Geography

​Now they call all the coast between the Achaeans and the Messenians ‘Eleia’, which extends inland towards the part of Arcadia near Pholoe and the Azanes and the Parrhasians. In ancient times this territory was divided into several dynasties, and then into two: that of the Epeians and that under Nestor the son of Neleus; just as Homer also has said, calling that of the Epeians ‘Elis’: “and past divine Elis, where the Epeians rule,” and that under Nestor ‘Pylos’, through which he says the Alpheius flows: “of Alpheius, which flows wide through the land of the Pylians.” Now the poet knows Pylos also as a city: “And they came to Pylos, the well-built city of Neleus.” But the Alpheius does not flow through the city, nor even past it; but past it flows another river, which some call Pamisus and others Amathus, from which this Pylos also seems to have been called ‘Emathoeis’, but the Alpheius flows through the Pylian territory.

​The present city of Elis had not yet been founded in the time of Homer, but the territory was inhabited in villages; and it was called ‘Hollow Elis’ from its physical character, for most and the best of it was of this character. But at a late date, after the Persian Wars, they united into the present city of Elis from many demes. And almost all the other places throughout the Peloponnesus, except for a few which the poet enumerated, one must think of them not as cities but as territories, each containing several associations of demes, from which the well-known cities were later founded as joint-settlements; as, for example, Mantineia in Arcadia was founded as a joint-settlement from five demes by the Argives, Tegea from nine, and Heraea from as many by Cleombrotus or by Cleonymus; and in the same way Aegium was brought together into a city from seven or eight demes, Patrae from seven, and Dyme from eight; and so also Elis was brought together into a city from the surrounding villages; one of these was [...] Agriades. And the river Peneius flows through the city, past its gymnasium; and the Eleians did this many years after the transfer to them of the territories that had been under Nestor.

​And these territories were Pisatis, of which Olympia is a part, and Triphylia, and the country of the Caucones. And they were called Triphylians from what had occurred, namely from the coming together of three tribes: that of the original Epeians, and that of the Minyans who migrated there later, and that of the Eleians who finally prevailed; but others say Arcadians instead of Minyans, who often disputed the territory, from which fact the same Pylos was called both ‘Arcadian’ and ‘Triphylian’. Homer, however, calls all this country as far as Messene ‘Pylos’, with the same name as the city. And that Hollow Elis was distinguished from the places under Nestor is shown by the Catalogue of Ships, through the names of the leaders and of the settlements. And I say these things by comparing the present conditions with the statements made by Homer; for it is necessary to examine these things side by side with those because of the fame of the poet and our familiarity with him, since each of us thinks that his present purpose is then successful whenever there is nothing that contradicts the accounts about the same things that have been so strongly believed; indeed, we must state the facts, and also, by citing the words of the poet, examine them as far as is proper.