Helisson (Ancient Greek: Ἑλισσών) was a town in ancient Arcadia, Greece. It was situated in the district Maenalia, situated on Mount Maenalus near the territory of Mantineia, near the source of the river Helisson (present Elissonas), a tributary of the Alpheius. According to Greek mythology, the town was founded by Helisson, a son of Lycaon.[1]
The town was taken by the Lacedaemonians in one of their wars with the Arcadians, 352 BCE; but most of its inhabitants had been previously removed to Megalopolis upon the foundation of the latter city in 371 BCE.[2][3] There was a temple of Poseidon with a statue of the god. Pausanias (who visited in the 2nd century CE) found the head of the statue still remaining.[4] The Elisphasii mentioned by Polybius[5] are conjectured by some writers to be a corrupt form of Helissontii.
Its site is tentatively located south the modern Piana.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ Pausanias (1918). "3.2". Description of Greece. Vol. 8. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus. Bibliotheca historica (Historical Library). Vol. 16.39.
- ^ Pausanias (1918). "27.3". Description of Greece. Vol. 8. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library., 7.
- ^ Pausanias (1918). "30.1". Description of Greece. Vol. 8. Translated by W. H. S. Jones; H. A. Ormerod. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann – via Perseus Digital Library.
- ^ Polybius. The Histories. Vol. 11.11.6.
- ^ Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 58, and directory notes accompanying. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9.
- ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Helisson". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
37°33′54″N 22°15′32″E / 37.565°N 22.259°E
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