Lusi or Lousoi (, Λοῦσοι, Λουσσοί, or τὰ Λοῦσσα) was a city in the

Arcadian Azania Arcadian Azania () was one of the subdivisions in ancient Arcadia (region), Arcadia along with Parrhasia (Arcadia), Parrhasia and Lycaonia. Ancient Azania was in an area that are now the area of Kalavryta, Achaea and Feneos, western Corinthia. It wa ...

toward 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 ...

, originally independent of, but afterwards subject to,

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 ...

. Lusi was situated in the upper valley of the

Aroanius The Aroanios (; ; ) is a river in the southern part of Achaea, Greece and a tributary of Ladon river. The water comes from the carbonate mountain range Aroania (1500-2300m). After 12 km, it meets the Ladonas (near to Pangrataika Kalyvia ...

, at about elevation in the Aroanian mountains, 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 ...

.Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut
/ref> The upper valley of the Aroanius consists of two plains, of which the more easterly is the one through which the Aroanius flows, the waters of which force their way through a gorge in the mountains into the plain of Cleitor to the south. The more westerly plain is entirely shut in by a range of hills; and the waters of three streams which flow into this plain are carried off by a katavothra (underground channel), after forming an inundation, apparently the Lacus Clitorius mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

. The air was damp and cold; and in this locality the best hemlock was grown. Lusi was still independent in the 58th

Olympiad An olympiad (, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the Ancient Olympic Games, ancient and Olympic Games, modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Archaic Greece, Greece ...

(); since one of its citizens ( Agesilas) is recorded to have gained the victory in the horse race in the 11th Pythiad. Its territory was ravaged by the Aetolians in the Social War. In the time of Pausanias (2nd century), there were no longer even any ruins of the town. Its name, however, was preserved in consequence of its temple of Artemis Lusia or Hemerasia (the "Soother"). The goddess was so called, because it was here that the daughters of

Proetus In Greek mythology, Proetus (; Ancient Greek: Προῖτος ''Proitos'') may refer to the following personages: * Proetus, king of Argos and Tiryns, son of Abas and twin brother of Acrisius. *Proetus, a prince of Corinth as the son of Prince ...

were purified from their madness. They had concealed themselves in a large cavern, from which they were taken by

Melampus In Greek mythology, Melampus (; , ''Melampous'') was a legendary soothsayer and healer, originally of Pylos, who ruled at Argos. He was the introducer of the worship of Dionysus, according to Herodotus, who asserted that his powers as a seer ...

, who cured them by sacred expiations. Thereupon their father Proetus founded this temple of Artemis Hemerasia, which was regarded with great reverence throughout the whole Peloponnesus as an inviolable asylum. It was plundered by the Aetolians in the Social War. It was situated near Lusi, at the distance of 40 stadia from Cynaetha. The interior of the temple, with the purification of the daughters of Proetus, is represented on an ancient vase. By the first century BC, staphanitic games (in which the sole prize was a crown) were being held at Lusi. The remains of Lusi have been found in 1897 by the archeologists

Wilhelm Dörpfeld Wilhelm Dörpfeld (26 December 1853 – 25 April 1940) was a German architect and archaeologist, a pioneer of stratigraphy, stratigraphic excavation and precise graphical documentation of archaeological projects. He is famous for his work on B ...

and Adolf Wilhelm, and have been excavated by the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Athens. The temple of Artemis and several buildings of the public centre of the town have been found. In 1928, the nearby villages Soudena Theotokou and Soudena Agiou Vasileiou were renamed Ano LousoiName changes of settlements in Greece
/ref> and

Kato Lousoi Kato or Katō may refer to: Places *Kato, Guyana, a village in Guyana *Katō, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan *Katō District, Hokkaido, a district located in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan *Katowice, a city in Southern Poland, ...

respectively.

References

External links

Excavations in Lusi
photos and plans of the ancient city Populated places in ancient Arcadia Arcadian city-states Arcadian Azania Kalavryta Places in Greek mythology Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Former populated places in Greece {{AncientArcadia-geo-stub