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Elis, or Eleia (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
, Modern: ???da Ilida, Ancient: Elis, Doric
Doric Greek

Doric or Dorian was a ancient Greek dialects of ancient Greek Greek language. Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon....
: Alis , Elean : Walis) is an ancient district, that corresponds with the modern Elis Prefecture
Elis Prefecture

Ilia is a Prefectures of Greece in the western Peloponnese and in the western part of Greece. The prefecture is part of the Peripheries of Greece of West Greece....
. It is in southern Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
 on the Peloponnesos peninsula
Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of Landform that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paeninsula : paene, almost + insula, island....
, bounded on the north by Achaea
Achaea

Achaea is an ancient province and a present prefectures of Greece of Greece, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the north, bordering the Gulf of Corinth, into which the mountain Panachaicus projects....
, east by Arcadia
Arcadia

Arcadia, Arkad?a , or Arcady is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas....
, south by Messenia
Messenia

Messenia or Messinia is a prefectures of Greece in the Peloponnese, a region of Greece. Messenia is bounded on the east by Mount Taygetus, on the north by the Neda and the Arcadian Mountains, and on the west and south by the Mediterranean Sea, more specifically on the west by the Ionian Sea, and on the south by the Gulf of Messenia....
, and west by the Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy, including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula, to the west, by southwestern Albania, including Saranda and Himara, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and Lefkas to the east....
.

The first Olympic
Ancient Olympic Games

The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece....
 festival was organized in Elean land, Olympia, Greece
Olympia, Greece

Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi....
 by the authorities of Elis in the 8th century BCE - with tradition dating the first games at 776 BCE.






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Elis, or Eleia (Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
, Modern: ???da Ilida, Ancient: Elis, Doric
Doric Greek

Doric or Dorian was a ancient Greek dialects of ancient Greek Greek language. Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon....
: Alis , Elean : Walis) is an ancient district, that corresponds with the modern Elis Prefecture
Elis Prefecture

Ilia is a Prefectures of Greece in the western Peloponnese and in the western part of Greece. The prefecture is part of the Peripheries of Greece of West Greece....
. It is in southern Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
 on the Peloponnesos peninsula
Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of Landform that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paeninsula : paene, almost + insula, island....
, bounded on the north by Achaea
Achaea

Achaea is an ancient province and a present prefectures of Greece of Greece, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the north, bordering the Gulf of Corinth, into which the mountain Panachaicus projects....
, east by Arcadia
Arcadia

Arcadia, Arkad?a , or Arcady is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas....
, south by Messenia
Messenia

Messenia or Messinia is a prefectures of Greece in the Peloponnese, a region of Greece. Messenia is bounded on the east by Mount Taygetus, on the north by the Neda and the Arcadian Mountains, and on the west and south by the Mediterranean Sea, more specifically on the west by the Ionian Sea, and on the south by the Gulf of Messenia....
, and west by the Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy, including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula, to the west, by southwestern Albania, including Saranda and Himara, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and Lefkas to the east....
.

The first Olympic
Ancient Olympic Games

The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece....
 festival was organized in Elean land, Olympia, Greece
Olympia, Greece

Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi....
 by the authorities of Elis in the 8th century BCE - with tradition dating the first games at 776 BCE. The Hellanodikai
Hellanodikai

The Hellanodikai were the judges of the Ancient Olympic Games, and the success of the games are attributed to their efforts. It was their sacred duty to maintain the standards and legacy of the games, as well as uphold the rules....
, the judges of the Games, were of Elean origin.

The local form of the name was Valis, or Valeia, and its meaning, in all probability, “the lowland.” In its physical constitution Elis is practically one with Achaea and Arcadia; its mountains are mere offshoots of the Arcadian highlands, and its principal rivers are fed by Arcadian springs.

Elis was divided into three districts:
  • Hollow (Coele) or Lowland Elis,
  • Pisatis, or the territory of Pisa
    Pisa (Greece)

    Pisa was the name of an ancient town in the western Peloponnese, Greece. The area controlled by Pisa was called Pisatis, which included Olympia, Greece, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games....
    , and
  • Triphylia, or the country of the three tribes.


Hollow Elis, the largest and most northern of the three, was watered by the Peneus and its tributary the Ladon. The district was famous in antiquity for its cattle and horses. Pisatis extended south from Hollow Elis to the right bank of the Alpheus
Alfeios River

Alfei?s is a river in Peloponnese, Greece. Its source is near Megalopolis, Greece in the prefecture Arcadia. It flows along Olympia, Greece and empties into the Ionian Sea in the prefecture of Ilia, near Pyrgos ....
, and was divided into eight departments called after as many towns. Triphylia stretches south from the Alpheus to the Neda.

Today Elis is a small village of 150 citizens, located 14km NE of Amaliada
Amaliada

Amaliada is a Communities and Municipalities of Greece in the western Peloponnese, in Greece. It has 32,090 citizens . It is near the archaeological site of Elis, the city-state whose territory was the site for the ancient Olympic Games....
, build over the ruins of the ancient town. It has a museum that contains many treasures, discovered in the recent excavations. It also has one of the most well-preserved Ancient Theaters in Greece. Elis is well known for breeding horses and its "creation" of the Olympic games.

List of Eleans

Athletes
  • Coroebus
    Coroebus

    In Greek mythology, Coroebus was the son of King Mygdon of Phrygia. He came to the aid of Troy during the Trojan War out of love for Princess Cassandra....
     of Elis, the first Ancient Olympic gold-medalist
    Ancient Olympic Games

    The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece....
Kings and Leaders
  • Salmoneus
    Salmoneus

    In Greek mythology, Salmoneus was the son of Aeolus and Enarete, the brother of Athamas, Sisyphus and the father of Tyro. Salmoneus became King of Elis and founded the city of Salmaneo....
    , mythological king of Elis
  • Aethlius
    Aethlius

    Aethlius was, in Greek mythology, the first king of Elis, father of Endymion . He was the son of either Zeus and Protogeneia , and was married to Calyce ....
    , mythological king of Elis
  • Endymion (mythology)
    Endymion (mythology)

    In Greek mythology, Endymion could have been a handsome Aeolians shepherd or hunter, or, even a king who ruled and was said to reside at Olympia in Elis, but he was also said to reside and was venerated on Latmus in Caria, on the west coast of Asia Minor....
  • Epeius
    Epeius

    There were two characters named Epeius in Greek mythology.#One was a Greek soldier during the Trojan War. He was the son of Panopeus and had the reputation for being a coward....
  • Aetolus
    Aetolus, son of Endymion

    Aetolus was, in Greek mythology, a son of Endymion and the nymph Ne?s, or Iphianassa. According to Pausanias, his mo?ther was called Asterodia, Chromia, or Hyperippe....
  • Augeas
    Augeas

    In Greek mythology, Augeas , whose name means "bright", was king of Elis and husband of Epicaste. He is best known for his stables, which housed the single greatest number of cattle in the country and had never been cleaned ....
    , king of Elis related to the Fifth Labour of Heracles
  • Amphimachus
    Amphimachus

    In Greek mythology, Amphimachus is a name attributed to multiple individuals....
    , king of Elis and leader of Eleans in Trojan War
  • Thalpius, leader of Eleans in Trojan War
  • Oxylus
    Oxylus

    In Greek mythology, Oxylus was a one-eyed man from Aetolia who met Temenus, son of Aristomachus, on a road. Temenus had been told by an oracle to look out for a man with three eyes, and Oxylus, having one eye himself and riding a horse or mule with two more, matched that description....
    , king of Elis
Intellectuals
  • Hippias
    Hippias

    Hippias of Elis Ancient Greece Sophist, was born about the middle of the 5th century BC and was thus a younger contemporary of Protagoras and Socrates....
     of Elis, Greek sophist
  • Phaedo of Elis
    Phaedo of Elis

    Phaedo of Elis was a Greek people philosopher and founder of the Elean School. Phaedo was a native of Elis, born in the last years of the 5th century BC....
    , founder of the Elean School
  • Pyrrho
    Pyrrho

    Pyrrho , a Greek philosopher of classical antiquity, is credited as being the first Skeptic philosopher, and the inspiration for the school known as Pyrrhonism founded by Aenesidemus in the 1st century BC....
  • Troilus
    Troilus of Elis

    Troilus of Elis was an Ancient Greece sportsperson from Elis who participated at the ancient Olympic Games. He gained controversy by being a referee who won two equestrianism events at the 372 BC Ancient Olympic Games....
     (4th century BC) athlete


Eleans as barbarians


Eleans were labelled as the greatest barbarians barbarotatoi by musician Stratonicus of Athens
Stratonicus of Athens

Stratonicus , of Athens, was a distinguished musician of the time of Alexander the Great , of whom scarcely anything is recorded, except the sharp and witty rebuke which he administered to Philotas , when the latter boasted of a victory which he had gained over Timotheus ....


In Hesychius
Hesychius of Alexandria

Hesychius of Alexandria , a grammarian who flourished probably in the 5th century CE, compiled the richest lexicon of unusual and obscure Greek words that has survived ....
 (s.v. ) and other ancient lexica Eleans are also listed as barbarophones. Indeed the North-West Doric
Doric Greek

Doric or Dorian was a ancient Greek dialects of ancient Greek Greek language. Its variants were spoken in the southern and eastern Peloponnese, Crete, Rhodes, some islands in the southern Aegean Sea, some cities on the coasts of Asia Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, Epirus and Macedon....
 dialect of Elis is, after the Aeolic dialects, one of the most difficult for the modern reader of epigraphic texts.

Sources


External links

  • from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture