Methydrium or Methydrion ( grc, Μεθύδριον) was a town in central

ancient Arcadia Arcadia ( el, Ἀρκαδία) is a region in the central Peloponnese. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas, and in Greek mythology it was the home of the gods Hermes and Pan. In European Renaissance arts, Arcadia was celebrat ...

, situated 170 stadia north of

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enou ...

. It obtained its name, like the places called Interamna, from being situated upon a lofty height between the two rivers Maloetas and Mylaon. According to

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

, it was founded by Orchomenus; but its inhabitants were removed to Megalopolis, upon the establishment of that city (371 BCE). It never recovered its former population, and is mentioned by Strabo among the places of Arcadia which had almost entirely disappeared. It continued, however, to exist as a village in the time of

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 ...

, who saw there a temple of Poseidon Hippius upon the river Mylaon. He also mentions, above the river Maloetas, a mountain called Thaumasium, in which was a cave where Rhea took refuge when pregnant with

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

. At the distance of 30 stadia from Methydrium was a fountain named Nymphasia. Methydrium is also 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 " scient ...

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 ...

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ...

, and

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

. Its site is located near the modern

Methydrio Methydrio ( el, Μεθύδριο, before 1927: Νεμνίτσα - ''Nemnitsa'') is a village in the municipal unit of Vytina, Arcadia, Greece. In 2011, it had a population of 11. It sits at 1,060 m above sea level, at the foot of the Mainalo mount ...

, which was renamed to reflect association with the ancient town. The remains of ancient Methydrium have been excavated in 1910.Arcadia - Archaio Methydrio
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References

Populated places in ancient Arcadia Former populated places in Greece Locations in Greek mythology Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece {{AncientArcadia-geo-stub