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 Eli ...
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 Aipy or Aepy ( grc, Αἶπυ) was a city in ancient Elis, Greece. It was one of the oldest towns in Elis, mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in ''Iliad'', as one of the territories ruled by Nestor. Homer uses the expression "ἐΰκτ ...
. 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 t ...
,
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
''Pyrgus'' is a genus in the skippers butterfly family, Hesperiidae, known as the grizzled skippers. The name "checkered" or "chequered skipper" may also be applied to some species, but also refers to species in the genera '' Burnsius'' and '' ...
, 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' ...
of 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, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, 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 Anci ...
, 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.]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
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
, 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
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
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