Pheia (Elis)

This article is about the ancient Greek port. For the port of ancient Olympia, see Pheia (Elis).
Pheia
Φειά
Φειαί
Pheia (Elis) is located in Greece
Pheia (Elis)
Shown within Greece
LocationElis, Greece
Coordinates37°39′51.4″N 21°18′50.5″E / 37.664278°N 21.314028°E / 37.664278; 21.314028
Site notes
Websitepheia.gr
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Pheia (Ancient Greek: αἱ Φειαί[1] or Φειά[2]) or Phea (Φεά)[3] was a city of ancient Elis in the Pisatis, situated upon the isthmus connecting the promontory Ichthys (now the Cape of Katakolo) with the mainland.[4] Pheia is mentioned by Homer, who places it near the Iardanus, which is apparently the mountain torrent north of Ichthys, and which flows into the sea on the northern side of the lofty mountain Skaphídi.[1][5]

It was built in a natural bay at today's Agios Andreas, Katakolo. It was destroyed in the 6th century.[6] Upon a very conspicuous peaked height upon the isthmus of Ichthys are the ruins of a castle of the Middle Ages, called Pontikokastro, built upon the remains of the Hellenic walls of Pheia.[4] On either side of Ichthys are two harbours; the northern one, which is a small creek, was the port of Pheia; the southern one is the broad bay of Katakolo, which is now much frequented, but was too open and exposed for ancient navigation. The position of these harbours explains the narrative of Thucydides, who relates that in the first year of the Peloponnesian War (431 BCE), the Athenian fleet, having sailed from Methone in Messenia, landed at Pheia (that is, in the bay of Katakolo), and laid waste the country; but a storm having arisen, they sailed round the promontory Ichthys into the harbour of Pheia. Thereafter the Athenians used the town and ports as a base for military operations in Elis.[7] In front of the harbour was a small island, which Polybius calls Pheias.[2][8]

  1. ^ a b Homer. Iliad. Vol. 7.135.
  2. ^ a b Strabo. Geographica. Vol. viii.3, p. 343. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
  3. ^ Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v.
  4. ^ a b Public Domain Smith, William, ed. (1857). "Pheia". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Vol. 2. London: John Murray. p. 593.
  5. ^ Homer. Odyssey. Vol. 15.297.
  6. ^ SKRIP newspaper, page 2, 3/31/1911, accessed from the Greek national library Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Vol. 2.25.
  8. ^ Polybius. The Histories. Vol. 4.9.