Letrini or Letrinoi ( grc, Λέτρινοι) ''et seq.'' or Letrina (Λετρίνα) was a town of

Pisatis Pisa ( grc, Πῖσα) is a modern village situated to the east of Olympia, Greece. Currently it is not politically independent but is a neighborhood of the village of Archea Olympia, the capital of the Municipality of Ancient Olympia, of which it ...

in ancient Elis, situated near the sea, upon the

Sacred Way The Sacred Way ( grc, Ἱερὰ Ὁδός, ''Hierá Hodós''), in ancient Greece, was the road from Athens to Eleusis. It was so called because it was the route taken by a procession celebrating the Eleusinian Mysteries. The procession to Eleus ...

leading from

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 ...

to Olympia, at the distance of 180

stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...

from Elis, and 120 from Olympia. According to

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, it was said to have been founded by Letreus, a son of

Pelops In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus. He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the O ...

. There was a tradition that said that the bones of Pelops - necessary, according to the oracle, for the Achaeans to conquer

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

- were at Letrini. Together with several of the other dependent townships of Elis, it joined

Spartan Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta refe ...

king

Agis II Agis II ( grc-gre, Ἄγις; died c. 399 BC) was the 18th Eurypontid king of Sparta, the eldest son of Archidamus II by his first wife, and half-brother of Agesilaus II. He ruled with his Agiad co-monarch Pausanias.Battle of Nemea The Battle of Nemea (394 BC), also known in ancient Athens as the Battle of Corinth, was a battle in the Corinthian War, between Sparta and the coalition of Argos, Athens, Corinth, and Thebes. The battle was fought in Corinthian territory, at ...

in 394 BCE.

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 ...

speaks of Letrini, Amphidoli, and Marganeis as

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 ...

n places, although they were on the right bank of the Alpheius; and if there is no corruption in the text, the word Triphylian must be used in a loose sense to signify the dependent townships of Elis. The Λετριναῖαι γύαι are mentioned by Lycophron. In the time of

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

nothing remained of Letrini except a few houses and a temple of Artemis Alpheiaea; the epithet ''Alpheiaea'' was due to a tradition that the river god Alpheus fell in love with Artemis and tried to seduce her in the vicinity of Letrini. It remains doubtful whether this temple is the same as that mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

as located near the mouth of the Alpheius. Letrini may be placed at the village and monastery of Agios Ioannis (St John), between Pyrgos and the port of

Katakolo Katakolo ( el, Κατάκολο) is a seaside town in the municipality of Pyrgos in western Elis, Greece. It is situated on a headland overlooking the Ionian Sea and separating the Gulf of Kyparissia from the rest of the Ionian. It is west of P ...

, where, according to

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English military man, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British military, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

, among many fragments of antiquity, a part of a large statue was found in the early 19th century. Some modern scholars accept the identification, while others treat it as tentative.

References

Populated places in ancient Elis Former populated places in Greece Locations in Greek mythology {{ancientElis-geo-stub