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50-538: The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on the north it had boundaries with Epirus and Thessaly ; on the east with the Ozolian Locrians ; and on the south the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf defined the limits of Aetolia. In classical times Aetolia comprised two parts: "Old Aetolia" ( Greek : Παλιά Αιτωλία , romanized :  Paliá Aitolía ) in the west, from

100-406: A common currency and adopting a uniform system of weights and measures. There may not have been any central archive of state documents. However, the constituent communities of the league enjoyed substantial autonomy. At times the league was unable (or unwilling) to prevent its members from undertaking military actions against states that had treaties with it. The league members were grouped together in

150-468: A language similar to the Macedonians. On the other hand, Thucydides claims that Eurytanians spoke a very difficult language and ate their food completely raw. They were semi-barbaric, warlike and predatory. They worshiped Apollo as god of tame nature and Artemis as goddess of wilderness. They also worshiped Athena , not as goddess of wisdom, but emphasizing the element of war – i.e. a goddess that

200-547: A minor post, became the General's deputy from the late 260s BC, but his exact responsibilities are not clear. The third in command was the Grammateus ( Secretary ). These three officials were Eponymous archons (eponymous magistrates), which is to say that they were named in the dating formula for all decrees of the league. From around 260 BC, there were also seven tamiai (Treasurers) and seven epilektarchoi (Commanders of

250-442: A number of tele (districts), which seem to have had administrative and juridical powers of some sort. The league's central administrative apparatus consisted of an assembly, a council, and a number of magistrates. The Ekklesia (Assembly) was open to all citizens of all member communities of the league. The assembly was the ultimate authority within the league, with responsibility for declarations of war and peace, but its power

300-472: A result, the Korkyreans were forced to accept an Illyrian garrison in their city, which was put under the command of Demetrius of Pharos. The Aetolians’ power increasingly magnified with the occupation of the lands of Ozoloi, Locrians and Phocians, as well as Boeotia. They then united under the power of their League in the areas of Tegea, Mantinea, Orchomenus, Psophida and Phigaleia. Between 220 and 217 BC,

350-630: Is downstream and was completed in 1969. Downstream of Katsiki, the Stratos Dam was completed in 1989. The arch bridges includes the Karafilio and the Ardanovo . The Acheloos River Diversion project has been the center of debate since the 1980s. It calls for four large dams, the Sykia , Mesochora , Mouzaki and Pyli , along with a 17.4 km-long (10.8 mi) channel. The goal of the project

400-507: Is to divert 600,000,000 m (490,000 acre⋅ft) annually from the river west towards the Thessaly plains in order to help irrigate 240,000–380,000 ha (590,000–940,000 acres) of mostly cotton crops. Construction on the project has been stalled several times, the latest in 2005, because of environmental and social concerns. Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian ) League ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν )

450-754: The Battle of Cynoscephalae in 197 BC, during the Second Macedonian War . However, it grew increasingly hostile to Roman involvement in Greek affairs and only a few years later sided with Antiochus III , the anti-Roman king of the Seleucid Empire , during the Roman-Syrian War . The defeat of Antiochus in 189 BC robbed the league of its principal foreign ally and made it impossible to stand alone in continued opposition to Rome. The league

500-652: The Ionian Sea , 29 km (18 mi) west of Missolonghi . In order from upstream to downstream: There are five dams on the river. From upstream to downstream there is the Mesochora Dam which was completed in 2001 but has not impounded its reservoir. Below that is the Sykia Dam which is partly constructed. Further down is the Kremasta (1965), Kastraki (1969) and Stratos Dams (1989). In antiquity,

550-663: The Kremasta reservoir, which is also fed by the rivers Agrafiotis and Megdovas . On exiting the Kremasta reservoir, the river flows southwest into Aetolia-Acarnania, feeding the Kastraki reservoir, west of the Panaitoliko range. 10 to 15 kilometres (6.2 to 9.3 mi) downstream from this lake, it flows into the Stratos reservoir. Further downstream, it runs through the lowlands west of Agrinio . It finally empties into

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600-760: The Persian Wars . In 426 BC, led by Aegitios, they defeated the Athenians and their allies, who had turned against Apodotia and Ophioneia under the general command of Demosthenes. However, they failed to regain Naupaktos , which had meanwhile been conquered by the Corinthians with the aid of the Athenians. At the end of the Archidamian War , the Aetolians took part as mercenaries of the Athenians in

650-1075: The Social War broke out between the Achaean and Aetolian Leagues. The war was first started by the Aetolians with the help of the Spartans and Eleans. Allies of the Achaeans were the Macedonians, the Boeotians, the Phocians, the Epirotes, the Acarnanians and the Messenians. The Aetolians allied with the Romans, while Philip V destroyed the temple of Apollo Thermios and allied with the Carthaginians. The Aetolians continued to fight on

700-587: The Turks . Aetolia was mentioned in Francisco Baltazar's Florante at Laura. Achelous River The Achelous ( Greek : Αχελώος , Ancient Greek : Ἀχελῷος Akhelôios ), also Acheloos , is a river in Epirus , western Greece . It is 220 km (137 mi) long. It formed the boundary between Acarnania and Aetolia of antiquity. It empties into the Ionian Sea . In ancient times its spirit

750-753: The Achelous to the Evenus and Calydon ; and "New Aetolia" ( Greek : Νέα Αιτωλία , romanized :  Néa Aitolía ) or "Acquired Aetolia" ( Greek : Αἰτωλία Ἐπίκτητος , romanized :  Aitolía Epíktitos ) in the east, from the Evenus and Calydon to the Ozolian Locrians. The country has a level and fruitful coastal region, but an unproductive and mountainous interior. The mountains contained many wild beasts, and acquired fame in Greek mythology as

800-650: The Achelous was the largest and most celebrated river in Greece, rising in Mount Pindus , and after flowing through the mountainous country of the Dolopians and Agraeans , entered the plain of Acarnania and Aetolia near Stratus , and discharged itself into the Ionian Sea , near the Acarnanian town of Oeniadae . It subsequently formed the boundary between Acarnania and Aetolia, but in the time of Thucydides

850-525: The Achelous. In 1359 the Battle of Achelous between Albanian forces under Peter Losha and the Despotate of Epirus under Nikephoros II Orsini took place near the river Achelous. Nikephoros II was defeated and killed during the battle, and two new states were established in the area, the Despotate of Arta and the Despotate of Angelokastron and Lepanto . In the 1960s, the Kremasta Dam in

900-667: The Aetolians alone and in 280 BC, they took control of Heraclea in Trachis , which gave them control over the crucial pass at Thermopylae . In 279 BC, they were victorious in battle against the Gauls , who had invaded Greece and were threatening the sanctuary of Delphi . After their victory they earned the appreciation of the rest of the Greeks and they were admitted as a new member into the Amphictyonic League . In 232 BC,

950-563: The Aetolians forced them to retreat. In the course of the fourth century, the league offered passive support to more powerful states and was rewarded for it, receiving Aeolis from the Thebans in 367 BC and Naupactus from Philip II of Macedon in 338 BC. Sometime in this century, the Koinon tōn Aitōlōn (League of the Aetolians) was founded, but it is uncertain when. One suggestion is that

1000-470: The Aetolians took control of Parnassus , including the panhellenic sanctuary of Delphi , which they would continue to control for over a century. Demetrius Poliorcetes launched the Fifth Sacred War , 289-287 BC, in an attempt to remove them, but was defeated and driven from Macedonia altogether with the help of Pyrrhus of Epirus . A Sixth Sacred War , 281 BC, led by Areus I was rebuffed by

1050-467: The Aetolians were not highly regarded by other Greeks, who considered them to be semi-barbaric and reckless. Their League had a complex political and administrative structure, and their armies were easily a match for the other Greek powers. However, during the Hellenistic period , they emerged as a dominant state in central Greece and expanded by the voluntary annexation of several Greek city-states to

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1100-520: The Aitoloacarnania-Evrytania boundary was under construction. The area is not forested. The dam, made of concrete, took years to complete, eventually flooding a portion of the western part of the prefecture of Eurytania. The dam includes a power station with transformer lines in the east. The dam powers electricity for the western part of Greece and the central part. It caused some soil erosion in some flooded valleys. The Kastraki Dam

1150-523: The Assembly are not clear. It consisted of delegates elected by each of the constituent communities of the league in proportion to their size. By the late third century BC it had around 1500 members - too large for it to have been in continuous session. A small portion of the council's members, known as the apokletoi ("Select-men"), conducted day-to-day business, such as sending and receiving embassies. The league's archons (magistrates) were elected by

1200-513: The Elite), who managed financial and military matters respectively. There were a number of boularchoi (Council Commanders) who seem to have been a steering committee for the Council. When these first appear in the 260s, there were two of them, but by the end of the third century BC they had risen to six or more, presumably as a result of the continued expansion of the league's membership (and thus of

1250-530: The Illyrians under Agron attacked the Aetolians, and managed to take many prisoners and booty. In 229 BC, the Aetolians participated in a naval battle off the island of Paxos in a coalition with Korkyra and the Achaean League , and were defeated by a coalition of Illyrians and Acarnanians ; as a result, the Korkyreans were forced to accept an Illyrian garrison in their city, which was put under

1300-731: The League. Still, the Aetolian League had to fight against Macedonia and were driven to an alliance with Rome , which resulted in the final conquest of Greece by the Romans. The Aetolians were a recognised ethnic group with a religious centre at Thermos from at least the seventh century BC. During the Peloponnesian War , the Aetolians were initially neutral, but when the Athenians tried to invade Aetolia in 426 BC ,

1350-592: The Roman province of Achaea . When the Roman garrisons were withdrawn because of the civil wars in Rome, the Aetolians, too, began to fight each other. Following Octavius’ victory at the Battle of Actium , the Aetolians who had sided with Antony disbanded completely. Octavius handed Calydon over to the Achaeans, who devastated it entirely and moved the statue of Artemis Laphria to Patras . There were subsequent invasions by Goths , Huns , and Vandals several centuries later at

1400-472: The assembly each year at the Thermica. The chief executive was the strategos (General), who commanded the league's armies, received all diplomatic contacts from other states in first instance, and presided over meetings of the assembly, the council, and the select-men. The office could be held multiple times, but only after an interval of, probably, four years. The hipparchos (Cavalry Commander), originally

1450-700: The command of Demetrius of Pharos. In the Social War , 220-217 BC, the Aetolian League fought against the Kingdom of Macedonia . Philip V of Macedon invaded Aetolia and sacked the city of Thermos as a response to the Aetolians' invasion at the city of Dodona in Epirus. The league was the first Greek ally of the Roman Republic , siding with the Romans during the First Macedonian War , 215-205 BC, and helping to defeat Philip V of Macedon at

1500-493: The disagreement between the two Macedonian generals and Perdiccas. The Acarnanians then attempted to invade their land, but the Aetolians were able to force them to flee. The Aetolians set up a united league, the Aetolian League , in early times. It soon became a powerful confederation ( sympoliteia ) and by c. 340 BC it became one of the leading military powers in ancient Greece. It had originally been organized during

1550-673: The end of the Roman Empire . Aetolia's reputation has suffered from a rather hostile treatment in the sources. Polybius is considered now to have a heavy anti-Aetolian bias due to his having relied on Aetolia's opponent Aratus of Achaea, but mainly because of his origin in Megalopolis , a major centre of the rival Achaean League. During the Middle Ages, Aetolia was part of the Byzantine Empire and later passed to

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1600-526: The expedition against Syracuse. Then the Achaeans occupied Calydon , but the Aetolians recovered it in 361 BC. In 338 BC, Naupaktos was again taken by the Aetolians, with the help of Philip II. During the Lamian War , the Aetolians helped the Athenian general Leosthenes defeat Antipater . As a result, they came into conflict with Antipater and Craterus , taking great risks, but were eventually saved by

1650-624: The league to implode. Over the next decade it seems to have been reconstituted and in the later years of Alexander's reign the Aetolians seized Oeniadae against his will. The Aetolian League joined the Athenians in the Lamian war against Antipater which broke out after Alexander's death in 323 BC and continued to oppose Macedonian power throughout the Wars of the Diadochi , participating in invasions of Macedon in 320, 316/5 and 313 BC. Around 301 BC,

1700-530: The league was founded by Epaminondas in 367 BC. Grainger believes that it was founded much later, around the time of the rise of Philip II of Macedon. Archaeology indicates that settlements in Aetolia began to grow in size and complexity over the course of this century. After the death of Philip II in 336 BC, the Aetolians joined the Thebans in opposing Alexander the Great and the stress of their defeat caused

1750-445: The other magistrates at the Thermica, but their relative rank is not clear. The Aetolian League acquired a reputation for piracy and brigandage . Though some historians recognize a pro- Achaean bias in the portrayal of the League by Polybius , many modern historians also accept his portrayal as largely justified. For example, Walbank is explicit in seeing the Aetolians as systematically using piracy to supplement their income due to

1800-539: The reign of Philip II by the cities of Aetolia for their mutual benefit and protection and became a formidable rival to the Macedonian monarchs and the Achaean League . The great courage shown by the Aetolians during the fighting against the Macedonians increased their glamour and fame, especially after winning the last Amphictyonic war and even more after repulsing the Gallic invasion under Brennus and rescuing

1850-564: The sanctuary of Delphi . Subsequently, the Sotiria Games were established by the Aetolians, in honour of Zeus the Saviour. In 232 BC, the Illyrians under Agron attacked the Aetolians, and managed to take many prisoners and booty. In 229 BC, the Aetolians participated in a naval battle off the island of Paxos in a coalition with Korkyra and the Achaean League , and were defeated by a coalition of Illyrians and Acarnanians ; as

1900-623: The scene of the hunt for the Calydonian Boar , also called the Aetolian Boar. Tribes known as Curetes – named after the nearby mountain Kourion, or just to stand out from the Acarnanians, who were called so because they were unshorn – and Leleges originally inhabited the country, but at an early period Greeks from Elis , led by the mythical eponym Aetolus , set up colonies. Dionysius of Halicarnassus mentions that Curetes

1950-416: The side of the Romans even in the Battle of Cynoscephalae (196 BC), ignoring the great dangers looming for Greece as a result of this alliance. The Aetolians took the side of Antiochus III against the Roman Republic , and on the defeat of that monarch in 189 BC, they became virtually the subjects of Rome . Following the conquest of the Achaeans by Lucius Mummius Achaicus in 146 BC, Aetolia became part of

2000-412: The size of the Council). From 278 the league sent delegates to the Amphictyonic League (Delphic Amphictyony), gradually increasing over time until the league held a majority of the seats on the council, which increasingly became an instrument of Aetolian power projection. From the 260s, the secretary of the Amphictyonic council was always an Aetolian. These delegates seem to have been elected along with

2050-403: The sources of the river near a place called Chalcis . It is said to have been called more anciently Thoas , Axenus and Thestius . In the lower part of its course, the plain through which it flows was called in antiquity Paracheloitis after the river. This plain was celebrated for its fertility, though covered in great part with marshes, several of which were formed by the overflowings of

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2100-403: The territory of Oeniadae extended east of the river. It is usually called a river of Acarnania, but it is sometimes assigned to Aetolia. Its general direction is from north to south. Its waters are of a whitish yellow or cream colour, whence it derives a later name of Aspropotamo or the White river, and to which Dionysius Periegetes probably alludes in the epithet ἀργυροδίνης. Periegetes places

2150-476: The village Anthousa in the westernmost part of the Trikala regional unit . One of its first tributaries is the Aspropotamos , meaning the white river. The river flows generally southwards, and forms part of the boundary between the regional units of Arta and Trikala, which is also the boundary between Epirus and Thessaly . Further downstream, it forms the boundary of Arta and Karditsa , and further of Aetolia-Acarnania and Evrytania . The river runs into

2200-404: The whole of central Greece with the exception of Attica and Boeotia . At its peak, the league's territory included Locris , Malis , Dolopes, parts of Thessaly , Phocis , and Acarnania . In the latter part of its power, certain Greek city-states joined the Aetolian League such as the Arcadian cities of Mantineia , Tegea , Phigalia and Kydonia on Crete . During the classical period

2250-420: Was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in Central Greece . It was probably established during the early Hellenistic era , in opposition to Macedon and the Achaean League . Two annual meetings were held at Thermon and Panaetolika. The league occupied Delphi from 290 BC and steadily gained territory until, by the end of the 3rd century BC, it controlled

2300-437: Was a counterbalance to the god Ares . They called Apollo and Artemis "Laphrios gods," i.e. patrons of the spoils and loot of war. In addition, they worshiped Hercules, the river Achelous and Bacchus. In Thermos, an area north of Trichonis lake, there was after the 7th century a shrine of Apollo “Thermios,” which became a significant religious center during the time of the Aetolian League . The Aetolians refused to participate in

2350-427: Was forced to sign a peace treaty with Rome that made it a subject ally of the republic. Although it continued to exist in name, the power of the league was broken by the treaty and it never again constituted a significant political or military force. The league had a federal structure, which could raise armies and conduct foreign policy on a common basis. It also implemented economic standardization, levying taxes, using

2400-421: Was limited by the infrequency with which it met. Two meetings took place a year, one at the Thermica festival which was held at Thermos on the autumnal equinox and another in spring at the Panaetolica festival which took place at a different site each year. Emergency meetings could also be called. The exact competencies of the Council, referred to as a boula or synedrion in different documents, relative to

2450-423: Was the old name of the Aetolians and Leleges the old name of the Locrians . The Aetolians took part in the Trojan War , under their king Thoas . The mountain tribes of Aetolia were the Ophioneis, the Apodotoi, the Agraeis, the Aperantoi and the Eurytanians. The primitive lifestyle of those tribes made an impression on ancient historians. Polybius doubted their Greek heritage, while Livy reports that they spoke

2500-407: Was venerated as the river god Achelous . Herodotus , taking notice of the shoreline-transforming power of the Acheloos River, even compared it to the Nile in this respect: It is said to have been called more anciently Thoas , Axenus and Thestius . The river Achelous begins at about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) elevation on the eastern slope of Lakmos mountain in the Pindus range, near

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