Helice

Related Category: Ancient History, Greece

(hĕ´lĭsē) or Helike(həlēkē), ancient city of Achaea, N Peloponnesus, near the mouth of the Selinous River, 20 mi (32 km) E of Pátrai. Noted for its sanctuary of Poseidon, Helice was a seat of the First Achaean League. It was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami in 373 B.C., a fate that is said to have influenced Plato's story of Atlantis. Its ruins and those of a 4,500-year-old Bronze Age settlement that met a similar fate were discovered in 2000 and 2001 respectively.