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Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
 that lies along the Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy, including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula, to the west, by southwestern Albania, including Saranda and Himara, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and Lefkas to the east....
, west of Aetolia
Aetolia

Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern prefectures of Greece of Aetolia-Acarnania....
, with the Achelous River
Achelous

In Greek mythology, Achelous was the patron deity of the "silver-swirling" Acheloos River, which is the largest river of Greece, and thus the chief of all river deities, every river having its own river spirit....
 for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon
Calydon

Calydon was an ancient Greece city in Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus. According to Greek mythology, the city took its name from its founder Calydon, son of Aetolus, son of Endymion....
, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth
Gulf of Corinth

The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping route of the Corinth Canal, and in the west by the Strait of Rion, which separates the Gulf of Corinth from the oute...
. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture
Prefectures of Greece

Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as Peripheries of Greece, which are further subdivided into 3 Super-prefectures of Greece and 54 prefectures or nomes ....
 of Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania

Aetolia-Acarnania, is one of the prefectures of Greece. It is located in the western part of Greece; the prefecture is a combination of the regions Aetolia and Acarnania, and its capital for historical reasons is Mesolongi, with its biggest city and economic centre at Agrinion....
. The capital and principal city in ancient times was Stratos
Stratos, Greece

Stratos is a community and municipality in the prefecture of Aitoloakarnania or Etoloakarnania. Stratos is located on Greece Interstate 5/E55 and NW of Agrinio, N of Messolonghi and S of Amfilochia and Arta....
.

Acarnania's foundation was traditionally ascribed to Acarnan
Acarnan

In Greek mythology, Acarnan , one of the Epigones, was a son of Alcmaeon and Calirrhoe, and brother of Amphoterus. Their father was murdered by Phegeus , when they were yet very young, and Calirrhoe prayed to Zeus to make her sons grow quickly, that they might be able to avenge the death of their father....
, son of Alcmaeon.

e is some evidence the region was used by Phoenicia
Phoenicia

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and the Palestinian territories....
n sailors for shelter on their journeys west, but there is otherwise little to indicate any large scale prehistorical settlement.






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Aetolia Map
Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
 that lies along the Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy, including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula, to the west, by southwestern Albania, including Saranda and Himara, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and Lefkas to the east....
, west of Aetolia
Aetolia

Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern prefectures of Greece of Aetolia-Acarnania....
, with the Achelous River
Achelous

In Greek mythology, Achelous was the patron deity of the "silver-swirling" Acheloos River, which is the largest river of Greece, and thus the chief of all river deities, every river having its own river spirit....
 for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon
Calydon

Calydon was an ancient Greece city in Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus. According to Greek mythology, the city took its name from its founder Calydon, son of Aetolus, son of Endymion....
, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth
Gulf of Corinth

The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping route of the Corinth Canal, and in the west by the Strait of Rion, which separates the Gulf of Corinth from the oute...
. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture
Prefectures of Greece

Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as Peripheries of Greece, which are further subdivided into 3 Super-prefectures of Greece and 54 prefectures or nomes ....
 of Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania

Aetolia-Acarnania, is one of the prefectures of Greece. It is located in the western part of Greece; the prefecture is a combination of the regions Aetolia and Acarnania, and its capital for historical reasons is Mesolongi, with its biggest city and economic centre at Agrinion....
. The capital and principal city in ancient times was Stratos
Stratos, Greece

Stratos is a community and municipality in the prefecture of Aitoloakarnania or Etoloakarnania. Stratos is located on Greece Interstate 5/E55 and NW of Agrinio, N of Messolonghi and S of Amfilochia and Arta....
.

Acarnania's foundation was traditionally ascribed to Acarnan
Acarnan

In Greek mythology, Acarnan , one of the Epigones, was a son of Alcmaeon and Calirrhoe, and brother of Amphoterus. Their father was murdered by Phegeus , when they were yet very young, and Calirrhoe prayed to Zeus to make her sons grow quickly, that they might be able to avenge the death of their father....
, son of Alcmaeon.

History


Classical

There is some evidence the region was used by Phoenicia
Phoenicia

Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, extending to parts of Israel, Syria and the Palestinian territories....
n sailors for shelter on their journeys west, but there is otherwise little to indicate any large scale prehistorical settlement. In 7th century BC, Greek influence in the region becomes prominent when Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
 settled Anactorium, Sollium and Leucas
Lefkada

Lefkada, or Leucas is a Greece list of islands of Greece in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge....
, and Kefalonia
Kefalonia

The island of Kefalonia, also known as Cephallenia, Cephallonia, Kefallinia, or Kefallonia , is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece, with an area of 350 sq....
 settled Astacus. Settlements in Alyzeia, Coronta, Limnaea, Medion, Oeniadae, Palaerus, Phytia and Stratus
Stratos, Greece

Stratos is a community and municipality in the prefecture of Aitoloakarnania or Etoloakarnania. Stratos is located on Greece Interstate 5/E55 and NW of Agrinio, N of Messolonghi and S of Amfilochia and Arta....
 are also mentioned by Thucydides
Thucydides

Thucydides was a Greeks history and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century B.C. war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 B.C....
, this latter city being the seat of a loose confederation of Acarnanian powers that was maintained until the late 1st century BC.

Because it is located strategically on the maritime route to Italy, Acarnania was enmired in many wars. In 5th century BC, the Corinth
Corinth

Corinth, or Korinth Corinth is now the capital of the Prefectures of Greece of Corinthia. The city is surrounded by the coastal townlets of Lechaio, Isthmia, Kechries, and the inland townlets of Examilia and the archaeological site....
ians were forced out of their Acarnanian settlements by Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. In 4th century BC, c. 390 BC, the cities of Acarnania surrendered to the Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
ns under King Agesilaus
Agesilaus II

Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II was a king of Sparta, of the Eurypontid dynasty, ruling from approximately 400 BC to 360 BC, during most of which time he was, in Plutarch's words, "as good as thought commander and king of all Greece," and was for the whole of it greatly identified with his country's deeds and fortunes....
, and continued to be Spartan allies until joining the Second Athenian Empire
Second Athenian Empire

The Second Athenian Empire or Confederacy was a maritime confederation of Aegean Islands city-states from 378 BC-355 BC and headed by Athens primarily for self-defense against the growth of Sparta and secondly, the Persian Empire....
 in 375 BC. The Acarnanians later sided with Boeotia
Boeotia

Boeotia, Beotia, or B?otia , formerly Cadmeis, was a region of ancient Greece, north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It was bounded on the south by Megaris and the Kithairon mountain range that forms a natural barrier with Attica, on the north by Opuntian Locris and the Euripus Strait at the Gulf of Euboea, and on the...
 in their fight against Sparta, and with Athens against Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon

Philip II of Macedon,...
 at Chaeronea
Chaeronea

Chaeronea is a municipality in the Boeotia Prefecture, Greece. Population 2,218 . It is located in the Kifis?s River valley and NW of Thebes. It is the last city of historical Boiotia before the border with Phokis....
.

Acarnania thereafter came under Macedonian rule. In 314 BC, at the behest of Macedonian king Cassander
Cassander

Cassander , King of Macedon , was a son of Antipater, and founder of the short-lived Antipatrid dynasty....
, the settlements of Acarnania lying near the Aetolia
Aetolia

Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern prefectures of Greece of Aetolia-Acarnania....
n border were conglomerated into fewer, larger settlements. Still, border conflicts with the Aetolians were frequent, and led to Acarnania's territory being partitioned between Aetolia and Epirus
Epirus (region)

Epirus is a region in south-eastern Europe, currently divided between the Peripheries of Greece Epirus in Greece and the prefectures of Gjirokast?r, Vlor?, Kor??, and Berat in southern Albania....
, c. 250 BC. After the fall of the king of Epirus, the Acarnanian territory that had been given to Epirus regained its independence, and gained Leucas
Lefkada

Lefkada, or Leucas is a Greece list of islands of Greece in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge....
 from Epirus, which became the capital of the region.

Acarnania allied itself with Philip V of Macedon
Philip V of Macedon

File:Philip_V_of_Macedon BM.jpgPhilip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Roman Republic....
 against Rome in 200 BC, although it lost Leucas
Lefkada

Lefkada, or Leucas is a Greece list of islands of Greece in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge....
 because of this, and the city of Thyrreion was anointed the new capital.

In the 1st century BC, Acarnania suffered greatly at the hands of pirates
Piracy

Piracy is a warlike act committed by a foreign nonstate actor, especially robbery or crime committed at sea, on a river, or sometimes on shore, either from a vessel flying no national flag, or one flying a national flag but without authorization from a nation....
, and in Rome's civil wars
Roman civil wars

List of civil wars involving Rome. There were several Roman civil wars, especially during the time of the late Roman Republic....
. Afterwards, the towns and settlements of Acarnania fell under the rule of Nicopolis
Nicopolis

Nicopolis or Actia Nicopolis was an ancient city of Epirus , founded 31 BC by Caesar Augustus in memory of his victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt at Actium....
.

Modern

When the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
 broke up (1204), Acarnania passed to the Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus

The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greeks successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204....
 and in 1480 to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
. Since 1832 it has been part of Greece.

Geography

Acarnania is composed of three main regions: 1) a rocky coastline, 2) a rugged strip of mountain range that follows the coastline, and 3) plains lying between these mountains and the Achelous River
Achelous

In Greek mythology, Achelous was the patron deity of the "silver-swirling" Acheloos River, which is the largest river of Greece, and thus the chief of all river deities, every river having its own river spirit....
.

List of Acarnanians

  • Carnus, seer of Apollo who established the cult of Apollo Carneus among the Dorians; see also Carnea
    Carnea

    Carnea was the name of one of the great national festivals of Sparta, held in honour of Apollo Carneus. Whether Carneus was originally an old Peloponnesian divinity subsequently identified with Apollo, or merely an "emanation" from him, is uncertain; but there seems no reason to doubt that Carneus means "the god of flocks and herds" , in a...
    .
  • Amphilytus, seer of Peisistratos (Athens)
    Peisistratos (Athens)

    Peisistratus was a tyrant of Athens from 546 to 527/8 BCE. His legacy lies primarily in his institution of the Panathenaic Festival and the consequent first attempt at producing a definitive version for Homeric epics....
    .
  • Megistias
    Megistias

    Megistias or Themisteas was a soothsayer from Acarnania who died in the Battle of Thermopylae. He traced his lineage to Melampus. Despite knowing that death was certain, Megistias stayed and fought....
    , seer at the battle of Thermopylae.
  • Lysimachus of Acarnania one of the tutors of Alexander the Great , (as distinct from the Macedonian general Lysimachus
    Lysimachus

    Lysimachus was a Macedonian officer and Diadochi of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus in 306 BCE, ruling Thrace, Anatolia andMacedonia....
    )
  • Philip of Acarnania, one of the physicians of Alexander the Great
  • Machatas
    Machatas

    Machatas was a common Doric Greek name. .*Machatas Macedon son of Derdas and father of Philip and Harpalus *Machatas Aetolian ambassador ...
    ,sculptor (possible Acarnanian,inscriptions with his names have been found in Anaktorio
    Anaktorio

    Anaktorio is a municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece.The municipality is mainly flat and has a total population of 8,830 residents according to the inventory in 2001, roughly half from which they are found in the city of Vo'njtsas....
    )
  • Aristomenes of Acarnania, guardian and regent of Ptolemy III Euergetes
    Ptolemy III Euergetes

    Ptolemy III Euergetes, was the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He was the eldest son of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his first wife, Arsinoe I, and came to power in 246 BCE upon the death of his father....
  • Alexander of Acarnania
    Alexander of Acarnania

    Alexander of Acarnania was once a friend of Philip V of Macedon but abandoned him, and insinuated himself so much into the favor of Antiochus III the Great, that he was admitted to his most secret deliberations....
    , general of Antiochus the Great


Sources


See also

List of traditional Greek place names
List of traditional Greek place names

This is a list of Greek place names. That is, a list of the toponym as they exist in the Greek language. This list includes:* Places involved in the history of Greek culture, including but not limited to:...
.