Antiquity

Many link Missolonghi only the events of the Revolution of 1821 and the Exodus 1826. Besides the relevant stories referred to the creation of the city from pirates and fishermen, Greeks and foreigners in the 16th century. So many people think that the city was in an area desolate and uninhabited until that time. But the truth is completely different. The area bounded by the lagoon of Missolonghi and Etolikou the south, Mount Arakynthos the north, Evino east and west Achelous is one of the oldest residential areas of the Greek area. The Curetes and the Aetolians were the old inhabitants of the region, from early antiquity was called Aetolia.

In the area where today there are beautiful cities Missolonghi and Aetoliko in ancient Calydon to flourish and Plevrona, cities nationwide are known. Life in the region has never stopped and this is testified by the numerous monuments of antiquity, the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine and Ottoman. The area south of Arakynthos was old Aetolia with two important and famous cities nationwide. Gennarchis country was Aetolia, whose two son, the Calydon and Plevrona built the two homonymous cities. Descendants were Oineas (from Calydon) and Althea (from Plevrona). Their children were Meleager and Deianeira. O Oineas cultivated for the first time in Greece the vine and reigned in a region with rich crops. There he organized the hunt of the Calydonian Boar, which was attended heroes from all Greece. The Meleager took part in the Argonaut Expedition with his uncle Iphicles. In the same campaign and took part Agkaios from Plevrona, which indeed was the second ruler of Argos. The Hercules married Deianeira, who for the sake of Achelous fought and won. Finally, the Trojan War took place and Thoas grandson Oineas by Althea and Diomedes Oineas grandson by his second marriage (with Perivoia). All these nice and Greek myth, relating to the lives of heroes in the region testify to the power of Calydon and Plevrona and close relations with the powerful cities of Greece.

In Aetolia, lived from very ancient times a large number of people - pre-Hellenic peoples Protoachaioi, Achaeans, Dorians. This is evidenced by the ancient ruins and debris, which are all over the place, but also by ydronymia Achelous - Enochos containing the root AKW (ah) of Linear B '- meaning water. The ancient peoples are engaged mainly in farming and agriculture, while relations with the lagoon was surprisingly limited mainly to piracy and raids. The Aetolians also characterized as "aggressive, ruthless, politically ambitious, and wild ......".

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