Two harbours in Troezen?

A topographical miscellany

Abstract

Original title: Zwei Häfen in Troizen? Eine topographische Miszelle

The purpose of this short article is a critical review of the assumption sometimes made by scholars that the polis Troezen located on the Akte peninsula had two equally important harbours. Literary evidence attests a harbour near the ancient village Kelenderis, although its exact location in the so-called Pogon bay between Methana and Poros has not yet been identified. In contrast, the identification of the epigraphically attested toponym Psipha as the hypothetical second harbour of Troezen and its equation with the harbour Schoenitas, which several literary sources place at the coast of the Akte, is not beyond doubt. Since no structural remains have thus far been found along the bay on the west side of the Isthmus of Methana, we may speculate that it was in fact a small fishing harbour.