themselves not being clear about the matter. The whole coast sinks rapidly down towards the Corinthian gulf, which itself seems to have been formed by a sinking of the whole ground, which is further indicated by the abrupt descent of the mountains that come down from Arcadia; the props which once supported the ground must have given way. That part of the country is still the seat of violent subterraneous fire, whence Helice was regarded as one of the principal seats of Ποσειδῶν Ἐνοσίχθων, who however could not save it from destruction. Whether Olenos, as Polybius states, likewise perished by an earthquake, or whether he is mistaken on this point, cannot be decided. It certainly was not swallowed up by the sea, like Helice, which sank down with the coast and all its buildings, for ruins of it were seen at a late period. It is very probable, that if the site of Helice could be ascertained, very important antiquities might be brought to light by diving. Eratosthenes was informed on the spot, that, according to the belief of the neighbouring people, the place had not been destroyed by a shock, but that it had simply sunk; they related that a statue which had formerly stood in the market place, was still standing upright in the sea, and that fishermen took care not to entangle their nets in it. These twelve towns formed a league or confederacy under a common strategus, and of all the Greek confederacies this lasted the longest; but the union was so loose that in the Peloponnesian war Pellene alone joined Sparta, while all the other towns remained neutral, and for a time were even allied with Athens. Afterwards, however, all the Achaeans were in alliance with the Lacedaemonians, though then again Pellene acted independently and by itself. Even at a later period, under Philip and Alexander—the time referred to in the speech περὶ τῶν πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρον ξυνθηκῶν, which is printed among those of Demosthenes, but is undoubtedly the work of Hyperides—Pellene still stood aloof. The dissolution of the Achaean state was then very manifest, and lasted, according to Polybius, until Olymp. 126, when the three westernmost towns again formed an alliance among themselves. As early as the reign of Antigonus Gonatas, Achaia, though then a poor and weak country, had formed itself into one state, and that even before Aratus had delivered Sicyon. At the time when this Achaean confederation rose from its tomb, the real seat of government was at Aegion, and Pellene lost its former importance, which may have been partly the consequence of the ravages made during the war of Demetrius Poliorcetes. Aegion became the new rallying point, probably on account of its situation on the Corinthian gulf; hence it acquired an importance which it had never had before. _Pellene_ was situated on a hill of considerable height, the termination of the northern range of the Arcadian mountains, and was accordingly a strong place.