Acroreia or Akroreia ( grc, Ἀκρώρεια) was a mountainous district of
ancient Elis
Elis () or Eleia ( el, Ήλιδα, Ilida, grc-att, Ἦλις, Ēlis ; Elean: , ethnonym: ) is an ancient district in Greece that corresponds to the modern regional unit of Elis.
Elis is in southern Greece on the Peloponnese, bounded on th ...
on the borders of
Arcadia
Arcadia may refer to:
Places Australia
* Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
* Arcadia, Queensland
* Arcadia, Victoria
Greece
* Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese
* Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...
, in which the rivers
Peneius
In Greek mythology, Peneus (; Ancient Greek: Πηνειός) was a Thessalian river god, one of the three thousand Rivers (Potamoi), a child of Oceanus and Tethys.
Family
The nymph Creusa bore him one son, Hypseus, who was King of the Lapith ...
and
Ladon take their rise. The inhabitants of the district were called Acrocreii (Ἀκρωρεῖοι), and their towns appear to have been
Thraustus,
Alium,
Opus
''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.).
Opus or OPUS may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...
, and
Eupagium, to which
Lasion
Lasion ( gr, Λασίων or Λασιών) was the chief town of the mountainous district of Acroreia in ancient Elis proper, situated upon the frontiers of Arcadia near Psophis. Lasion was a frequent object of dispute between the Arcadians and E ...
may be added. The name is used in opposition to Κοίλη or Hollow Elis.
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...
writes that the Spartans, under command of
Pausanias of Sparta
Pausanias ( grc-gre, Παυσανίας) was the Agiad King of Sparta; the son of Pleistoanax. He ruled Sparta from 445 BC to 427 BC and again from 409 BC to 395 BC. He was the leader of the faction in Sparta that opposed the imperialist policy c ...
, marched against Elis with 4,000 men in 402 BCE, and that the towns of Opus, Alium, Eupagium, Thraustus, and Lasion were subdued.
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
mentions an
Arcadian raid into Elis and took several towns of Acroreia around 365 BCE.
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...
,
who is followed by many modern writers, makes Acrocreii a town, and places it in
Triphylia
Triphylia ( el, Τριφυλία, ''Trifylia'', "the country of the three tribes") was an area of the ancient Peloponnese. Strabo and Pausanias both describe Triphylia as part of Elis, and it fell at times under the domination of the city of Eli ...
; but this error appears to have arisen from confounding the Acrocreii with the
Paroreatae in Triphylia.
References
Historical regions in Greece
Ancient Elis
{{ancientElis-geo-stub