Evrotas River

Eurotas
Eurotas outside the city of Sparta
Country	Greece
Regions	Laconia, Arcadia
Basin features
Main source	Arcadian Nappe, Peloponnese 430 m (1,410 ft)
River mouth	Laconian Gulf 0 m (0 ft) 36°48′15″N 22°41′45″E / 36.80417°N 22.69583°E / 36.80417; 22.69583Coordinates: 36°48′15″N 22°41′45″E / 36.80417°N 22.69583°E / 36.80417; 22.69583
River system	Braided river
Tributaries	Left: Oineus, Xerias. Right: Vathyrema (with Kastaniotiko, Vresiotiko, Kardaris), Voutikiotis, Rasina (with Gerakaris), Kakorema, Kerasiotiko, Kotitsanis, Magoulitsa, Mylopotamos, Nikova, Kserilas, Paroritis, Verias, Skatias, Tzitziniotiko, Tyflo, Fteroti
Physical characteristics
Length	82 km (51 mi)

The Eurotas or Evrotas (Greek: Ευρώτας) is the main river of Laconia and one of the major rivers of the Peloponnese, in Greece. The river's springs are located just northwest of the border between Laconia and Arcadia, at Skortsinos. The river is also fed by underwater springs at Pellana and by tributaries coursing down from Mt. Taygetos and Mt. Parnon, which flank the Eurotas valley to the west and east, respectively. The river is 82 kilometres (51 mi) long, flowing in a north-south direction and emptying into the Laconian Gulf.

The classical Eurotas was changed to Iri in the Middle Ages and only changed back to Eurotas in recent times. Eurotas, however, is not the most ancient name of the river. It does not appear in the works of Homer, which purport to recount the stories and geography of Mycenaean Greece. In that legendary time, the Dorians are not known to have been present in the Eurotas Valley. At some time prior to being called Eurotas, the river was the Bomycas and the Himeras.

One etymology derives the word Eurōtas from the ancient Greek eurōs, "mold." The adjective, eurōeis, "moldy," is genuinely ancient, used as an epithet of Hades in Homer. It is, however in the Ionic dialect.

The source of the Eurotas River is a surface spring called Piges Evrota (Πηγές Ευρώτα, "Eurotas Springs") located near the village of Skortsinos, Arcadia, by the side of the road ascending from Kyparissi. The spring is an outlet of an aquifer located in the adjacent limestone ridge at a locale called Kephalari. The ridge, a karst, is not part of the Taygetus Massif, but, like the other mountains of Arcadia, is a nappe raised by the compressional forces on the Hellenic Plate by the subduction of Africa. The spring is also called Logaras Spring.