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 t ...

on the borders of Arcadia, 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 Lapit ...

and Ladon take their rise. The inhabitants of the district were called Acrocreii (Ἀκρωρεῖοι), and their towns appear to have been

Thraustus Thraustus or Thraustos ( grc, Θραύστος) or Thraestus or Thraistos (Θραιστός) was a town in the mountainous district of Acroreia in ancient Elis. Diodorus Siculus writes that the Spartans, under command of Pausanias of Sparta, march ...

Alium Alium or Alion ( grc, Ἄλιον) was a fortified town in the district of Acroreia in ancient Elis, on the borders of Arcadia. Diodorus Siculus writes that the Spartans, under command of Pausanias of Sparta, marched against Elis with 4,000 men in ...

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 Eupagium or Eupagion ( grc, Εὐπάγιον) was a town in the mountainous district of Acroreia in ancient Elis. Diodorus Siculus writes that the Spartans, under command of Pausanias of Sparta, marched against Elis with 4,000 men in 402 BCE, ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

, 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, 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 Greek mercenary armies o ...

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 ''Ethn ...

, 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 El ...

; 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