or ELIA, in Ancient Geography, a country of the Peloponnesus, bounded N. and N.E. by Achaia, E. by Arcadia, S. by Arcadia, and W. by the Ionian Sea. In its extreme length, Elis included all the country lying between the small river Larissus which separated it from Achaia, and the Neda which divided it from Messenia.

Elis was originally divided into three districts, the largest of which, Ἡσσόν, or Hollow Elis, comprised the country between the promontories Araxus and Ichthyss; the second, called Pisis, extended from Cape Ichthyss to the Alpheus; and the third, known as Triphylla, lay between the rivers Alpheus and Neda. Hollow Elis, by far the largest and most valuable part of the country, was again subdivided into two parts; the Acrocora or mountain country lying on the southern slopes of Mount Erymanthus, and champaign country through which the Peneus flows. In its physical distribution Elis was regarded by some of the ancient geographers as forming part of Arcadia. The great mountain range which separates the two countries throws off numerous low spurs into Elis, which slope down gradually to the sea. These ridges form the basins of the rivers which drain the country and inclose the great plains that constituted the most fertile land of ancient Greece. The shore of the country is low and sandy; and as the rivers have no fall towards the latter part of their courses, they lose themselves in the flat country, forming thus fens and marshes, which during the heats of summer are peculiarly unhealthy. Sand-dunes have, in course of time, been thrown up by the action of the waves, over which the sea sometimes breaks, and in this way some extensive lagunes have come to be formed. The fish off the coast of Elis are extremely numerous during the summer months. At that time canals are cut between the lagunes and the sea, and the fish run into these canals, and are caught in vast numbers by the inhabitants. But these advantages are more than compensated by the countless swarms of gnats which are engendered in the marshes, and which render it almost impossi- ble to live near the sea, especially in summer. Though Elis possesses no great natural barriers against invasion, it nevertheless suffered less by war than any other of the Greek states. This is to be attributed chiefly to the sacred character which attached to the country as the seat of the Olympic games. Secure in their exemption from the attacks of enemies, the inhabitants devoted themselves to commerce and the arts of peace; and thus when other parts of Greece were poor and depopulated, Elis continued rich and well-peopled.

Hollow Elis is a broad and fertile plain, watered by the Peneus and its tributary the Ladon, whose united stream forms the modern Gastum. It is still as fertile as in the days of ancient Greece, and grows largely corn, cotton, and flax. One variety of the last called lysus, believed to have been introduced by the Phoenicians, was inferior only to that of Palestine. The wine of Elis was excellent, and Bacchus was held in high honour in the country. The rich pastures on the river banks were peculiarly favourable for the rearing of cattle and horses, the latter of which are celebrated in the Odyssey.

Pisatis is traversed by the Alpheus, and is separated from Hollow Elis by Mount Pholoe, a spur of Erymanthus. Its level lands are equally fertile with those of that district. By far the larger portion of Triphylia is occupied with offshoots from the mountains of Arcadia. It is separated from Pisatis by the river Alpheus, on whose banks were the temple of Olympic Jove, and the plain which witnessed the celebration of the Olympic games.

The original inhabitants of Elis were called Caunones, and seem to have sprung from a Pelasgic source. From traces of the worship of Venus in the city of Elis, it is believed that the Phenicians had settlements in this country at a very remote period. The inhabitants of Elis first appear in history as setting out for the Trojan war under the title of Epeans. They are described by Homer as living at this time in a state of constant hostility with their neighbours the Pylians. At the close of the eleventh century B.C., the Dorians invaded the Peloponnese, and Elis fell to the share of Oxylos and the Aetolians. These people, amalgamating with the Epeans, formed a powerful kingdom in the north of Elis. After this many changes took place in the political distribution of the country, and from time to time individual cities such as Pisa rose into temporary importance. The result of all these vicissitudes was, that the country came at length to acknowledge only three tribes, each independent of the other. These tribes were the Epeans, Minyae, and Eleans. Before the end of the eighth century B.C., however, the Eleans had vanquished both their rivals, and established an undisputed supremacy over the whole country. Among the other advantages which they thus gained was the right of celebrating the Olympic games, which had formerly been the prerogative of the Pisans. The attempts which this people made to recover their lost privilege, during a period of nearly two hundred years, ended at length in the total destruction of their city by the Eleans. So complete was its annihilation, that the very existence of Pisa was doubted even by some of the ancient geographers. From the time of this event, B.C. 572, till the Peloponnesian war, the peace of Elis remained undisturbed. In that great contest Elis sided at first with Sparta; but that power, jealous of the increasing prosperity of Elis, availed itself of the first pretext to pick a quarrel with it. At the battle of Mantinea the Eleans sided with the allies against the Spartans, who, as soon as the war came to a close, took vengeance upon them by depriving them of Triphylia and the towns of the Acroneira. The Eleans made no attempt to re-establish their authority over these places, till the star of Thebes rose in the ascendent after the battle of Leuctra. It is not unlikely that they would have effected their purpose had not the Arcadian confederacy come to the assistance of the Triphylians. In 366 B.C. the Eleans were at first successful, but were soon overpowered, and their capital very nearly fell into the hands of the enemy. Unable without assistance to make head against their opponents, they applied for assistance to the Spartans, who invaded Arcadia, and forced the Arcadians to recall their troops from Elis. The general result of this war was the restoration of their territory to the Eleans, who were also again invested with the right of holding the Olympic games, of which they had been deprived. During the Macedonian supremacy in Greece Elis sided with the victors, but refused to fight against their countrymen. After the death of Alexander they renounced the Macedonian alliance. At a subsequent period they joined the Aetolian League, but persistently refused to identify themselves with the Achaeans. When the whole of Greece fell under the Roman yoke, the sanctity of Olympia secured for the Eleans a certain amount of indulgence. The games still continued to attract to the country large numbers of strangers, until they were finally put down by Theodosius in 394, two years previous to the utter destruction of the country by the Gothic invasion under Alaric. In later times Elis fell successively into the hands of the French and the Venetians, under whose rule it recovered to some extent its ancient prosperity. By the latter people the province of Belvedere on the Peneus was called, in consequence of its fertility, "the milk cow of the Morea." The country has of late greatly declined from its former prosperity. The sea-coast is now almost uninhabitable from malaria.

Elis, now Kalorepot, the capital of the foregoing country, was situated on a hill overlooking the river Peneus, where it issues from the mountain passes that inclose the upper part of its course into the campaign country beyond. Elis was remarkable as being the only fortified town in the country of which it is the capital; the other towns and villages, as has been already remarked, being unvalled. The history of the town is so closely identified with that of its country, that a recapitulation is here unnecessary. It long maintained its place as one of the most splendid and populous cities of Greece, though no remains of its ancient magnificence are now visible. One of the most sumptuous of its public buildings was the gymnasium, in which it was necessary that all the athletes who intended to take part in the Olympic should undergo a month's training before they were allowed to compete. The history and topography of Elis will be found very fully discussed in Leake's Morea and Curtius's Peloponnesos.