A city in Phokis (Phocis).
To quote Pausanias: "About twenty-seven stades (2.6 miles) distant from Panopeus is Daulis. The men there are few in number, but for size and strength no Phokians (Phocians) are more renowned even to this day. They say that the name of the city is derived from Daulis, a Nymph, the daughter of the Kephisos (Cephisus). Others say that the place, on which the city was built, was wooded, and that such shaggy places (dasea) were called daula by the ancients."
During the Trojan War, Schedios (Schedius) and Epistrophos (Epistrophus) commanded the Achaian (Achaean) soldiers from Phokis including the cities of Daulis, Anemoreia, Hyampolis, Krisa (Crisa), Kyparissos (Cyparissus), Lilaia (Lilaea), Panopeus, Pytho, and the vicinity of the Kephisos (Cephisus) River.
Philomela and Prokne (Procne)
A disturbing incident is related to Daulis. Pandion, one of the early kings of Athens, wanted to secure an alliance with a neighboring tyrant named Tereus, a Thracian who ruled Dailis. Tereus was a barbarian by birth and temperament. Pandion had two daughters, Philomela and Prokne. He arranged for Prokne to marry Tereus in order to seal their bond of mutual cooperation.
Prokne and Tereus had a son and named him Itys. Tereus sent Prokne to live in the country, which gave him the opportunity to pursue a romantic relationship with Prokne's sister Philomela. Tereus said Prokne was dead and married Philomela. When Philomela found out the truth Tereus cut out her tongue so she could tell no one what had happened. Philomela cleverly embroidered her sad fate on a robe, which Prokne eventually saw.
In a fit of utter desperation, Prokne killed her son Itys, cooked him and served the flesh to Tereus. She proudly announced her deed to Tereus and fled with Philomela but they had no place to hide. In a remarkable act of divine intervention, Prokne and Philomela were transformed into birds, a nightingale and swallow respectively. Both birds bear the red coloring of the blood that was shed on their behalf. Tereus shared a similar fate, he was transformed into a hoopoe, with a long beak symbolizing the weapon he wielded in pursuit of the young women.
Latitude North, Longitude East
38.5074, 22.7288
| References: Pausanias, Description of Greece book 10.4.7 Homer, Iliad book 2, line 520 Ovid, The Metamorphoses book 6, 495–675 Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War book 2.29.3 Apollodorus, The Library book 3.14.8 |