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Elis is a region in northwestern Peloponnesus
where the inhabitants are called Eleans, and also
the name of a city in the same region. To the south
and east of Elis are
Messenia and
Arcadia respectively. In
Elis flow the two rivers (Peneus and Alpheus) which
Heracles 1 diverted
when he cleansed the stables of King Augeas. The
first to have come to Elis are the Thessalians
Salmoneus and Aethlius, both sons of
Aeolus 1.
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Salmoneus
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Salmoneus founded a city and called it Salmonia,
but he has been described as an arrogant man, who
compared himself with Zeus,
saying that he thundered like the god when he
dragged dried hides with bronze kettles at his
chariot, and that he lightened when he threw
torches at the sky. Zeus
punished this ridiculous behaviour by striking him
with a thunderbolt, and wiping out the city of
Salmonia with all the inhabitants.
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Aethlius
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Aethlius, son of Zeus
and Protogenia 1, the daughter of
Deucalion 1, is
considered to have been the first ruler of Elis. By
Calyce 1, daughter of Aeolus
1 and Enarete, Aethlius became father of
Endymion.
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Endymion
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Endymion, who
sometimes is also called son of
Zeus, founded the city of
Elis after having led the Aeolians out of Thessaly.
It is told that Selene
fell in love with
Endymion, and that they
had 50 daughters. Some affirm that
Endymion chose to sleep
for ever, remaining deathless and ageless, but
others say that he was for ever sleepless. It has
also been said that
Endymion had other
women, and that he set his sons to run a race at
Olympia for the throne,
and that this race was won by Epeius 1. When
Endymion, though being
deathless, nevertheless died, he was transported by
Zeus into heaven. But when
he fell in love with Hera,
Zeus fooled him by means of
a cloud, and Endymion
was cast into Hades
[Ixion was fooled in a
similar way].
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Epeius 1
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Epeius 1 won the kingdom through a race at
Olympia against his
brothers, and for the first time his subjects were
called Epeans. During his reign, the city of Pisa
and its bordering country
Olympia was separated
from the kingdom of the Epeans (Elis) when the
Lydian Pelops 1
succeeded Oenomaus 1.
Pelops 1 came to Pisa
from Asia, killed King
Oenomaus 1 through
treachery, took his daughter and the kingdom, and
paid with ingratitude the treason of Myrtilus by
killing the man who had helped him to the throne
[see also Pelopides].
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Aetolus 2
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Epeius 1 was succeeded by his brother Aetolus 2,
but Aetolus 2 ran over an Arcadian with his chariot
during the funeral games celebrated in honor of
Azan (son of Arcas 1, son of
Zeus and
Callisto), and for that
reason he was compelled to leave the Peloponnesus.
Aetolus 2 migrated then to the region in mainland
Greece north of the Gulf of Patrae, which he called
Aetolia, and his sons Pleuron and Calydon founded
the cities in Aetolia that are called after them.
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Eleius 1
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Eleius 1, son of
Poseidon and Eurycyda,
daughter of Endymion,
became king of Elis after Aetolus 2, and the
inhabitants were called Eleans after him.
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Augeas
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King Augeas, who is counted among the
ARGONAUTS, came to the
throne after his father Eleius 1. Some say that
those who wanted to glorify Augeas gave a turn to
the name "Eleius" making it
"Helius". Augeas is
sometimes said to be the son of
Poseidon, or of Phorbas
6. Augeas had many herds of cattle, and
Heracles 1 came to him
without revealing the command of
Eurystheus [see
LABOURS], saying
that he would carry out the dung in one day, if
Augeas would give him the tenth part of the cattle.
Augeas who could not believe that was possible,
agreed. Having taken Augeas' son Phyleus 1 to
witness, Heracles 1
made a breach in the foundations of the
cattle-yard, and by diverting the courses of two
rivers, he turned them into the yard. When Augeas
learned that this had been accomplished at the
command of
Eurystheus, he would
not pay the reward, and when arbitrators were
called, Phyleus 1 bore witness against his father.
This is why Augeas ordered both Phyleus 1 and
Heracles 1 to leave
Elis.
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The MOLIONIDES
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Later Heracles 1
collected an Arcadian army, and marched against
Augeas, who hearing of the war that
Heracles 1 was
preparing, appointed the MOLIONIDES (sons of
Molione) generals of the Eleans. The MOLIONIDES
Cteatus and Eurytus 1 were twins with two bodies
joined to one another, as they say.
At this time, and perhaps because of this
crisis, the responsability of government in Elis
was shared by Augeas, Amarynceus 1, and Actor 4,
father of the MOLIONIDES. At the beginning, the
MOLIONIDES defeated the army of
Heracles 1 several
times until a truce was proclaimed. But when the
MOLIONIDES came as envoys to a meeting for
negotiations, Heracles
1 set an ambush at Cleonae, and murdered them.
Afterwards Heracles 1,
with an army of Argives, Thebans and Arcadians took
Elis, and having sacked it, he gave the kingdom to
Phyleus 1, Augeas' son. According to some,
Heracles 1 killed
Augeas, but others affirm that he died at an
advanced age.
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Shared kingdom
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After Phyleus 1, the government was again
shared, this time between Amphimachus 1, Thalpius
and Agasthenes. Agasthenes was son of Augeas, and
Amphimachus 1 and Thalpius were sons of the
MOLIONIDES; Amphimachus 1 was son of Cteatus and
Theronice, and Thalpius was son of Eurytus 1 and
Theraephone. These two girls were twins themselves,
and daughters of King Dexamenus 1 of Olenus.
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Trojan War
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At this time, the
Trojan War broke out,
and Elis sent four leaders: Amphimachus 1,
Thalpius, Polyxenus 2, and Diores 1 [see
ACHAEAN LEADERS].
Amphimachus 1 was killed in the war, and so was
Diores 1, son of Amarynceus 1. Polyxenus 2, son of
Agasthenes and one of the
SUITORS OF HELEN,
reunified the kingdom when he returned from
Troy.
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Amphimachus 6
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After Polyxenus 2, his son Amphimachus 6 became
king of Elis. It is said that Polyxenus 2 gave him
the name "Amphimachus" because of his friendship
with Amphimachus 1, who died at
Troy.
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Eleius 2
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Next came Eleius 2, son of Amphimachus 6. During
his reign, the army of the
HERACLIDES, under the
sons of Aristomachus 2 assembled in order to return
to the Peloponnesus.
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Dius 2
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During the reign of his successor Dius 2, Elis
was conquered by the
HERACLIDES commanded
by Oxylus 2. Dius 2 resisted Oxylus 2, and proposed
that the conflict be solved through the single
combat of two champions, Degmenus and Pyraechmes 2.
Pyraechmes 2, who was the champion of the
HERACLIDES, defeated
Degmenus in single combat, thus winning the kingdom
for Oxylus 2.
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Oxylus 2
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Oxylus 2 had fled from Aetolia to Elis on
account of the murder of Thermius, his own brother,
or Alcidocus. He became guide of the
HERACLIDES, and
subsequently king of Elis. Oxylus 2 was, according
to some, son of Haemon 2, son of Thoas 2. Thoas 2,
king of Pleuron and
Calydon, is one of the
ACHAEAN LEADERS;
he had been one of the
SUITORS OF HELEN,
and was among those who hid inside the
WOODEN HORSE.
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Laias
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After Oxylus 2 the kingdom was inherited by his
son Laias.
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