Editing Ancient Elis (section)

==Geography==
===Districts===
As described by Strabo,<ref>{{cite book|title=Geography of Strabo|author=Strabo|author2=trans. by H. C. Hamilton & W. Falconer|chapter=Chapter III. GREECE. ELIS.|volume=II|year=1856|location=London|publisher=Henry G. Bohn|pages=7–34|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMZfAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA7}}</ref> Elis was divided into three districts:
* Koilē ({{lang|grc|Κοίλη}} "Hollow", Latinised ''Coele''), or Lowland Elis
* Pisâtis (Πισᾶτις "[territory] of [[Pisa, Greece|Pisa]]")
* [[Triphylia]] (Τριφυλία ''Triphūlía'' "Country of the Three Tribes").

Koilē Elis, the largest and most northern of the three, was watered by the river Peneus and its tributary, the Ladon. The district was famous during antiquity for its cattle and horses. Pisatis extended south from Koilē Elis to the right bank of the river [[Alfeios River|Alpheios]], and was divided into eight departments named after as many towns. Triphylia stretched south from the Alpheios to the river Neda.<ref name="EB1911"/>

===City===
The city of Elis ({{langx|grc|Ἦλις}}) was the capital of the city state of Elis. It was located at the exit of the river [[Pineios (Peloponnese)|Peneios]] from the mountains into the plain in the area of today's [[Ilida (municipality)|Ilida Municipality]] north of Kalyvia. It is said to have been founded in 471 BC by [[synoecism]], however it is unclear what the ancient sources mean by this, the city already existed in the same place before and there were separate communities in the region of Elis before and after.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hansen |first=Mogens Herman |date=1997 |editor-last=Hansen |editor-first=Mogens Herman |title=The Polis as an Urban Centre and as a Political Community |publisher=The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters |page=39 |chapter=The Polis as an Urban Centre: The Literary and Epigraphical Evidence |isbn=9788773042915 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Ig1_BV6JEQC}}</ref>

The first excavations in Elis were carried out from 1910 to 1914 by the Austrian Archaeological Institute under the direction of [[Otto Walter (archaeologist)|Otto Walter]]. From 1960 to 1981 the [[Archaeological Society of Athens]] carried out further excavations under the direction of Nikolaos Yalouris with Austrian participation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Donati |first=Jamieson C. |date=2015 |editor1-last=Haggis |editor1-first=Donald |editor2-last=Antonaccio |editor2-first=Carla  |title=Classical Archaeology in Context: Theory and Practice in Excavation in the Greek World |publisher= |page=196 |chapter=8 The Greek Agora in its Peloponnesian Context(s) |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278022149}}</ref> Some of the finds are exhibited in the local archaeological museum founded in 1981, for which a new building was built in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/1/eh151.jsp?obj_id=3314 |title=Archaeological Museum of Elis |last=Matzanas |first=Christos |date= |website=Odysseus |publisher=Ministry of Culture and Sports (Greece) |access-date=16 July 2021 |quote=}}</ref>

Nowadays Elis is a small village of 150 citizens located {{convert|14|km}} NE of [[Amaliada]], built over the ruins of the ancient town. It has one of the most well-preserved ancient theaters in Greece. Built in the fourth century BC, the theater had a capacity of 8,000 people; below it, [[Early Helladic]], [[Sub-Mycenaean pottery|sub-Mycenaean]] and [[Protogeometric]] graves have been found.<ref>{{cite thesis |type=PhD |last=Koumouzelis |first=M. |date=1980 |title=The Early and Middle Helladic Periods in Elis |publisher=Brandeis University|pages=55–62}}</ref><ref>Eder B. 2001, "Die submykenischen und protogeometrischen Graber von Elis", Athens</ref>