Geography

​Ephorus says that Aetolus, having been expelled from Elis by Salmoneus, the king of the Epeians and Pisatans, went to Aetolia, named the country after himself, and founded the cities there. Oxylus, who was a descendant of this man, became a friend of the Heracleidae under Temenus, guided them on their way as they returned to the Peloponnese, partitioned the enemy country among them, and advised them on other matters regarding the conquest of the land. In return for these services, he received as a favor the return to Elis, which was his ancestral home, and he returned there after assembling an army from Aetolia against the Epeians who held Elis. When the Epeians met them in arms, since the forces were evenly matched, Pyraechmes the Aetolian and Degmenus the Epeian came forward to fight in single combat according to an ancient custom of the Greeks. Degmenus was light-armed with a bow, intending to overcome a heavy-armed soldier easily by shooting from a distance, but Pyraechmes, having detected the trick, went with a sling and a bag of stones. It happened that this type of sling had recently been invented by the Aetolians; and since the sling had a longer range, Degmenus fell, and the Aetolians took possession of the land, expelling the Epeians. They also took over the care of the temple at Olympia, which the Achaeans had held. Because of Oxylus’ friendship with the Heracleidae, it was easily agreed by all under oath that Elis should be sacred to Zeus, and that anyone who invaded this country with arms should be accursed, and likewise accursed should be anyone who did not defend it to the best of his power. For this reason, those who founded the city of the Eleans later left it unfortified, and those who passed through the country with an army surrendered their weapons and received them back after departing from the borders. And Iphitus established the Olympic games, since the Eleans were sacred. As a result of such circumstances, the people grew in prosperity; for while others were always warring with one another, they alone enjoyed abundant peace, not only themselves but also their foreign guests, so that they became exceptionally populous as a consequence of this. Pheidon the Argive, who was tenth from Temenus and surpassed his contemporaries in power—whence he recovered the entire inheritance of Temenus, which had been split into several parts, and invented the measures called Pheidonian, and weights, and coined money, both of other kinds and of silver—in addition to these, attacked the cities captured by Heracles, and claimed the right to hold the games which Heracles had established; among these was the Olympic game. And indeed, having forced his way in, he held the games himself, since the Eleans had no arms to prevent him because of the peace, and the others were dominated by his hegemony. However, the Eleans did not record this celebration, but rather acquired arms because of this and began to defend themselves; and the Lacedaemonians also assisted them, either because they envied their prosperity due to peace, or because they thought they would have them as allies to overthrow Pheidon, who had deprived them of the leadership of the Peloponnesians, which they had previously held. And indeed they helped to overthrow Pheidon, and they helped the Eleans to secure both Pisatis and Triphylia. The entire coastal voyage of what is now Elis, if one does not follow the curves of the gulfs, is one thousand two hundred stadia. So much for Elis.