Epeii in the context of "Pineios (Peloponnese)"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Epeii in the context of "Pineios (Peloponnese)"

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Epeii

Elis (/ˈlɪs/) or Eleia (/ɪˈl.ə/; Attic Greek: Ἦλις, romanized: Ēlis [ɛ̂ːlis]; Elean: Ϝᾶλις [wâːlis]; Greek: Ήλιδα, romanizedIlida) was an ancient district in the northwestern Peloponnese in Greece, roughly corresponding to modern regional unit of Elis. It was bounded to the northeast by Achaea, east by Arcadia, south by Messenia, and west by the Ionian Sea. The region is a fertile lowland with extensive plains, watered by the Peneus, Alpheus and other rivers that flow down from the Arcadian highlands. The region's name is probably cognate with the English 'valley'.

The Eleans traced their roots back to the mythical Dorian invasion. They united into a single polis ("city-state") centred on the city of Elis in 471 BC. Over the course of the archaic and classical periods, the city gradually gained control of much of the region of Elis, most probably through unequal treaties with other cities; many inhabitants of Elis were Perioeci—autonomous free non-citizens. Elis' main claim to fame was its control over the sanctuary at Olympia and the Olympic games.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
In this Dossier

Epeii in the context of Elis (city)

Elis (Ancient Greek: Ἦλις, Doric Greek: Ἆλις, in the local dialect: Ϝᾶλις, Modern Greek: Ήλιδα, romanizedElida) was the capital city of the ancient polis (city-state) of Elis, in ancient Greece. It was situated in the northwest of the Peloponnese, to the west of Arcadia. Just before the Peneius emerges from the hills into the plain, the valley of the river is contracted on the south by a projecting hill of a peaked form, and nearly 500 feet (150 m) in height. This hill was the acropolis of Elis, and commanded as well the narrow valley of the Peneius as the open plain beyond. The ancient city lay at the foot of the hill, and extended across the river, as Strabo says that the Peneius flowed through the city; but since no remains are now found on the right or northern bank, it is probable that all the public buildings were on the left bank of the river, more especially as Pausanias does not make any allusion to the river in his description of the city.

Elis is mentioned as a town of the Epeii by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad; but in the earliest times the two chief towns in the country appear to have been Ephyra the residence of Augeias, in the interior, and Buprasium on the coast. Some writers suppose that Ephyra was the more ancient name of Elis, but it appears to have been a different place, situated upon the Ladon. Elis first became a place of importance upon the invasion of Peloponnesus by the Dorians. Oxylus and his Aetolian followers appear to have settled on the height which later formed Elis's acropolis as the spot best adapted for ruling the country. From this time it was the residence of the kings, and of the aristocratic families who governed the country after the abolition of royalty. Elis was the only fortified town in the country; the rest of the inhabitants dwelt in unwalled villages, paying obedience to the ruling class at Elis.

↑ Return to Menu

Epeii in the context of Buprasium

Buprasium or Bouprasion (Ancient Greek: Βουπράσιον) was a town of ancient Elis, and the ancient capital of the Epeii, frequently mentioned by Homer. The town first occurs as providing ships, commanded together with three other zones by captains that are mentioned separately of Nestor in the Iliad in the Catalogue of Ships. The town also features in other passages in the Iliad. In the story in which Nestor narrates a past confrontation between Pylos and the Eleans, the town is described as rich in wheat. In another story, Nestor tells that he participated in the funeral games at Buprasium after the burial of king Amarynceus. It situated near the left bank of the Larissus, and consequently upon the confines of Achaea. The town was no longer extant in the time of Strabo, but its name was still attached to a district on the road from the city of Elis to Dyme on the left bank of the Larissus, which appears from Stephanus of Byzantium to have borne also the name of Buprasius.

Its site is unlocated.

↑ Return to Menu

Epeii in the context of Thryon

Thyron (Ancient Greek: Θρύον), sometimes Latinized as Thryum, or Thryoessa (Θρυόεσσα) was a town in Triphylia in ancient Elis, mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships of the Iliad, where the town is noted to be in the dominions of Nestor. The town is also noted in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. Later in the Iliad, the poet describes Thyron was at the ford of the river Alpheius. In the same passage, Homer calls the town Thryoessa, places it upon a lofty hill, and relates how it withstood a siege by the Epeii during their war against the Eleans. Strabo identified Thyron with the later Epitalium or strefi ; but the identity is uncertain.

↑ Return to Menu

Epeii in the context of Hyrmine (Elis)

37°53′11″N 21°08′08″E / 37.886492°N 21.135668°E / 37.886492; 21.135668Hyrmine (Ancient Greek: Ὑρμίνη) or Hyrmina (Ὕρμινα) or Hormina (Ὅρμινα) was a town of ancient Elis upon the coast. It is mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships of the Iliad as one of the towns of the Epeii. It appears to have been regarded as one of the most ancient of the Epeian towns, since Pausanias repeats the legend that it had been founded by Actor, the son of Hyrmine, who was a daughter of Epeius, and describes the town as between the cape of Cyllene near Araxus, near the frontier with Achaea. In the time of Strabo the town had disappeared, but its site was marked by a rocky promontory near Cyllene, called Hormina or Hyrmina.

Hyrmine is located near the castle of Chlemoutsi.

↑ Return to Menu