Macistus or Makistos (), or Macistum or Makiston (Μάκιστον), was a city of

ancient Elis Elis () or Eleia (; ; Elean: ; ) is an ancient district in Greece that corresponds to the modern regional unit of Elis. Elis is in southern Greece on the Peloponnese, bounded on the north by Achaea, east by Arcadia, south by Messen ...

, in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It is one of the six cities (along with

Lepreum Lepreum or Lepreon (), alternately named Lepreus or Lepreos (Λέπρεος) was an Ancient Greek city-state in Triphylia, a district of Elis (now part of the Elis regional unit). It was located 40 stadia away from the sea at the west end of M ...

Phrixae Phrixa () or Phrixae or Phrixai (Φρίξαι) was a town of Triphylia in ancient Elis, situated upon the left bank of the Alfeios, Alpheius, at the distance of 30 stadion (unit), stadia from Olympia, Greece, Olympia. It is one of the six cities ( ...

Pyrgus ''Pyrgus'' is a genus in the skippers butterfly family, Hesperiidae, known as the grizzled skippers. The name "checkered" or "chequered skipper" may also be applied to some species, but also refers to species in the genera '' Burnsius'' and '' C ...

Epium Epeium or Epeion ( or Ήπειον) or Epium or Epion (Ἔπιον or Ήπιον) or Aepion or Aipion (Αἰπίον or Αἴπιον) was a town of Triphylia in ancient Elis, which stood between Makistos and Heraea, and may have been the success ...

, and

Nudium Nudium or Noudion () was one of the six cities (along with Lepreum, Phrixae, Pyrgus, Epium, and Macistus) founded by the Minyans in the territory of the and Caucones, in Triphylia in ancient Elis, but which was destroyed by the Eleians in the ...

) founded by the

Minyans In Greek mythology, the Minyans or Minyae ( Greek: Μινύες, ''Minyes'') were a group of legendary people who were the inhabitants of the city Orchomenus in Boeotia, and who were also associated with Thessaly. They were named after their ...

in the territory of the Paroreatae and

Caucones The Caucones ( ''Kaukônes'') were an autochthonous tribe of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), who later migrated to parts of the Greek mainland ( Arcadia, Triphylian Pylos and Elis). Origin and early history The phonology of the name Caucone ...

. Pausanias writes that in the time of king

Pyrrhus of Pisatis Pyrrhus, Pyrrhos or Pyrros () may refer to: People * Pyrrhus of Epirus (318–272 BC), king of Epirus, after whom the term ''Pyrrhic victory'' was named * Pyrrhus II of Epirus (fl. late 3rd century BC), brother of Ptolemy of Epirus * Pyrrhus o ...

, the cities of

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, Macistus,

Scillus Scillus or Skillous () was a town of Triphylia, a district of ancient Elis, situated 20 stadia south of Olympia. In 572 BCE the Scilluntians assisted Pyrrhus, king of Pisa, in making war upon the Eleians; but they were completely conquere ...

, and

Dyspontium Dyspontium () was one of the eight towns of Pisatis in ancient Elis. It was situated in the plain between Elis and Olympia, north of the river Alpheus and not far from the sea. It has been identified with the modern village Skafidia. Pausania ...

rebelled against the Eleans because of the organization of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. Pisa and its allies were defeated and their cities were destroyed ().

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

comments that, in his time, most of the cities founded by the Minyans were ravaged by the Eleans. It is supposed that this happened around 460 BC, after the

Third Messenian War The helots (; , ''heílotes'') were a subjugated population that constituted a majority of the population of Laconia and Messenia – the territories ruled by Sparta. There has been controversy since antiquity as to their exact characteristics ...

. The town is also cited by

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

in the framework of the war between Elis and

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

led by

Agis II Agis II (; died 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.

about the year 400 BC. According to

Artemidorus Artemidorus Daldianus () or Ephesius was a professional diviner and dream interpreter who lived in the 2nd century AD. He is known from an extant five-volume Greek work, the '' Oneirocritica'' or ''Oneirokritikon'' ()."Artemidorus Daldianus" in ...

, it was uninhabited since the 2nd century BC.

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 ...

places it in the region of

Triphylia Triphylia (, ''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 Elis, but Pausanias ...

and says that it also had the name of Platanistus (Πλατανιστοῦς). In addition, he calls its territory "Macistia" and indicates that it extended beyond the

Neda River The Neda () is a river in the western Peloponnese in Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . It is unique in the sense that it is the only river in Greece with a feminine name. It took its name from the nymph Neda. Geography The river b ...

. There has been controversy about its exact location and it has even been suggested that it could have been the same city as

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

. However, modern scholars locate Macistus at a site called Mazi within the bounds of the modern town of

Skillounta Skillounta is a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Elis (regional unit), Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Andritsaina-Krestena, of which it is a municipal ...

References

Populated places in ancient Elis Former populated places in Greece Triphylia {{ancientElis-geo-stub