Ethras

Overview

Ethras is an ancient city‑state remembered as a focal center of a theoric golden age. Depictions show an acropolis of hilltop temples associated with the Deolaters, a ring‑market called the Periklyne encircling the hill, and a flat central “Plane” used for public proofs and dialogs. Ethras is closely tied to the lineage of Thelenes and his foremost fid, Protas.

Notable Features

• Hilltop acropolis with temples identified with Deolater worship.
• The Periklyne: a market district that wraps around the base of the hill and contains the Plane.
• The Plane: a level expanse where figures were drawn in dust and public dialogs were held.
• Shaded bowers around the perimeter (“under the vines”) used as informal teaching spaces.
• Nearby terrain traditionally includes a mountain vantage and a nourishing plain outside the city, linked to Protas’s celebrated upsight.

Associations

• Intellectual center for the dialog tradition: Ethras anchors displays of the theoric golden age with Thelenes and Protas as representative figures.
• Accounts place Thelenes’s judicial trial and execution under Saecular authority at the temples atop the hill.
• Later imperial legend holds that a Bazian emperor sacked what remained of Ethras and removed a famed statue to his capital.
• The Periklyne’s style of adversarial exchange gave rise to “Periklynian” dialog in later usage.
• Sphenic presence: the Sphenics, described as a school of theors, were well represented in ancient Ethras and were often hired by well‑to‑do families as tutors; in classic dialogs they commonly stood in opposition to Thelenes, Protas, and others of their school.

Recent Activity

• Present‑day reference: while viewing distant mountains, an avout compares the scene to “Protas looking down over Ethras,” underscoring Ethras as a cultural touchstone for interpreting vistas and upsights.

Status/Access

Portrayed through historical accounts and depictions; no precise present‑day location or access is stated in available material.