Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 2.djvu/76

. Eua. than the two sobject districte (oi wtptauti^t w^Kns) of Pintli and Tripbylia. It oonaists of a fertile plain, drained bj the riTer Pbhrius (TlfirMios) and its tribotary the Ladon (Adfoi^). The Peneiiu rises in Mount Erymanthos between two lofty sum- mits, and flows at first between the ravine of Berbmif and afterwards in a north-westerly direction till it naches a more open Talley. The Ladon, called Selleeis by Homer [see EpHTRAf No. 1.], rises a little mora to the soath; it also flows at first throogh a narrow ravine, and fidls into the Peneios, just where it enters the broader valley. The united stream continues its coone through this valley, till at the town of Elis it emeiges near its mouth into the extensive plain of {rottum^ which is the name BOW generally given to the river throughout its whole coarse. The liver (rafAint now flows into the sea to the south of the promontory of Ghelonatas, but there is reason ibr believing that the main branch at lesst of the Peneios originally flowed into the sea Dorth of the Chelonatas. This appeare from the order of the names in Ptolemy (iiL 16. §§ 5, 6), who enumerates the promontoiy Arszus, Oyllene, the mouths of the Peneius, and the promontory Che- koitis, as well as from the statement of Strebo (viii. p. 338) that the Peneius flows into the sea between Chelonatas and Gyllene. Moreover, the legend of Hercules cleansing the stables of Angelas by divert* ing the course of the Peneius would seem to show that even in ancient times the course of the stresm kad been changed either by artificial or by natural means; and there are still remains of some ancient ehannela near the southem end of the Cylleuian gnlf. The plam of Gaitim is still celebrated for its ftrtility, and produces flax, wheat, and cotton. In antiqai^, as we learn from Pausanias (v. 5. § 2), Elis wras the only part of Qreece in which byssus (a species of fine flnx) grew. This byssus is de- scribed by Pausanias (L c.) as not inferior to that ef thfr Hebrews in finoicss, but not so yellow; and in another passage (vi. 26. § 6) he remarks that hemp and flax and byssus are sown by all the Eleians, whose lands are adapted for thess crops. The vine was also cultivated with success, as is evident from the especial honour paid to Dionysus in the city ef Elis, and from the festival called Thyia, in which three empty jara spontaneously filled with wine. (Flaus. vi. 26. § 1.) Elis still contains a huge quantity of excellent timber; and* the road to Achaia along the coast passes through noble fbrssts of oaks. Tlie rich pastures of the Peneius were lsvourabl« to the rearing of hones and cattle. Even in the earliest legends Augeias, king of the Epeians in Elis, is represented as keeping innumerable herds of exen; and the horses of Elis were celebrated in the Homerio poems (Od, iv. 634, xxi. 846). It was said that mules could not be engendered in Elis in con- sequence of a divine curse (Herod, iv. 30; Pans. v. 6. § 2); bat this tale probably arose from the hd of the Eldan mares being sent into Arcadia, in order to be covered by the asses of the latter country, which arera reckoned the best in all Greece. [Akgadia, f . 190, a.] • PiSATU (4 nifraTit) is the lower valley of the Alpheius. This river, after its long course through Arcsdia, enters a fertile valley in the Pisatis, bounded on either side by green hills, and finally flows into the sea through the sandy plain on the coast between IMO h|rge h^lunes. .North of the Alpheius, Mount VOL. L ELIS. 817 Pholoe (foKivi), which is an offshoot of Eryman- thus, extends across the Pisatis from cast to west, and separates the watera of the Peneius and the Ladon from those of the Alpheius. (Strab. viii. p. 357.) It terminates in the promontory, running southwards fiur into the sea, and opposite the island of Zacynthus. This promontory was called in ancient times IcBTHTB ('Ix^r* Strab. viiL p. 343) on ac- count of its shape : it now bean the name of Kaid- kolo. It appears to be the natuiml boundary of the Pisatis; and accordingly we learn from Strabo that some persons placed the commencement of the Pisatis at Pheia, a town on the isthmus of Ichthys, though he himself extends the district as fiv as the promontoiy Chelonatas. (Strab. viii. p. 343.) Mount Pholoe rises atruptly on its northern side towsrds the Peneius, but on the southern side it opens into numerous valleys, down which tonents flow into the Alpheius. TuPHTLiA (T|fNfvA(a) is the smallest of the three divisi(H)s of Elis, and contains only a very small por- tion of level Und, as the Arcadian monntams here approach almost close to the sea. Along nearly the whole of the Triphylian coast there is a series of lagoons already mentioned. At a later time the Alpheius was the northern boundary of Triphylia; but at an earlier period the territory of the Pisatis must have extended south of the Alpheius, though all its chief towns lay to the north of that river. The mountain along the southem side of the Al- pheius immediately opposite Olympia was called originally OssA (Strab. viii. p. 356), but appean to have been afterwards called Phellom (Strab. viii. p. 344, where ^^XAmwb should probably be read instead of ^oA^y). Further south are two rsnges of mountains, between which the river Anignu flow^ into the sea [Aniorus] : of these the more northerly, called in ancient times Lapithas (Aairi0as, Pans. v. 5. § 8), and at present Anema, is 2533 feet high; while the more southerly, called in ancient times, MuTHE (M<r^, Strab. viu. p. 344), and now A'lvena rises to the height of 4009 feet Minthe, whkh is the loftiest mountain in Elis, was one of the seats of the worehip of Hsdes; and the herb, fromw hich it derived its name, was sacred to Persephone. The river Neda divided Triphylia from Messenia. n. History. The most sncient inhabitants of Elis appear to have been Pelasgians, and of t|ie same stock as the Arcadians. They were called Caucones, and their name is said to have been originally given to the whole country; but at a later time they were found only on the northern frontier near Dyme and in the monnUins of Triphylia. (Strab. viii. p. 345.) The accessibility of the country both by sea and limd led other tribes to settle in it even at a very early period The Phoenicians probably had fiMstories upon the coast; and there can be no doubt that to them the Eleians were indebted for the introduction of the bgMtut, since the name is the same as the Hebrew bttte. We also find traces of Phoenician influence in the warship cf Aphrodite Urania in the dty of Elis. It has even been supposed that EUshak, whose pro- ductions reached Tyre (^Eztk, xxvii. 7), is the same word as the Greek Elis, though tiie name was used to indicate a large extent of country; but it is dangerous to drew any condusioii from a similarity o£ names, which may after all be only accidental The most ancient inhabitants of the country appear to have been Epeians ('Evtici), who were dosely 3q
 * 'HoUiOW EuB is mora extoiaNv wod nam fertile