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The Spercheios (, ''Sperkheiós''), also known as the Spercheus from its
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
name, is a river in
Phthiotis Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is border ...
in
central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...
. It is long, and its drainage area is . It was worshipped as a
god In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
in the
ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. The application of the modern concept of "religion" to ancient cultures has been ...
and appears in some collections of
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 ...
. In antiquity, its upper valley was known as
Ainis Ainis (Ancient Greek Αἰνίς, , Modern Greek Αινίδα, ) or Aeniania, was a region of ancient Greece located near Lamia in modern Central Greece, roughly corresponding to the upper Valley of Spercheios. Name The region takes its name fro ...
. In AD 997, its valley was the site of the
Battle of Spercheios The Battle of Spercheios ( bg, Битка при Сперхей, el, Μάχη του Σπερχειού) took place in 997 AD, on the shores of the Spercheios river near the city of Lamia in central Greece. It was fought between a Bulgarian army ...
, which ended
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
incursions into the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. It is referenced in a surviving fragment of
Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
' play ''Philoctetes'', quoted in ''
The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in ...
'', as a place for cattle.


River

The river begins in the
Tymfristos Tymfristos ( el, Τυμφρηστός) is a mountain in the eastern part of Evrytania and the western part of Phthiotis, Greece. The mountain is a part of the Pindus mountain range. The elevation of its highest peak, Velouchi ( el, Βελούχι ...
mountains on the border with
Evrytania Evrytania ( el, Ευρυτανία, ; Latin: ''Eurytania'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi (approx. 8,000 inhabitants). Geography Evrytania is almost entirely formed ...
and flows to the east through the village
Agios Georgios Tymfristou Agios Georgios Tymfristou ( el, Άγιος Γεώργιος Τυμφρηστού) is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Makrakomi Makrakomi ( el, Μακρ ...
, entering a wide plain. It flows along the towns
Makrakomi Makrakomi ( el, Μακρακώμη) is a town and a municipality in the western part of the Phthiotis regional unit, in Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Spercheiada. Geography Makrakomi is built on the southern slopes of Western O ...
and
Leianokladi Leianokladi ( el, Λειανοκλάδι) is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lamia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 8 ...
, and south of the Phthiotidan capital
Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...
. The river flows through an area of former wetlands, that have been reclaimed for agriculture. It empties into the
Malian Gulf The Malian or Maliac Gulf ( el, Μαλιακός Κόλπος, Maliakós Kólpos) is a gulf in the western Aegean Sea. It forms part of the coastline of Greece's region of Phthiotis. The gulf stretches east to west to a distance of , depending on ...
of the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
southeast of Lamia. In antiquity, the mouth of the river was the site of
Antikyra Antikyra or Anticyra ( el, Αντίκυρα) is a port on the west coast of the Gulf of Antikyra named after it. That gulf is a north-coast bay of the Gulf of Corinth. The settlement was made basically on a floor and beach fringing the northeast ...
, which was famed for its
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
and
white hellebore White hellebore or white false hellebore is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Veratrum album'', native to Europe and western Asia * ''Veratrum californicum'', native to North America * ''Veratrum viride ''Veratrum viride'', ...
. Several studies have been conducted regarding the river's hydrological regime.1
Its silt has slowly filled the Malian Gulf, turning
Thermopylae Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...
from a narrow pass into a wide plain.


God

Homer 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 ...
's ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'' names the river as the father (by
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...
's half-sister
Polydora Polydora (; grc, Πολυδώρᾱ in Attic and in Ionic, means 'many-gifts' or 'the shapely') was the name of several characters in Greek mythology: *Polydora, the 'handsome' Oceanid, one of the 3,000 water-nymph daughters of the Titans Oce ...
) of
Menesthius In Greek mythology, the name Menesthius ( grc, Μενέσθιος) may refer to: *Menesthius, son of Spercheus and Polydora, daughter of Perieres or of Peleus and Antigone. He was one of the Myrmidonian leaders in the Trojan War. *Menesthius, s ...
, one of Achilles's lieutenants.
Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis ( el, Ἀντωνῖνος Λιβεράλις) was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between AD 100 and 300. His only surviving work is the ''Metamorphoses'' (Μεταμορφώσεων Συναγωγή, ''Me ...
notes the tradition that
Cerambus In Greek mythology, Cĕrambus (Ancient Greek: Κέραμβος), a son of Euseiros (himself son of Poseidon) and the nymph Eidothea of Othreis. Mythology Cerambus was a survivor of Deucalion's flood by means of wings which he received from the ...
was punished for claiming that the
nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
s of
Mount Othrys Mount Othrys ( el, όρος Όθρυς – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central Greece, in the northeastern part of Phthiotis and southern part of Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on ...
, the
Spercheides In Greek mythology, the Spercheides (Ancient Greek: Σπερχειδες), also known as the Maliades (Μηλίδες), were naiads of the Spercheus River, in Malis. They were sometimes held to be the daughters of the river god Spercheus and the ...
, were the daughters of Spercheios by the
naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...
Deino. Antoninus Liberalis also relates the account that Spercheios and Polydora's son was Dryops, king of Oeta, who fathered
Dryope In Greek mythology, Dryope (; Ancient Greek: Δρυόπη derived from δρῦς ''drys'', "oak"; ''dryope'' "woodpecker") is the name attributed to several distinct figures: * Dryope, daughter of Dryops and mother of Amphissus by Apollo. * Dry ...
.
Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis ( el, Ἀντωνῖνος Λιβεράλις) was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between AD 100 and 300. His only surviving work is the ''Metamorphoses'' (Μεταμορφώσεων Συναγωγή, ''Me ...
, ''Metamorphoses'', 32


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Potamoi Spercheios Valley Rivers of Central Greece Rivers of Greece Drainage basins of the Aegean Sea {{Greece-river-stub