A coastal city in Boiotia.
Peneleos and Leitos commanded the Akhaian soldiers from Aulis and 28 other cities in Boiotia. Located near the narrow channel separating Boiotia from the island of Euboia, Aulis served as an ideal place for the Akhaian fleet to assemble for the assault on Troy.
The Akhaians witnessed a remarkable demonstration of the god Zeus's powers during their layover at Aulis. A snake, mottled with blood, appeared from under the altar during a sacrifice. It was clear to all that the snake had been sent by Zeus. The snake slithered to the top of a nearby tree where a mother sparrow lorded over a nest of eight chicks. The snake ate each of the chicks despite their pitiful screaming. Finally, the snake grabbed the mother bird by the wing and ate her too. Zeus turned the snake to stone, confirming the divine origin of the vision. The seer Kalkhas correctly reasoned that each of the nine birds symbolized a year of fighting at Troy and the Trojans finally would be defeated in the tenth year of the war.
The ancient city of Aulis was named after the daughter of Ogygos (Ogygus), son of Boiotus (Boeotus). The reign of King Ogygos in Boiotia supposedly dates back several thousand years before the Trojan War, to a time before the Deluge of Deukalion (Deucalion). The city of Thebes was originally called Ogygos.
| References: Homer, Iliad book 2, lines 303, 496 |