Alfeios River

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For a Greek mythological figure see Alpheus.

Alfeiós (Greek: Αλφειός, also romanized as Alpheus, Alpheios, Alfiós) is a river in Peloponnese, Greece. Its source is near Megalopoli in the prefecture Arcadia. It flows along Olympia and empties into the Ionian Sea in the prefecture of Ilia, near Pyrgos. As the longest river in the Peloponnese, at 110 km, the river flows in the prefectures of Arcadia and Ilia. The river begins near Davia in central Arcadia, then it flows between Leontari and Megalopoli and the municipal boundary of Falaisia and Megalopoli in a wooded valley and south of Karytaina and flows north of Andritsina and for about 15 to 20 km with the prefectural boundary with Ilia and Arcadia. It later flows with the provincial boundary of Olympia and Ilia for the rest of the length and the municipal boundary of Olympia and Alifeira to the south. It later flows to the municipal boundary of Skillounta to the south and along the Pyrgos and Volaka boundary and for a final 2 km, into the wetlands with bushes.

The ancient highway linking Patras and Kalamata ran along this river for most of the length east of Olympia.

Alpheus was also the river which Hercules, in the fifth of his labours, re-routed in order to clean the filth from the Augean Stables in a single day, a task which had been presumed to be impossible. A poem by Roger Caillois, called Le fleuve Alphée (the Alpheus River), is mainly about this river.