The history of Elis may be well put together from different documents.[38] The Aetolians ruled in the city as an oligarchy, and even as late as the Peloponnesian war the city appears as sovereign, and the perioeci as subjects; in Aristotle’s Politics, the Aetolian γένη are still described as a body of oligarchs. But this state of things was probably altered even in the course of the Peloponnesian war: the oligarchy was reduced in numbers, and was unable to maintain itself; the commonalty, on the other hand, acquired consistency, and the old citizens were united with the country population. Thus Elis became a compact state, acquiring the extent which we see in our maps, and all the free inhabitants of the country became Eleans. They were divided into twelve tribes, four of which were afterwards lost, together with a portion of the country. Further particulars will be mentioned in connection with the several towns. Elis had coal mines which were worked, but according to Theophrastus, the smiths preferred the Massilian coal. The original Elis, then, after the Doric migration, comprised only the country of the Epeans; its capital, _Elis_, was founded by the Aetolians. This town, like the Eleans in general, does not act a brilliant part in history; but it was not insignificant, and was situated in a very fertile and thickly peopled valley, the κοίλη Ἠλις. There is only one other town in Elis proper, _Cyllene_, the ἐπίνειον for the small fleet of Elis, standing to the capital in the relation of perioeci, similar to that subsisting between Lausanne and Berne. For a considerable period, Elis was the most peaceable and most undisturbed country in Greece, and was chiefly inhabited by small landed proprietors. Polybius too mentions the long peace, but we cannot say precisely during what period it prevailed, and, at all events, must not extend it too long. The Eleans were involved in the Peloponnesian war no less than all the other Greek states; in earlier times they had even been conquerors. _Pisa_, situated on the Alpheus, enjoyed great reputation in ancient times, but was destroyed by the Eleans at an early period (about Olymp. 90), and its territory was incorporated with that of Elis. This secured to the Eleans the prostasia at the Olympic games. All maps have the same mistake, representing _Olympia_ as a town; it was nothing but a place containing the temple of the Olympian Zeus and the localities required for the games, a stadium, theatre, and the like. There never were Olympian citizens, nor a βουλή or a δῆμος; and there exists no ethnic name formed from Olympia. There may have been some inns for strangers, but with the exception of the season of the games, the place was never visited.