The Thyamis (Greek: Θύαμις), also known as Glykys (Γλυκύς)[1] or Kalamas (Καλαμάς),[2][3] is a river in the Epirus region of Greece. It flows into the Ionian Sea. It is 115 km (71 mi) long,[4][3] and its drainage area is about 1,800 km2 (690 sq mi), over 99% of which on Greek territory.[3] The names of the Chameria region (Tsamouria in Greek), as well as the Chams, derive from the river's name.
Some Renaissance scholars believed that the EnglishRiver Thames owed its name to the River Thyamis, as early Celtic tribes were thought to have migrated from the Epirus region to England. While this belief influenced the modern spelling of the English river's name, it is no longer regarded as credible.
During the interwar period of the 20th century, Albanian speaking villages of the Thyamis delta and river basin were small and scattered compared to the upland larger Greek villages of the hilly area to the north.[10]
Environment
Thyamis forms a river delta where it empties in the Ionian Sea, north of Igoumenitsa. The delta is known for being rich in flora and migrating birds stop in its waters for food and rest.
The river, however, has suffered from environmental degradation for decades, due to uncontrolled human activities (farming activity, urban and industrial effluents and waste, lack of management plan and poor coordination of competent authorities for its protection).
^Strabo. Geography, 7.7. Note #35: "The Thyamus, or Thyamis, is now called Glycys, and the Acheron, Calamas."
^Peck, Harry Thurston. Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, 1898, p. 1579. "(Thuamis). Now Kalama; a river in Epirus, forming the boundary between Thesprotia and the district of Cestryna."
^Pausanias. Description of Greece, Attica, 1.11.2. "Helenus on his death passed on the kingdom to Molossus, son of Pyrrhus, so that Cestrinus with volunteers from the Epeirots took possession of the region beyond the river Thyamis, while Pergamus crossed into Asia and killed Areius..."
^Finley, M. I. The Portable Greek Historians: The Essence of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius. Viking Portable Library, 1977, p. 220: "There also the river Thyamis flows, forming the boundary between Thesprotis and Kes-trine..."
^Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1967). Epirus: the Geography, the Ancient Remains, the History and Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 89–90. ISBN9780198142539. "The greater part of the canton of Filiates lies north of the lower Kalamas. It is contained between the river and its northern watershed, along which the present frontier runs between Greece and Albania. There is little fertile land except in the delta and the inner basin of the Kalamas. The northern part of the canton is broken up by a tangle of mountain peaks, and i found it difficult to traverse.... In contrast to the Albanian-speaking villages of the Kalamas delta and basin, these villages are Greek in speech and outlook,.... The other villages have on average some 200 houses, and they are considerably larger than the scattered Albanian-speaking villages of the Kalamas basin."
