Rhypes ( grc, Ῥύπες), or Rhypae or Rhypai (Ῥύπαι) was a

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

(city-state) of

ancient Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (; el, Ἀχαΐα, ''Akhaia'', ) was (and is) the northernmost region of the Peloponnese, occupying the coastal strip north of Arcadia. Its approximate boundaries were to the south the mountain range of Erymanthus, to the s ...

, 30 stadia west of

Aegium Aegium or Aigion ( grc, Αἴγιον), or Aegeium or Aigeion (Αἴγειον), was a town and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, and one of the twelve Achaean cities. It was situated upon the coast west of the river Selinus, 30 stadia from R ...

, and was one of the original twelve Achaean cities. It had ceased to be a member of the

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

in the time of

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

, who mentions Leontium in its place. Rhypes, however, continued to exist down to the time of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

; but this emperor destroyed the city and transferred its inhabitants to Patrae, and its territory (Ῥυπίς, or ἡ Ῥυπική) was divided between Aegium and

Pharae Pharae ( grc, Φαραί), otherwise known as Phara (Φᾶρα), and Pherae, was a town and polis (city-state), situated by the Peiros River, approximately from the sea and from the town of Patras, in what is now southern Greece. It was one of ...

. Its ruins were seen by

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 ...

, in the 2nd century, at a short distance from the main road from Aegium to Patrae. We learn from

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

that this town was mentioned by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...

as κεραυνίας Ῥύπας, or "Rhypes stricken by the thunderbolt." It was the birthplace of

Myscellus Myscellus, or MyscelusOvid, ''Metamorphoses'' 15.19, 26. ( grc, Μύσκελλος and Μύσκελος), son of Alemon, was a native of the Achaean polis Rhypes and the legendary founder of Crotona in 710 BC. According Ovid, the god Hercules appe ...

, the founder of Croton. In the territory of Rhypes there was a suburb called Leuctrum (Λεῦκτρον), and also a seaport named Erineum (Ἐρινεόν or Ἐρινεὸς λιμήν) which is mentioned by

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

, and which is described by Pausanias as 60 stadia from Aegium. The site of Rhypes is located south of modern Koumari.

References

Populated places in ancient Achaea Former populated places in Greece Destroyed cities Achaean city-states {{AncientAchaea-geo-stub

See also

References