J. Z. van Rookhuijzen | Session 1 Battle of Plataea Conference
Channel: The Center for Hellenic Studies
Date: 2022-06-22

The Topographical Quest for the Battlefield of Plataea

J. Z. van Rookhuijzen (Leiden University)

This paper revisits the topography of the battle of Plataea. After a short introduction on the traditional way of studying the topography, I give some theoretical considerations into topographical narratives, focusing on Jan Assmann’s concept of mnemotope (place of memory). I then discuss the stories and sites of three ‘landmarks’ at the battle of Plataea: the Gargaphia spring, the temple of Hera, and the temple of Demeter. With this exploration, I aim to show that the topography of Herodotus’ account of the battle of Plataea was densified into a series of mnemotopes around which stories crystallized. The several positions of the Greeks were ‘concatenated’ into a series of ‘points’ on the map. In addition, it reveals the belief that local divinities had influenced the outcome of the battle (as is also apparent from other Herodotean battle narratives).