Oiniades ( el, Οινιάδες) is a municipal unit of the municipality
Missolonghi
Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...
,
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 municipal unit has an area of 270.899 km
2.
It was named after the ancient town of
Oeniadae
Oeniadae or Oiniadai ( grc, Οἰνιάδαι), or Oeneiadae or Oineiadai (Οἰνειάδαι), was a town in ancient Acarnania, situated on the west bank of the Achelous River, about 10 miles (16 km) from its mouth. It was one of the most import ...
.
History
Ancient
Oeniadae
Oeniadae or Oiniadai ( grc, Οἰνιάδαι), or Oeneiadae or Oineiadai (Οἰνειάδαι), was a town in ancient Acarnania, situated on the west bank of the Achelous River, about 10 miles (16 km) from its mouth. It was one of the most import ...
( grc, Οἰνιάδαι) was a port town on the west bank of the river
Achelous
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Achelous (also Acheloos or Acheloios) (; Ancient Greek: Ἀχελώϊος, and later , ''Akhelôios'') was the god associated with the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece. According to Hesiod, he ...
and one of the most important towns of ancient
Acarnania
Acarnania ( el, Ἀκαρνανία) is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today i ...
. Oeniadai was first mentioned in the 5th century BC.
[OINIADAI Greece]
entry in The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites.
It was situated against a hill in the marshes, which protected it from invaders.
Its location has been identified on that of the present village
Katochi.
It was an important port on the route to Corfu. It changed its alliances repeatedly in the course of history; at first it was a member of the Peloponnesian League, but in 424 BC it was incorporated in the Delian League. In the Hellenistic period, Oiniadai allied with the Aetolians until 218 BC when Philip V declared it free. From 211-189 BC during the Roman-Macedonian wars the city was again under Aetolian control. In Roman times it lost its strategic importance. However it was still inhabited in the 3rd century AD judging from coin finds.
Archaeology
The city walls are well preserved and several buildings were excavated beginning in 1900-1901:
*a theatre
*a bath complex
*a shipyard.
Municipality
Subdivisions
The municipal unit Oiniades is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):
*Neochori Mesolongiou (Neochori, Magoula, Marmara)
*Gouria
*
Katochi
*Lesini
*Mastros (Mastros, Platania)
*Pentalofo
Population
References
External links
Municipality of OiniadesOiniades (municipality) on GTP Travel PagesAncient Oeniadae on GTP Travel PagesAncient Oeniadae access informationjstor.org
''Oeniadae: I. History and Topography'' by Benjamin Powell, 1904
{{Missolonghi div
Acarnania
Former populated places in Greece
Missolonghi
Populated places in Aetolia-Acarnania