Macistus or Makistos (), or Macistum or Makiston (Μάκιστον), was a city of ancient Elis, in

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 wit ...

. It is one of the six cities (along with

Lepreum Lepreum or Lepreon ( grc, Λέπρεον), alternately named Lepreus or Lepreos (Λέπρεος) was an Ancient Greek city-state in Triphylia, a district of Elis (now part of the Elis regional unit). It was located 40 stadia away from the sea at ...

, Phrixae,

Pyrgus ''Pyrgus'' is a genus in the skippers butterfly family, Hesperiidae, known as the grizzled skippers. The name "checkered" or "chequered skipper" may also be applied to some species, but also refers to species in the genera ''Burnsius'' and '' ...

, Epium, and Nudium) founded by the

Minyans According to Greek mythology and legendary prehistory of the Aegean region, the Minyans or Minyae ( el, Μινύες, ''Minyes'') were an autochthonous group inhabiting the Aegean region. The extent to which the prehistory of the Aegean world ...

in the territory of the Paroreatae and

Caucones The Caucones ( grc-gre, Καύκωνες ''Kaukônes'') were an autochthonous tribe of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), who later migrated to parts of the Greek mainland ( Arcadia, Triphylian Pylos and Elis). The phonology of the name Caucones m ...

. Pausanias writes that in the time of king

Pyrrhus of Pisatis Pyrrhus, Pyrrhos or Pyrros () may refer to: People * Pyrrhus of Epirus (318–272 BC), king of Epirus, after whom the term ''Pyrrhic victory'' was named * Pyrrhus II of Epirus (fl. late 3rd century BC), brother of Ptolemy of Epirus * Pyrrhus of ...

, the cities of

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ...

, Macistus, Scillus, and

Dyspontium Dyspontium ( grc, Δυσπόντιον) was one of the eight towns of Pisatis in ancient Elis. It was situated in the plain between Elis and Olympia, north of the river Alpheus and not far from the sea. It has been identified with the modern villag ...

rebelled against the Eleans because of the organization of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

. Pisa and its allies were defeated and their cities were destroyed ().

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...

comments that, in his time, most of the cities founded by the Minyans were ravaged by the Eleans. It is supposed that this happened around 460 BCE, after the Third Messenian War. The town is also cited by

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies of ...

in the framework of the war between Elis and

Sparta Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

led by

Agis II Agis II ( grc-gre, Ἄγις; died c. 399 BC) was the 18th Eurypontid king of Sparta, the eldest son of Archidamus II by his first wife, and half-brother of Agesilaus II. He ruled with his Agiad co-monarch Pausanias.Artemidorus Artemidorus Daldianus ( grc-gre, Ἀρτεμίδωρος ὁ Δαλδιανός) or Ephesius was a professional diviner who lived in the 2nd century AD. He is known from an extant five-volume Greek work, the '' Oneirocritica'' or ''Oneirokritiko ...

, it was uninhabited since the 2nd century BCE. Strabo places it in the region of

Triphylia Triphylia ( el, Τριφυλία, ''Trifylia'', "the country of the three tribes") was an area of the ancient Peloponnese. Strabo and Pausanias both describe Triphylia as part of Elis, and it fell at times under the domination of the city of E ...

and says that it also had the name of Platanistunte. In addition, he calls its territory "Macistia" and indicates that it extended beyond the Neda River. There has been controversy about its exact location and it has even been suggested that it could have been the same city as

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

. However, modern scholars locate Macistus at a site called Mazi within the bounds of the modern town of

Skillounta Skillounta is a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Andritsaina-Krestena, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 194.409 km2. It i ...

References

Populated places in ancient Elis Former populated places in Greece Triphylia {{ancientElis-geo-stub