The Spercheios (, ''Sperkheiós''), also known as the Spercheus from its

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 ...

name, is a river in

Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

in central Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . It was worshipped as a

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

in the

ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and Greek mythology, mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and Cult (religious practice), cult practices. The application of the modern concept ...

and appears in some collections of

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

. In antiquity, its upper valley was known as

Ainis Ainis (, , Modern Greek , ) or Aeniania (), was a Regions of ancient Greece, region of ancient Greece located near Lamia (city), Lamia in modern Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece, roughly corresponding to the upper valley of the S ...

. In AD 997, its valley was the site of the

Battle of Spercheios The Battle of Spercheios (, ) took place in 997 AD, on the shores of the Spercheios river near the city of Lamia in central Greece. It was fought between a Bulgarian army led by Tsar Samuil, which in the previous year had penetrated south into ...

, which ended Bulgarian incursions into the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. It is referenced in a surviving fragment of

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

' play ''

Philoctetes Philoctetes ( ''Philoktētēs''; , ), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea (Magnesia), Meliboea in Thessaly, and Demonassa or Methone (Greek myth), Methone. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer ...

'', quoted in ''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' (; , often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC and received first place. The pla ...

'', as a place for cattle.

River

The river begins in the

Tymfristos Tymfristos ( ) is a mountain in the eastern part of Evrytania and the western part of Phthiotis, Greece. The mountain is a part of the Pindus mountain range. The elevation of its highest peak, Velouchi (), is 2,315 m. The nearest mountains are K ...

mountains on the border with

Evrytania Evrytania ( ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi (approx. 8,000 inhabitants). Geography Evrytania is ...

and flows to the east through the village Agios Georgios Tymfristou, entering a wide plain. It flows along the towns Makrakomi and Leianokladi, and south of the Phthiotidan capital Lamia. The river flows through an area of former wetlands, that have been reclaimed for agriculture. It empties into the Malian Gulf of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

southeast of Lamia. In antiquity, the mouth of the river was the site of Antikyra, which was famed for its

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

and white hellebore. Several studies have been conducted regarding the river's hydrological regime.1
Its silt has slowly filled the Malian Gulf, turning

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; ; Ancient: , Katharevousa: ; ; "hot gates") is a narrow pass and modern town in Lamia (city), Lamia, Phthiotis, Greece. It derives its name from its Mineral spring, hot sulphur springs."Thermopylae" in: S. Hornblower & A. Spaw ...

from a narrow pass into a wide plain.

God

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

'' names the river as the father (by

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

's half-sister Polydora) of Menesthius, one of Achilles's lieutenants.

Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis () was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between the second and third centuries AD. He is known as the author of ''The Metamorphoses'', a collection of tales that offers new variants of already familiar myths ...

notes the tradition that

Cerambus In Greek mythology, Cerambus (Ancient Greek: Κέραμβος, ''Kerambos''), a son of Euseiros (himself son of Poseidon) and the nymph Eidothea of Othreis. Mythology Cerambus was a survivor of Deucalion's flood by means of wings which he rec ...

was punished for claiming that the

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

s of

Mount Othrys Mount Othrys ( – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central Greece, in the northeastern part of Phthiotis and southern part of Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on the border of Phthiotis ...

, the

Spercheides In Greek mythology, the Spercheides (Ancient Greek: Σπερχειδες), also known as the Maliades (Μηλίδες), were naiads of the Spercheus River, in Malis. They were sometimes held to be the daughters of the river god Spercheus and th ...

, were the daughters of Spercheios by the

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied ...

Deino. Antoninus Liberalis also relates the account that Spercheios and Polydora's son was Dryops, king of Oeta, who fathered

Dryope In Greek mythology, Dryope (; Ancient Greek: Δρυόπη derived from δρῦς ''drys'', "oak"; ''dryope'' "woodpecker") is the name attributed to several distinct figures: *Dryope (daughter of Dryops), Dryope, daughter of Dryops (Oeta), Dryops ...

32
with reference from

Nicander Nicander of Colophon (; fl. 2nd century BC) was a Greece, Greek poet, physician, and grammarian. The scattered biographical details in the ancient sources are so contradictory that it was sometimes assumed that there were two Hellenistic authors ...

, ''Metamorphoses'' Book 1

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

River gods in Greek mythology Spercheios Valley Rivers of Central Greece Rivers of Greece Drainage basins of the Aegean Sea {{Greece-river-stub