To the Alpheios

Ilias Book 11 line 749-751 Barry B Powell
Ilias Book 11 line 734-737 Barry B Powell
Ilias Book 11 line 754-755 Barry B Powell
Ilias Book 11 line 758-760 Barry B Powell

At dawn the horsemen leave the Minyeïos.

The throngs of foot soldiers followed behind. Then they came, fully armed, at noon, to the sacret flow of the Alpheios.

Apparently, it takes about six hours to walk from the banks of the Minyeïos to the Alpheios.

Thryoëssa lies far away on the Alpheios as Homer writes, so I picked a place along the river Alpheios that lies at roughly 6:00 hours walking from the Minyeïos. Because after eating:

There is a city called Thryoëssa, on a steep hill, far away on the Alpheios in the farthest reaches of sandy Pylos.

Then we lay down and slept, each man in his armor, on the shores of the river.

It seems strange to walk around the steep hills, but on the other hand it's a good tactic to attack from behind. Besides, going around the hills could be the shortest route and Thryoëssa lies on a steep hill.

When the sun appeared shining over the earth, we attacked, after praying to Zeus and Athena.

From the point on the river I picked it takes about three hours to walk to a village called Platiana, near which there's a steep hill with the remains of an ancient city on top.