The Tellaro (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: Helorus or Elorus,

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: or ) is a river in the southeast of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, the most considerable which occurs between

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

and Cape Pachynum. It is long, and has a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of .Bacino Idrografico del Fiume Tellaro (086), Relazione
Regione Siciliana, p. 11 It rises in the hills between Palazzolo (ancient Acrae) and

Giarratana Giarratana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. Its name is likely derived from Arabic. History An elaborate late-imperial Roman villa with floor mosaics was found in 1989 near Giarratana in the Orto Mosaic ...

, and flows at first to the south, then turns eastward, and enters the sea about south of Syracuse. Near its mouth stood the town of the same name. In the upper part of its course it is a mountain stream, flowing over a rugged and rocky bed, whence

Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book '' Punica'', an epic poem about the Second Punic War and the ...

calls it ''undae clamosus Helorus'' (xiv. 269); but near its mouth it becomes almost perfectly stagnant, and liable to frequent inundations. Hence

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

justly speaks of ''praepingue solum stagnantis Helori'' (Aen. iii. 698).

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

praises the beauty of the valley through which it flows, which he terms ''Helornia Tempe'' (Fast. iv. 476). Several ancient authors mention that the stagnant pools at the mouth of the river abounded in fish, which were said to be so tame that they would eat out of the hand, in the same manner as was afterwards not uncommon in the fishponds of the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

. (

Apollodorus of Athens Apollodorus of Athens (, ''Apollodoros ho Athenaios''; c. 180 BC – after 120 BC), son of Asclepiades, was a Greek scholar, historian, and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius the Stoic, and the grammarian Aristarchu ...

''ap.'' Steph. Byz. ''v.'' ; Athenaeus, viii. p. 331; Plin. xxxii. 2. s. 7.) It was on the banks of the Helorus, at a spot called the precise locality of which cannot be determined, that the Syracusans were defeated by

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; ; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician and philosopher of the Classical Greece, classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine. He is traditionally referr ...

, tyrant of

Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the regional autonomy, Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province o ...

, in a great battle. ( Herod. vii. 154; Pind. ''Nem.'' ix. 95; and Schol. ''ad loc.'')

References

{{Reflist Drainage basins of the Ionian Sea Rivers of Italy Rivers of Sicily Rivers of the Province of Ragusa Rivers of the Province of Syracuse