Helisson ( grc, Ἑλισσών) was a town in
ancient Arcadia,
Greece. It was situated in the district
Maenalia, situated on
Mount Maenalus
Mainalo ( el, Μαίναλο, grc, Μαίναλος or Μαίναλον, Mainalos or Mainalon; la, Maenalus) is the tallest mountain in the Menalon highlands of the Peloponnese, and is located in Arcadia (regional unit), Arcadia, Greece. In a ...
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.
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. 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. The Elisphasii mentioned by
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 ...
are conjectured by some writers to be a corrupt form of Helissontii.
Its site is tentatively located south the modern
Piana.
References
Populated places in ancient Arcadia
Former populated places in Greece
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