Elis

Elis, one of the ancient divisions of the Peloponnesus, bounded N. by Achaia, E. by Arcadia, and W. by the Ionian Sea. The northern and more fertile region, watered by the Penæus and numerous smaller streams, was famed for the excellence of its horses; the southern and more rugged district is drained by the Alphæus, which rises in the mountains of Arcadia. On its banks were the grove and temple of Olympic Zeus, and the plain in which the great Olympic games were celebrated. For long the sacred character of Elis, as the seat of the greatest of the national festivals, protected the country from invasion, but during the Peloponnesian war, the Athenians, and afterwards the Spartans, disregarded the privileges of the Eleans. See OLYMPIA, for excavations.