Spercheios

Spercheios
The river Spercheios atVitoli,Makrakomi
Location
Country	Greece
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Tymfristos
Mouth
• location	Malian Gulf,Aegean Sea
• coordinates	38°51′50″N22°34′35″E
Length	80 km (50 mi)
Basin size	1,830 km2(710 sq mi)

TheSpercheios(Greek:Σπερχειός,Sperkheiós), also known as theSpercheusfrom itsLatinname, is a river inPhthiotisincentral Greece.It is 80 km (50 mi) long,and its drainage area is 1,830 km²(710 sq mi).It was worshipped as agodin theancient Greek religionand appears in some collections ofGreek mythology.Inantiquity,its upper valley was known asAinis.In AD 997, its valley was the site of theBattle of Spercheios,which endedBulgarianincursions into theByzantine Empire.

It is referenced in a surviving fragment ofAeschylus' playPhiloctetes,quoted inThe Frogs,as a place for cattle.

River

The river begins in theTymfristosmountains on the border withEvrytaniaand flows to the east through the villageAgios Georgios Tymfristou,entering a wide plain. It flows along the townsMakrakomiandLeianokladi,and south of the Phthiotidan capitalLamia.The river flows through an area of former wetlands, that have been reclaimed for agriculture. It empties into theMalian Gulfof theAegean Sea13 kilometers (8 mi) southeast of Lamia. Inantiquity,the mouth of the river was the site ofAntikyra,which was famed for itsblackandwhite hellebore.

Several studies have been conducted regarding the river's hydrological regime.Its silt has slowly filled the Malian Gulf, turningThermopylaefrom a narrow pass into a wide plain.

God

Homer'sIliadnames the river as the father (byAchilles's half-sisterPolydora) ofMenesthius,one of Achilles's lieutenants.Antoninus Liberalisnotes the tradition thatCerambuswas punished for claiming that thenymphsofMount Othrys,theSpercheides,were the daughters of Spercheios by thenaiadDeino.Antoninus Liberalis also relates the account that Spercheios andPolydora'sson wasDryops,king ofOeta,who fatheredDryope.

References

Bibliography

• Béquignon, Yves (1937).La vallée du Spercheios des origines au IVe siècle. Études d'archéologie et de topographie(in French). Paris: De Boccard.

External links

Media related toSpercheiosat Wikimedia Commons