The Pineiós ( el, Πηνειός, la, Peneus) 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 wate ...

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 ...

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 with ...

. It is probably not named after the god

Peneus In Greek mythology, Peneus (; Ancient Greek: Πηνειός) was a Thessalian river god, one of the three thousand Rivers (Potamoi), a child of Oceanus and Tethys. Family The nymph Creusa bore him one son, Hypseus, who was King of the Lapit ...

. It is long.Greece in Figures January - March 2018
p. 12 Its source is on the southwestern slope of the mountain Erymanthus, near the village Kryovrysi. It empties into a bay of the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

, southwest of

Gastouni Gastouni ( el, Γαστούνη) is a town and a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pineios, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...

. For a part of its upper course, it forms the border between

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 ...

and

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...

. The river flows through the plain of Elis. The river passes through the following villages: * Kryovrysi * Agia Triada *

Kalfas Kalfas ( el, Κάλφας) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Tritaia, southern Achaea, Greece. It is located in a mountainous area, 5 km southeast of Portes and 7 km southwest of Stavrodromi. The community consists ...

* Kentro *

Kalyvia Ilidos Kalyvia Ilidos ( el, Καλύβια Ήλιδος) is a village in the northern part of the municipal unit of Amaliada, Elis, Greece. It is located near the left bank of the river Pineios, 1 km northeast of Avgeio, 1 km west of Archaia ...

* Agia Mavra * Kavasila *

Vartholomio Vartholomio ( el, Βαρθολομιό) is a town and a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pineios, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an ar ...

History

In the 1960s, the government began building an earth-shaped

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

named the ''Peneus Dam'' (Φράγμα Πηνειού ''Fragma Pineiou'') to supply water for the north and much of Elis. The dam is considered the highest dam in Elis. In

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 ...

, the Peneus and Alpheus were two rivers re-routed by

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

in his fifth labour in order to clean the filth from the

Augean Stables In Greek mythology, Augeas (or Augeias, , grc-gre, Αὐγείας), whose name means "bright", was king of Elis and father of Epicaste. Some say that Augeas was one of the Argonauts.Hyginus, ''Fabulae'14/ref> He is best known for his stables, ...

in a single day, a task which had been presumed to be impossible.

References

Landforms of Elis Rivers of Greece Rivers of Western Greece Landforms of Achaea Drainage basins of the Ionian Sea {{Greece-river-stub