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Description
The name Lilaea appears for the first time in Homer (Catalogue of Ships) as one of the nine Phocian towns which had participated at the Trojan War. Lilaea was named after the daughter of the river Kephissus, since the city itself was situated close to the sources of the river. A sanctuary dedicated to Artemis and another one, dedicated to the deified river stood there in antiquity. The inhabitants of Lilaea believed that the water of Castalian spring in Delphi was a gift of Kephissus, so some days in the year they threw sweets in the river, thinking that they would surface in Castalia.
Historical and archaeological information
The broader region of Lilaea had been inhabited since the 3rd millennium B.C. Herodotus does not mention it among the Phocian cities which had been destroyed by the Persians, possibly because in those days it was attached to Doris or because it was so well fortified that the Persians never subdued it. The city is also mentioned by Strabo, Pausanias, Ptolemy and Pliny. Lilaea was destroyed during the Third Sacred War by Philip II of Macedonia in 346 B.C., but it was rebuilt during the following years in the course of the project for the reconstruction of the Phocian citadels. Among the visible antiquities of the region count the architectural members by the springs of Agia Eleoussa, where a fountain and the temple of Kephissus lay, as well as the early Byzantine remains of a basilica dedicated to St. Christopher. Another Byzantine church, dated to the 10th-11th century was dedicated to St. Eleoussa. The fortification of the city is evident on the hill "Pyrgos" or "Palaeokastro". During the Frankish period the site was fortified with a new wall.