The Lousios ( el, Λούσιος; la, Lusius), also known in antiquity as Gortynius or Gortynios ( grc, Γορτύνιος), is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

and a

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

in western Arcadia that stretches from

Karytaina Karytaina or Karitaina ( el, Καρύταινα or Καρίταινα) is a village and a community in Arcadia, Greece. Karytaina is situated on a hill on the right bank of the river Alpheios, near its confluence with the Lousios. The village da ...

north to

Dimitsana Dimitsana ( el, Δημητσάνα) is a mountain village and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Gortynia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. The river begins near Lykochori and flows through the Lousios Gorge. The river is treacherous and flows rapidly. It empties into the

Alfeios The Alfeiós or Alpheios ( el, Αλφειός, grc, Ἀλφειός, Latin Alpheus) is the main stream of the Alpheios Valley drainage system, a dendritic type, originating on the north slopes of Mount Taygetus, located in the center of the Pelo ...

northwest of Karytaina and south of Atsicholos. The river forms a deep, narrow gorge. Its length is approximately from north to south and its width is approximately wide. The gorge is very popular amongst hikers. At the northern end of the gorge lies the town of

. At the southern end is the ancient city of Gortys with the temple of

Asclepius Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represen ...

. Much of the gorge is heavily forested, and there are steep cliffs. According to tradition, the river took its name from

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...

, the father of the

Olympian gods upright=1.8, Fragment of a relief (1st century BC1st century AD) depicting the twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from left to right: Hestia (scepter), Hermes (winged cap and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and s ...

, who according to

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

washed at its sources after his birth. Pausanias also considered Lousios the coldest river in the known world. The Lousios gorge is also known as the "

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peni ...

of the Peloponnese" on account of the many monasteries that dot its walls: the Timiou Prodromou, Philosophou, Aimyalon, Panagias Kalamiou monasteries, and the Church of St. Andrew in Gortys. The gorge also features several old water-mills for tabac and

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). T ...

production.

Nearest places

* Lykochori *

, east of the river *

Stemnitsa Stemnitsa ( el, Στεμνίτσα) is a mountain village in the municipal unit of Trikolonoi, Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. It was the seat of the former municipality Trikolonoi. Stemnitsa is a traditional settlement and is considered one of t ...

, east of the river *

Gortyna Gortyna ( grc, Γόρτυνα; also known as Gortyn (Γορτύν)) was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus o ...

, west of the river * Atsicholos, west of the river *

Elliniko Elliniko ( el, Ελληνικό, meaning "Greek") is a coastal suburb of Athens, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Elliniko-Argyroupoli, of which it is a municipal unit. Elliniko is known for the Helli ...

, east of the river

Gallery

Image:Dimitsana-Panorama.jpg, A view of Megalopoli and the Alfeios valley from Dimitsana Image:Podromos.jpg, Prodromou Monastery Image:Philosophou.jpg, Philosophou Monastery Image:lousiosgorge_with-monasteries.jpg, Prodromou Monastery at left, Philosophou Monastery at right File:Lousios River.jpg, Lousios river

References

External links

Landforms of Arcadia, Peloponnese Rivers of Greece Rivers of Peloponnese (region) Canyons and gorges of Greece Locations in Greek mythology {{Greece-river-stub