The mountains of Peloponnesus have their roots in the centre of
the country, from which they branch out towards the sea. This
central region, called ARCADIA, is the Switzerland of the
peninsula. It is surrounded by a ring of mountains, forming a
kind of natural wall, which separates it from the remaining
Peloponnesian states. The other chief divisions of Peloponnesus
were Achaia, Argolis, Laconia, Messenia, and Elis. ACHAIA is a
narrow slip of country lying between the northern barrier of
Arcadia and the Corinthian gulf. ARGOLIS, on the east, contained
several independent states, of which the most important was
Argos. LACONIA and MESSENIA occupied the whole of the south of
the peninsula from sea to sea: these two countries were
separated by the lofty range of Taygetus, running from north to
south, and terminating in the promontory of Taenarum (now Cape
Matapan), the southernmost point of Greece and Europe. Sparta,
the chief town of Laconia, stood in the valley of the Eurotas,
which opens out into a plain of considerable extent towards the
Laconian gulf. Messenia, in like manner, was drained by the
Pamisus, whose plain is still more extensive and fertile than
that of the Eurotas. ELIS, on the west of Arcadia, contains the
memorable plain of Olympia, through which the Alpheus flows, and
in which the city of Pisa stood.

Of the numerous islands which line the Grecian shores, the most
important was Euboea, stretching along the coasts of Boeotia and
Attica. South of Euboea was the group of islands called the
CYCLADES, lying around Delos as a centre; and east of these were
the SPORADES, near the Asiatic coast. South of these groups are
the large islands of CRETE and RHODES.