Caphyae was an ancient city in Arcadia, in a small plain northwest of the lake of Orchomenus, said by tradition to have been founded by King Cepheus of Tegea, son of Aleus, with claimed Athenian origins. The city joined the Achaean League, and in 220 BC the Aetolians defeated the Achaeans and their leader Aratus of Sicyon in a battle nearby. Caphyae was protected from lake flooding by defensive embankments and held temples, including one dedicated to Artemis Cnacalesia, whose festival was celebrated on a nearby mountain. By Strabo's time the city lay in ruins, though the traveler Pausanias still saw temples there, and its remains are visible today near the modern village of Chotoussa.
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