The Elpeus is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

that stems from a

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, located approximately five miles from the city of Dion.Livy (trans. Henry Bettenson). ''Rome and the Mediterranean''. Penguin Classics, 1976, . The river stream runs on a steep bank. In the summer months, the river all but dries up to a thin trickle, but, during the winter season, it regularly overflows. This results in the formation of strong

whirlpool A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...

s above its crags, while flowing down the eroded slopes of the mountain to the sea. These overflowings produce deep and wide chasms, with sheer slopes on either side. This makes the river very dangerous to cross and it is almost impassable during these months. The danger that the overflowing Elpeus river presents has been used tactically in warfare situations throughout history. During the

Third Macedonian War The Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC) was a war fought between the Roman Republic and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC, King Philip V of Macedon died and was succeeded by his ambitious son Perseus. He was anti-Roman and stirred anti-Roman ...

, which started in 171 BC,

Perseus of Macedon Perseus ( grc-gre, Περσεύς; 212 – 166 BC) was the last king (''Basileus'') of the Antigonid dynasty, who ruled the successor state in Macedon created upon the death of Alexander the Great. He was the last Antigonid to rule Macedon, aft ...

camped on a safe bank of the river, his intent being to use the flooded river as part of his defences. This particular position proved unassailable to his Roman enemies, who were, at the time, under the command of

Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (c. 229 – 160 BC) was a two-time consul of the Roman Republic and a general who conquered Macedon, putting an end to the Antigonid dynasty in the Third Macedonian War. Family Paullus' father was Luciu ...

. Paulus and his council spent much time deciding how to negotiate the river and breach Perseus' defences, some suggesting a counter-attack from behind Perseus camp and the river, while others recommended that a fleet be sent up the coast towards

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

to draw the Macedonians out. Paulus ultimately decided to feint right and fool Perseus as to his intentions, while sending a force to the left and behind the river. The war ultimately resulted in Roman victory, in 168 BC, concluding at the

Battle of Pydna The Battle of Pydna took place in 168 BC between Rome and Macedon during the Third Macedonian War. The battle saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back to ...

References

{{coord missing, Greece Rivers of Greece Landforms of Pieria (regional unit) Landforms of Central Macedonia