Elis was divided into three districts--Hollow or Lowland Elis ([Greek:
hê kohilê Êlis]), Pisatis, or the territory of Pisa, and Triphylia, or
the country of the three tribes. (1) _Hollow Elis_, the largest and most
northern of the three, was watered by the Peneus and its tributary the
Ladon, whose united stream forms the modern Gastouni. It included not
only the champaign country originally designated by its name, but also
the mountainous region of Acrorea, occupied by the offshoots of
Erymanthus. Besides the capital city of Elis, it contained Cyllene, an
Arcadian settlement on the sea-coast, whose inhabitants worshipped
Hermes under the phallic symbol; Pylus, at the junction of the Peneus
and the Ladon, which, like so many other places of the same name,
claimed to be the city of Nestor, and the fortified frontier town of
Lasion, the ruins of which are still visible at Kuti, near the village
of Kumani. The district was famous in antiquity for its cattle and
horses; and its byssus, supposed to have been introduced by the
Phoenicians, was inferior only to that of Palestine. (2) _Pisatis_
extended south from Hollow Elis to the right bank of the Alpheus, and
was divided into eight departments called after as many towns. Of these
Salmone, Heraclea, Cicysion, Dyspontium and Harpina are known--the last
being the reputed burial-place of Marmax, the suitor of Hippodamia. From
the time of the early investigators it has been disputed whether Pisa,
which gave its name to the district, has ever been a city, or was only a
fountain or a hill. By far the most important spot in Pisatis was the
scene of the great Olympic games, on the northern bank of the Alpheus
(see OLYMPIA). (3) _Triphylia_ stretches south from the Alpheus to the
Neda, which forms the boundary towards Messenia. Of the nine towns
mentioned by Polybius, only two attained to any considerable
influence--Lepreum and Macistus, which gave the names of Lepreatis and
Macistia to the southern and northern halves of Triphylia. The former
was the seat of a strongly independent population, and continued to take
every opportunity of resisting the supremacy of the Eleans. In the time
of Pausanias it was in a very decadent condition, and possessed only a
poor brick-built temple of Demeter; but considerable remains of its
outer walls are still in existence near the village of Strovitzi, on a
part of the Minthe range.
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