Pheneus or Pheneos (
[Homer, ''Iliad'' 2.605] or Φενεός) was a town in the northeast of
ancient Arcadia
Arcadia (; ) is a region in the central Peloponnese, Greece. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas, and in Greek mythology it was the home of the gods Hermes and Pan (god), Pan. In European Renaissance arts, Arcadia (utopia), Ar ...
. Its territory, called
Pheniatis (ἡ Φενεατική
or ἡ Φενεᾶτις or η Φενική), was bounded on the north by that of the
Achaean towns of
Aegeira and
Pellene, east by the
Stymphalia, west by the
Cleitoria, and south by the
Caphyatis and
Orchomenia. This territory is shut in on every side by lofty mountains, offshoots of
Mount Cyllene and the
Aroanian chain; and it is about 7 miles (12 km) in length and the same in breadth. Two streams descend from the northern mountains, and unite their waters about the middle of the valley; the united river bore in ancient times the name of
Olbius and
Aroanius.
[ There is no opening through the mountains on the south; but the waters of the united river are carried off by subterranean channels (katavóthra) in the limestone rocks, and, after flowing underground, reappear as the sources of the river Ladon. In order to convey the waters of this river in a single channel to the katavóthra, the inhabitants at an early period constructed a canal, 50 stadia in length, and 30 feet (9 m) in breadth.][
This great work, which was attributed to ]Heracles
Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...
, had become useless in the time of Pausanias, and the river had resumed its ancient and irregular course; but traces of the canal of Heracles are still visible, and one bank of it was a conspicuous object in the valley when it was visited by William Martin Leake
William Martin Leake FRS (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English soldier, spy, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British Army, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...
in 1806. The canal of Heracles, however, could not protect the valley from the danger to which it was exposed, in consequence of the katavóthra becoming obstructed, and the river finding no outlet for its waters. The Pheneatae related that their city was once destroyed by such an inundation, and in proof of it they pointed out upon the mountains the marks of the height to which the water was said to have ascended. Pausanias evidently refers to the yellow border which is still visible upon the mountains and around the plain: but in consequence of the great height of this line upon the rocks, it is difficult to believe it to be the mark of the ancient depth of water in the plain, and it is more probably caused by evaporation; the lower parts of the rock being constantly moistened, while the upper are in a state of comparative dryness, thus producing a difference of colour in process of time. It is, however, certain that the Pheneatic plain has been exposed more than once to such inundations. Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
says that the calamity had occurred five times; and Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; ; – ) was an Ancient Greek polymath: a Greek mathematics, mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theory, music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of A ...
related a memorable instance of such an inundation through the obstruction of the katavóthra, when, after they were again opened, the water rushing into the Ladon and the Alpheius overflowed the banks of those rivers at Olympia. The account of Eratosthenes has been confirmed by a similar occurrence in modern times. In 1821 the katavóthra became obstructed, and the water continued to rise in the plain till it had destroyed of cultivated country. Such was its condition till 1832, when the subterraneous channels again opened, the Ladon and Alpheius overflowed, and the plain of Olympia was inundated. Other ancient writers allude to the katavóthra and subterraneous course of the river of Pheneus.
Pheneus is mentioned by Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
in the Catalogue of Ships
The Catalogue of Ships (, ''neōn katálogos'') is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's ''Iliad'' (2.494–759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. The catalogue gives the names of the leaders of each conting ...
in the ''Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
'' – its toops are led by Agapenor. It was more celebrated in mythical than in historical times. 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 ...
represents it as the residence of Evander; and its celebrity in mythical times is indicated by its connection with Heracles. Pausanias found the city in a state of complete decay. The acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...
contained a ruined temple of Athena Tritonia, with a brazen statue of Poseidon Hippius. On the descent from the acropolis was the stadium; and on a neighbouring hill, the sepulchre of Iphicles, the brother of Heracles. There was also a temple of Hermes
Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...
, who was the principal deity of the city.
The lower slope of the mountain, upon which the remains of Pheneus stand, is occupied by a village now called Archaia Feneos. There is, however, some difficulty in the description of Pausanias compared with the existing site. Pausanias says that the acropolis was precipitous on every side, and that only a small part of it was artificially fortified; but the summit of the insulated hill, upon which the remains of Pheneus are found, is too small apparently for the acropolis of such an important city, and moreover it has a regular slope, though a very rugged surface. Hence Leake supposes that the whole of this hill formed the acropolis of Pheneus, and that the lower town was in a part of the subjacent plain; but the entire hill is not of that precipitous kind which the description of Pausanias would lead one to suppose, and it is not impossible that the acropolis may have been on some other height in the neighbourhood, and that the hill on which the ancient remains are found may have been part of the lower city.
There were several roads from Pheneus to the surrounding towns. Of these the northern road to Achaea ran through the Pheneatic plain. Upon this road, at the distance of 15 stadia from the city, was a temple of Apollo Pythius, which was in ruins in the time of Pausanias. A little above the temple the road divided, the one to the left leading across Mount Crathis to Aegeira, and the other to the right running to Pellene: the boundaries of Aegeira and Pheneus were marked by a temple of Artemis Pyronia, and those of Pellene and Pheneus by that which is called Porinas (ὁ καλούμενος Πωρ́ινας), supposed by Leake to be a river, but by Ernst Curtius a rock.
Pausanias describes the two roads which led westward from Pheneus around a mountain – that to the right or northwest leading to Nonacris and the supposed river Styx, and that to the left to Cleitor. Nonacris was in the territory of Pheneus. The road to Cleitor ran at first along the canal of Heracles, and then crossed the mountain, which formed the natural boundary between the Pheneatis and Cleitoria, close to the village of Lycuria. On the other side of the mountain the road passed by the sources of the river Ladon. This mountain, from which the Ladon springs, was called Penteleia (Πεντελεία). The fortress, named Penteleium (Πεντέλειον), which Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
says was near Pheneus, must have been situated upon this mountain.
The southern road from Pheneus led to Orchomenus, and was the way by which Pausanias came to the former city. The road passed from the Orchomenian plain to that of Pheneus through a narrow ravine (φάραγξ); in the middle of which was a fountain of water, and at the further extremity the village of Caryae. The mountains on either side were named Oryxis (Ὄρυξις), and Sciathis (Σκίαθις), and at the foot of either was a subterraneous channel, which carried off the water from the plain. The eastern road from Pheneus led to Stymphalus, across Mount Geronteium, which formed the boundary between the territories of the two cities.
To the left of Mt. Geronteium near the road was a mountain called Tricrena (Τρίκρηνα), or the three fountains; and near the latter was another mountain called Sepia (Σηπία), where Aepytus is said to have perished from the bite of a snake.
Its site is located near the modern Archaia Feneos, formerly Kalyvia, in the municipal unit of Feneos.
References
{{coord, 37.91045, N, 22.30692, E, format=dms, display=title, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/21921.html
Populated places in ancient Arcadia
Former populated places in Greece
Arcadian city-states
Places in the Iliad