Hiera Orgas

The 'Hiera Orgas' (Ancient Greek: ἱερὰ ὀργάς), meaning ‘sacred meadow’, was a site which featured in at least two conflicts between Athens and Megara.

[3] Prohibitions on the use of sacred land outside the cities, similar to the Orgas, were common in Greek states (poleis) throughout the Classical period.

A range of laws and customs protected the integrity of many country sites from deliberate or accidental contamination by people and livestock.

The Athenians, at least, deemed the cultivation of the Hiera Orgas as a distinct religious pollution (miasma), which, if left unresolved, would anger the gods and, therefore, compromise the ongoing fertility and wellbeing of the state itself.

Shortly afterwards, the Athenian Assembly voted to settle the matter by seeking independent arbitration from Apollo’s oracle at Delphi.

[8] According to the inscription (pictured), which recorded the process, Apollo was given the choice between two inscribed tin sheets concerning the question of the cultivation of the Hiera Orgas.