Epeium or Epeion ( grc, Ἤπειον or Ήπειον) or Epium or Epion (Ἔπιον or Ήπιον) or Aepion or Aipion (Αἰπίον or Αἴπιον) was a town of

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 ...

in ancient Elis, which stood between Makistos and Heraea, and may have been the successor settlement to

Homeric Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Aepy. It is one of the six cities (along with

Lepreum Lepreum or Lepreon ( grc, Λέπρεον), alternately named Lepreus or Lepreos (Λέπρεος) was an Ancient Greek city-state in Triphylia, a district of Elis (now part of the Elis regional unit). It was located 40 stadia away from the sea at ...

Macistus In Greek mythology, Macistus or Makistos (Ancient Greek: Μάκιστος means 'tallest' or 'greatest) may refer to the following person and surname: * Macistus, a Boeotian prince as the son of King Athamas probably by the cloud-nymph Nephele, t ...

Phrixae Phrixa ( grc, Φρίξα) or Phrixae or Phrixai (Φρίξαι) was a town of Triphylia in ancient Elis, situated upon the left bank of the Alpheius, at the distance of 30 stadia from Olympia. It is one of the six cities (along with Lepreum, Mac ...

, Pyrgus, and

Nudium Nudium or Noudion ( grc, Νούδιον) was one of the six cities (along with Lepreum, Phrixae, Pyrgus, Epium, and Macistus) founded by the Minyans in the territory of the and Caucones, in Triphylia in ancient Elis, but which was destroyed by t ...

) founded by the

Minyans According to Greek mythology and legendary prehistory of the Aegean region, the Minyans or Minyae ( el, Μινύες, ''Minyes'') were an autochthonous group inhabiting the Aegean region. The extent to which the prehistory of the Aegean world ...

in the territory of Paroreatae and

Caucones The Caucones ( grc-gre, Καύκωνες ''Kaukônes'') were an autochthonous tribe of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), who later migrated to parts of the Greek mainland ( Arcadia, Triphylian Pylos and Elis). The phonology of the name Caucones ...

. At the beginning of the 5th century BCE, it was a community of

perioeci The Perioeci or Perioikoi (, ) were the second-tier citizens of the '' polis'' of Sparta until 200 BC. They lived in several dozen cities within Spartan territories (mostly Laconia and Messenia), which were dependent on Sparta. The ''perioeci' ...

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

. According to

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 ...

, the Eleans claimed that they had bought the town from its owners for 30 talents; the identity of these "owners" is unknown. Xenophon's phrase suggests that at the time of the sale, Epeium was not controlled by its original population. It has been suggested that it belonged to the Arcadians. Towards the year 400 BCE, Epeium was liberated from the Elean government and made autonomous. It probably joined the Triphylian federation. In 369 BCE, it was a member of the

Arcadian League The Arcadian League ( grc, ) was a league of city-states in ancient Greece. It combined the various cities of Arcadia, in the Peloponnese, into a single state. The league was founded in 370 BC, taking advantage of the decreased power of Sparta ...

. The site is tentatively located near modern Tripiti (formerly called Bitsibardi). Archaeologists have discovered the foundations of an old structure, a

retaining wall Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides. Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to ...

and many tiles. The first researchers found walls of ashlar,

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

of the Classical Period, and blocks and drums of

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...

. The acropolis occupies an area of 150 x 25 m (500 x 80 ft).

References

External links

* populated places in ancient Elis Former populated places in Greece {{AncientElis-geo-stub