Aigialeia ( el, Αιγιάλεια, ) is a municipality and a former

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

(επαρχία) in the eastern part of the

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...

regional unit,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. The seat of the municipality is the town

Aigio Aigio, also written as ''Aeghion, Aegion, Aegio, Egio'' ( el, Αίγιο, Aígio, ; la, Aegium), is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipali ...

. The municipality has an area of 723.063 km². The main towns are Aigio,

Akrata Akrata, ( el, Ακράτα) is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 180. ...

and

Diakopto Diakopto ( el, Διακοπτό) is a coastal town municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reforms it is a municipal unit of the Aigialeia municipality. The municipal unit has an area of 103.932 km2. Popul ...

. The municipality Aigialeia stretches from the south coast of the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isth ...

to the mountainous interior of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

peninsula. The main rivers of the municipality are the Selinountas and the

Vouraikos The Vouraikos ( el, Βουραϊκός, la, Buraïcus, ''Erasinus'' ( grc, Ἐρασῖνος, Erasinos) according to Strabo) is a river in Achaea, Greece. In ancient times it was called Erasinos. Its source is in the Aroania mountains, near th ...

Municipality

The municipality Aigialeia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units: *

Aigeira Aigeira ( el, Αιγείρα) (, grc, Αἰγείρα or Αἴγειρα, la, Aegeira) is a town and a former municipality in northeastern Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been a municipal unit of the ...

Erineos Erineos ( el, Ερινεός) is a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Aigialeia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 98.710&nbs ...

Sympoliteia A ''sympoliteia'' ( gr, συμπολιτεία, , joint citizenship), anglicized as sympolity, was a type of treaty for political organization in ancient Greece. By the time of the Hellenistic period, it occurred in two forms. In mainland Greece, ...

Province

The province of Aigialeia ( el, Επαρχία Αιγιαλείας) was one of the three provinces of Achaea. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality, except the municipal unit

. It was abolished in 2006.

History

Present Aigialeia was the territory of the ancient Achaeans. Several towns of the

Achaean League The Achaean League (Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern Pel ...

were located here:

Rhypes Rhypes ( grc, Ῥύπες), or Rhypae or Rhypai (Ῥύπαι) was a polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, 30 stadia west of Aegium, and was one of the original twelve Achaean cities. It had ceased to be a member of the Achaean League in the time of ...

Aegium Aegium or Aigion ( grc, Αἴγιον), or Aegeium or Aigeion (Αἴγειον), was a town and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, and one of the twelve Achaean cities. It was situated upon the coast west of the river Selinus, 30 stadia from Rhy ...

Ceryneia Ceryneia or Keryneia ( grc, Κερύνεια, also Cerynia or Kerynia (Κερυνία), Ceraunia or Keraunia (Κεραυνία), Cerauneia or Kerauneia (Κεραύνεια), Caryneia or Karyneia (Καρύνεια), was a town and polis (city-state) ...

, Boura, Helice, Aegae and

. Helice was submerged as a result an earthquake, which also destroyed Boura. In

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, the most important towns were Aegium and Aigeira. In the Middle Ages, the area was ruled by the Byzantines, Slavs, Franks, Venetians, and from the 16th century the Ottoman Turks. Aigialeia was liberated in the first stage of the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

, in 1821. Aigio was struck by an earthquake in 1995, damaging several buildings. The

2007 Greek forest fires The 2007 Greek forest fires were a series of massive forest fires that broke out in several areas across Greece throughout the summer of 2007. The most destructive and lethal infernos broke out on 23 August, expanded rapidly and raged out of con ...

cause great damage in the mountains of Aigialeia.

Transport

Roads

The main highways in Aigialeia are: *

Greek National Road 8 Greek National Road 8 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 8, abbreviated as EO8, common name: old Athens-Patras national road) is a single carriageway with at-grade intersections in the Attica, Peloponnese and West Greece regions. It connects Athens with ...

, old road

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

–

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

– Rio –

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

Greek National Road 8A Greek National Road 8a ( el, Εθνική Οδός 8a, abbreviated as EO8a) was a toll road in the Attica, Peloponnese and West Greece regions. It connected Athens with the cities of Corinth and Patras. It was built in the 1960s as a replacemen ...

(part of E55 and E65): Athens – Corinth – Rio – Patras * Greek National Road 31:

–

Kalavryta Kalavryta ( el, Καλάβρυτα) is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of Achaea, Greece. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of Aigio, southeast of Patras and ...

Railways

The

Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways or SPAP ( el, Σιδηρόδρομοι Πειραιώς-Αθηνών-Πελοποννήσου "Siderodromi Pireos Athinon Peloponisou" or Σ.Π.Α.Π. (S.P.A.P.); french: Chemin de fer du Pirée-Athènes-Pe ...

line Athens – Corinth – Aigio – Patras – Pyrgos – Kyparissia runs through Aigialeia. The Diakofto–Kalavryta Railway is a rack railway, offering passenger service as well.

Media

Newspapers, fanzines and others

Filodimos ''Filodimos'' ( el, Φιλόδημος) is a newspaper that was founded in 1886 in Aigio, Greece. The newspaper is the first publication ever established in the city. See also *List of newspapers in Greece References *''The first version of th ...

–

Frouros tis Anatolikis Aigialeias ''Frouros tis Anatolikis Aigialeias'' (Greek: Φρουρός της Ανατολικής Αιγιαλείας meaning the fortress of Eastern Aigialeia) was a newspaper that was founded in 1996 in Aigeira, Greece. It serves the entire eastern Aigi ...

* Proti tis Aigaleias – Aigio and Aigaleia *

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

– Akrata

Radio

* Radio Aigio – 99.2 FM

Television

AXION An axion () is a hypothetical elementary particle postulated by the Peccei–Quinn theory in 1977 to resolve the strong CP problem in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). If axions exist and have low mass within a specific range, they are of interes ...

– Aigio

Sporting clubs

Panegialios Panegialios ( el, Παναιγιάλειος Γ.Σ. (''Panegialios Gymnastics Club'', referring to Aigialeia, a subprefecture covering the northeastern part of Achaea) is a football club based in Aigio, Greece. Panegialios has a long tradition i ...

– Football League * Anagennisi/Aias Sympoliteias –

Rododafni Rododafni (Greek: Ροδοδάφνη, before 1928: Μουρλά - ''Mourla'') is a town in northern Achaea, Greece. It is located on the Gulf of Corinth, 4 km northwest of Aigio and 28 km east of Patras. Rododafni had a population of 2,5 ...

* Aris Valimitika * Asteras Temenis * Diakopto AC –

– fourth division * Egieas Egion *

Olympiakos Aigio Olympiakos or Olympiacos may refer to: * Olympiacos CFP, a multisport club in Piraeus, Greece ** Olympiacos F.C., the football department of Olympiacos CFP ** Olympiacos B.C., the basketball department of Olympiacos CFP ** Olympiacos S.C., the men' ...

–

, fourth division *

Thyella Aigio Thyella is a Greek word about the storm. The term Thyella also may refer to: *Thyella Patras F.C., sport club based in Patras *Thyella Rafina F.C., sport club based in Rafina *Thyella Filotas F.C., sport club based in Filotas {{disambiguation ...

– Aigio *

A.O. Vouraikos Diakopto AO, aO, Ao, or ao may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Adults Only, an entertainment rating * AO Music (AOmusic), a world-music fusion group consisting of Jay Oliver, Miriam Stockley and others * Ao: The Last Hunter, a 2010 prehistoric d ...

* A.O. Ziria * Aris Longou –

Longos, Achaea Loggos ( el, Λόγγος) is a village in the municipal unit of Aigialeia in the northeastern part of Achaea in the Peloponnese, Greece. The villages Loggos and Selianitika (adjacent to the southeast) share a beautiful beach on the Gulf of Corinth ...

* A.O. Thyella Aigeiras –

(1980-2018) *

A.O. Akrata AO, aO, Ao, or ao may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Adults Only, an entertainment rating * AO Music (AOmusic), a world-music fusion group consisting of Jay Oliver, Miriam Stockley and others * Ao: The Last Hunter, a 2010 prehistoric d ...

–

(1970-2018) * A.E. Aigeiras/Akratas –

(merger of the two local clubs since July 2018)

References

{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece Municipalities of Western Greece Provinces of Greece Achaea Populated places in Achaea