Argyra ( grc, Ἀργυρᾶ) was a town or village in

ancient Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (; el, Ἀχαΐα, ''Akhaia'', ) was (and is) the northernmost region of the Peloponnese, occupying the coastal strip north of Arcadia. Its approximate boundaries were to the south the mountain range of Erymanthus, to the so ...

, in the neighbourhood of

Patrae ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

. It was located near the river

Selemnus Selemnos (Ancient Greek: Σέλεμνος, la, Selemnus) is a river in the northern part of Achaea, Greece. The river flows entirely in the municipal unit of Rio and empties into the Gulf of Corinth. Geography The river begins on the northwest ...

, the spring Argyra and the town of

Bolina In Greek mythology, Bolina (; Ancient Greek: Βολίνα) or Boline (Βολίνη) was a nymph. According to Pausanias, Bolina was once a mortal maiden of Achaea. She was loved by the god Apollo, and when he attempted to approach her, Bolina fled f ...

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC *Pausanias of Sicily, physician of th ...

says it was on the road from Patrae to

Aegium Aegium or Aigion ( grc, Αἴγιον), or Aegeium or Aigeion (Αἴγειον), was a town and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, and one of the twelve Achaean cities. It was situated upon the coast west of the river Selinus, 30 stadia from Rhy ...

, following the Caradrus river. Pausanias relates a local legend that Argyra was a sea-nymph, who fell in love with a shepherd named Selemnus and used to come up out of the sea to visit him, sleeping by his side, but when Selemnus lost its beauty, the nymph stopped visiting him and Selemnus died of a broken heart. Then,

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...

transformed Selemnus into a river. ''et seq.'' In the war between the Achaeans and the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Patrae suffered so severely, that the greater part of the inhabitants abandoned the city and took up their abodes in the surrounding villages of

Mesatis Mesatis ( grc, Μεσάτις) was a town of ancient Achaea, in the neighbourhood of Patrae. It is said to have been founded by the Ionians, when they occupied the country. After their expulsion,, the Achaean hero Patreus withdrew the inhabitants fr ...

Antheia Antheia ( grc, Ἀνθεία) was one of the Charites, or Graces, of Greek mythology and was the goddess of swamps and flowery wreaths. She is the daughter of Zeus and Eurynome. She was depicted in Athenian vase painting as one of the attendant ...

, Bolina, Argyra, and Arba. A long time later, the Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

forced the inhabitants of these places to abandon them to repopulate the city of Patrae. In the time of Pausanias (2nd century) the town was in ruins. Its site is unlocated. The modern village of Argyra takes its name from the ancient place.

References

Populated places in ancient Achaea Former populated places in Greece Locations in Greek mythology Lost ancient cities and towns {{AncientAchaea-geo-stub