The river Foinikas (, ) is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the northern

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It is also known as Salmenikos River (Σαλμένικος). Its source is on the north-eastern slopes of Mount

Panachaiko The Panachaiko (, "Panachaean"), also known as Vodias (Βοδιάς) mainly at the Middle Ages, is a mountain range in Achaea, Peloponnese, Greece. It spans about 20 km in length from north to south, and 15–20 km from east to west. I ...

, near the village of Vounopirgos (Loubista). It empties into the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...

, between the villages of Longos and Kamares. Major tributaries are Kloumenitis (intermittent stream) and Stachtaina (intermittent stream). The total length of the river is and it flows along the following places, from the source downstream: Damakini, Salmenikο, Kamares. Foinikas is an intermittent river that has a continuous flow in all its length from October to June every year (during years of normal rainfall). Close to the sources, the river has a yearly flow but during the summer months, the water is used for agriculture.

History

The river is mentioned by the ancient Greek geographer Pausanias in the seventh volume of his ''

Description of Greece ''Description of Greece'' () is the only surviving work by the ancient "geographer" or tourist Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias (c. 110 – c. 180). Pausanias' ''Description of Greece'' comprises ten books, each of them dedicated to some ...

''. He mentions the river as a landmark for the ancient city of

Aigio Aigio, also written as ''Aeghion, Aegion, Aegio, Egio'' (, ; ), is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the mun ...

: "The territory of Aegium (

) is crossed by a river Phoenix, and by another called Meganitas, both of which flow into the sea". In 1874 the researcher and chronicler

Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria Archduke Ludwig Salvator of Austria (, ; 4 August 1847 – 12 October 1915) was an Austrian archduke of the House of Habsburg. He became known as a champion for Mallorca's wildlife, in an era when the term "conservation movement, conservation" was ...

did a research trip by boat in the

and he wrote a detailed book with his observations for the landscape and the populated places of the northern Peloponnese. He names the river Foinikas as "Salmenikiotikos potamos" (meaning river that comes from Salmeniko).Ludwig, Salvador. ''Eine Spazierfahrt Im Golfe Von Korinth''. Prague: Heinr. Mercy, 1876, p. 276

Gallery

File:Foinikas-river-road-sign-Olympia-Odos.jpg, Road sign with the inscription "Foinikas River" (On the

Olympia Odos Olympia Odos is a toll motorway system on the Peloponnese in Greece. Starting from Eleusis in the Athens, Athens metropolitan area, the Olympia Odos motorways follow the Gulf of Corinth to the Rio–Antirrio bridge and the city of Patras, and al ...

highway bridge over the river) File:The estuary of the river Foinikas.jpg, The estuary of the river Foinikas. Partial view (January 2022) File:Phoenix river.jpg, River Foinikas as seen from mount Panachaiko

References

{{Reflist Rivers of Greece Rivers of Western Greece Landforms of Achaea Drainage basins of the Gulf of Corinth