Xerias (Argolis)
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The Xerias, (, from ξερός, "dry") is an arroyo in the
Argolid The regions of ancient Greece were sub-divisions of the Hellenic world as conceived by the ancient Greeks, shown by their presence in the works of ancient historians and geographers or in surviving legends and myths. Conceptually, there is no cl ...
in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. Its ancient name was Charadros (Χάραδρος), which is still used, although its
Demotic Demotic may refer to: * Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language * Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language * Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used t ...
name is by far the most common and used on modern maps. Under its ancient name, it is described in Pausanias's ''Description of Greece'' (2.25.2).


Geology and hydrology

The Xerias rises in the
Parnon Parnon or Parnonas () or Malevos (Μαλεβός) is a mountain range, or massif, on the east of the Laconian plain and the Evrotas Valley. It is visible from Athens above the top of the Argive mountains. The western part is in the Laconia pre ...
massif at
Mount Ktenias Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
in Arcadia and flows east to
Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...
, where it forms the northern boundary of the city, and then turns south and winds around the city's east side before turning east again. It is generally dry in the summer, although
flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash f ...
s can occur during storms. It meets the Inachos east of the city, from whence the Inachos flows into the
Argolic Gulf The Argolic Gulf (), also known as the Gulf of Argolis, is a gulf of the Aegean Sea off the east coast of the Peloponnese, Greece. It is about 50 km long and 30 km wide. Its main port is Nafplio, at its northwestern end. At the entrance ...
at
Nea Kios Nea Kios () is a small town and former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. The emblem of the town is Argo. The municipal ...
, but an
interlocking spur An interlocking spur, also known as an overlapping spur, is one of any number of projecting ridges that extend alternately from the opposite sides of the wall of a young, V-shaped valley down which a river with a winding course flows. Each of t ...
continues east and winds around the village of
Merbaka Merbaka ( ( n.) or (m.)) is a village and local community of the municipal unit of Midea, in the municipality of Nafplio, in the regional unit of Argolis, in the Peloponnese region. Name Merbaka is the village's traditional name, but offici ...
.


Water management

The natural flow of the Xerias has been modified by
river engineering River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and b ...
, including the creation of
pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, Land reclamation, ...
s and
reservoirs A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrup ...
to control seasonal flooding, improve
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
, and provide more stable water supplies for agricultural and human use. Periodic flash floods in the area have resulted in
bridge scour Bridge scour is the removal of sediment such as sand and gravel from around bridge abutments or piers. Hydrodynamic scour, caused by fast flowing water, can carve out '' scour holes'', compromising the integrity of a structure. In the United ...
that has destroyed bridges, roadways and other infrastructure and property in the vicinity of Argos. Serious floods occurred eight times between 1967 and 1997, and recent news reports confirm ongoing problems with flooding in 2014-15. In the wake of catastrophic flooding, there has been disagreement over whether the reservoirs or the practice of filling in of ditches and the planting of
citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...
trees too close to the river has caused increased flooding, with competing local interests often pointing the finger at the other, and academics and government officials divided on the subject of how best to control the flooding. In addition, some scientists are of the opinion that the removal of
wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
near the mouth of the Xerias to control the spread of
mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...
es and
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
has paradoxically increased area water use in winter because a changing
microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...
due to wetlands removal has increased the incidence of
frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
on local farmers' citrus trees (sprinklers are used to prevent frost build-up). Agronomists are also concerned that increased reliance on
groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...
in winter does not give
aquifers An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
a chance to replenish, and could lead to aquifer depletion.


Strategic importance

Because of its strategic location, forming a
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
along the border of Argos, the river has been the site of important battles in classical and modern times.


Ancient

In ancient times, a road led from the Deiras Gate on the north side of the city to
Mantinea Mantinea (; ''Mantineia''; also Koine Greek ''Antigoneia'') was a city in ancient Arcadia, Greece, which was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. In modern times it is a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, ...
, and a
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
to
Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...
and
Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
was situated along this road, outside the city walls but south of the river. Argive military officers were required to give a report of their conduct here before returning to the city, possibly at a nearby
amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...
, and sacrifices and religious ceremonies relating to the military were conducted at the temple. In 235 BC, the Charadros was the site of a battle between the forces of Aratus of Sicyon, who was born at Argos and was desirous of liberating the city, and the Macedonian-backed Argive tyrant Aristippus of Argos. The battle was fought to a draw, with Aratus being wounded and retreating back to his fortified camp on one flank, while the other wing of his army routed the forces of Aristippus on the other flank and drove them back to the river. Aratus negotiated the withdrawal of his forces to the north; later, Aristippus would be killed at the battle of Cleonae.


Modern

On April 25, 1821, the Xerias became the site of a battle between Greek forces and Turks for control of Argos, led by Mustafa, deputy ('' kehya
bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...
'') to the absentee Turkish governor of the Morea,
Hurshid Pasha Hurshid Ahmed Pasha (sometimes written Khurshid Ahmed Pasha; , ; died 30 November 1822) was an Ottoman- Georgian general, and Grand Vizier during the early 19th century. Early life He was born in the Caucasus and was of Georgian descent. He w ...
. Mustafa's army included a large contingent of Turkish-allied
Cham Albanians Cham Albanians or Chams (; , ), are a sub-group of Albanians who originally resided in the western part of the region of Epirus in southwestern Albania and northwestern Greece, an area known among Albanians as Chameria. The Chams have their ow ...
under Elmez Aga. The Greeks in the town were led by a triumvirate of Paparsenis Krestas,
Demetrios Tsorkis Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, Dhimi ...
, and Ioannis Yiannouzas, the eldest son of admiral
Laskarina Bouboulina Laskarina Pinotsi, commonly known as Bouboulina (; 1771 – 22 May 1825), was a Greek naval commander in the Greek War of Independence in 1821, considered the first woman to attain the rank of admiral. Bouboulina was born in Constantinople in 17 ...
. Yiannouzas was slain, along with about 700 other Greeks, including civilians, and according to local accounts, many women and girls were captured by the Turks and sold into
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
. Many of the Greek casualties were inflicted by Turkish artillery fire from across the Xerias. Afterwards, the Turkish forces moved on
Nafplio Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...
and then to reinforce the Turkish garrison at
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
, which was being besieged by the Greeks. Despite their superior numbers and having taken the towns of Nafplio and Argos, the Turks could not or would not take their
citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...
s, possibly due to Mustafa's orders to hurry to the relief of Tripoli, and partly due to problems with his guns, which were suitable for anti-personnel operations but not the reduction of the strong Venetian-engineered fortifications in the Peloponnese. The Turks brought thirty
artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
pieces with them and trained gunners, but the artillery seems to have been of sub-standard quality and by the end of the Siege of Tripoli, only seven pieces were found to be in working order.


Notes


References


External links


Satellite mapCar swept away in Xerias flash flood News article in Greek; includes photographs of infrastructure destroyed by flash flooding {{in lang, el
Rivers of Greece Landforms of Argolis Rivers of Peloponnese (region) Drainage basins of the Aegean Sea