Ka'am, Wadi Caam or Wadi Ka'am (Cinyps) is a small river in Tripolitana, site of a failed Greek attempt to build a city under the leadership of Spartan Dorieus.

Sources

The source of the river are in the 80 km long Wadi Taraglat but they are all located at the coastal end of the Wadi in a part of the Wadi called Wadi Caam, whereas Herodotus had erroneously claimed that the source was near the Hill of Graces some 260 km inland.

History

The springs in Wadi Caam were the source of the water used in the Hadrianic baths of

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent fil ...

with the water diversion scheme using the aqueduct built by Quintus Servillius Candidus in 119-120A.D. The Greeks under Dorieus of Sparta who was said to be angry because Cleomenes was chosen to be king of Sparta ahead of him left the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

to found his own colony He chose to found his colony at the mouth of the Cinyps. After three years, around 515B.C. they were expelled by the Carthaginians from Leptis Magna, in alliance with local Libyan tribes. It was said to be the home of the Libyan tribe of the Macae, who were used as

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

by the Carthaginians. In Greek mythology one of the combatants in the Trojan War,

Guneus In Greek mythology, the name Guneus (; Ancient Greek: Γουνεὐς derived from ''gounos'' "fruitful land") may refer to: *Guneus, a man from Pheneus and father of Laonome, wife of Alcaeus. Through his daughter, he was the grandfather of Amphitr ...

went to Libya after the war where he settled near the Cinyps River, although other myths have Guneus drowning at sea.'' Bibliotheca'', Epitome of Book 4, 3.11ff.; 6.15. Tzetzes on

Lycophron Lycophron (; grc-gre, Λυκόφρων ὁ Χαλκιδεύς; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, sophist, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life and ...

, 899 Archaeologists have uncovered a Greek necropolis in Wadi Caam which dates to the 3rd century BC, it consists of a series of stone, box-shaped urns with the lids in the shape of a sloping roof and containing ashes and bones, as well as various types of ceramics.

References

{{coord, 32, 32, N, 14, 27, E, display=title, region:LY_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of Libya Spartan colonies