Cynaetha or Kynaitha ( or ἡ Κύναιθα), or Cynaethae or Kynaithai (Κύναιθαι), was a town in the north of

ancient Arcadia Arcadia (; ) is a region in the central Peloponnese, Greece. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas, and in Greek mythology it was the home of the gods Hermes and Pan (god), Pan. In European Renaissance arts, Arcadia (utopia), Ar ...

, situated upon the northern slope of the Aroanian Mountains, which divided its territory from those of

Cleitor Cleitor or Kleitor ( or Κλήτωρ), also known as Clitorium, was a town in ancient Arcadia. Situation It possessed a small territory called Cleitoria or Kleitoria (Κλειτορία), bounded on the east by the territory of Pheneus, on the we ...

and Pheneus. It was the northernmost town of Arcadia; the inhabitants of Cynaetha were the only Arcadians who lived beyond the natural boundaries of Arcadia. Their valley sloped down towards the

Corinthian Gulf The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...

; and the river which flowed through it fell into the Corinthian Gulf a little to the east of Bura: this river was called in ancient times Erasinus or Buraicus, now the river of Vouraikos. The climate and situation of Cynaetha are described by

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

as the most disagreeable in all Arcadia. The same author observes that the character of the Cynaethians presented a striking contrast to that of the other Arcadians, being a wicked and cruel race, and so much disliked by the rest of their countrymen, that the latter would scarcely hold any intercourse with them. He attributes their depravity to their neglect of music, which had tended to humanize the other Arcadians, and to counteract the natural rudeness engendered by their climate. Although

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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

mentions Cynaetha as one of the Arcadian towns no longer existing in his time, it must have been restored at some period after its destruction by the Aetolians, as it was visited by Pausanias, who noticed in the agora altars of the gods, a sanctuary of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

, and a statue of the emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

. The Cynaetheans gave to Olympia the statue of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

which held a thunderbolt in his hand. At the distance of two stadia from the town was a fountain of cold water, called Alyssus (Άλυσσος), because it was said to cure

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...

. It was located near Kastro tis Orias, near present

Kalavryta Kalavryta () is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of Achaea, Greece. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of Aigio, southeast of Patras and northwest of Tripoli, G ...

References

Populated places in ancient Arcadia Former populated places in Greece Arcadian city-states Arcadian Azania Kalavryta {{AncientArcadia-geo-stub