Achaea is bordered byElis to the west and southwest,Arcadia to the south, andCorinthia to the east and southeast. TheGulf of Corinth lies to its northeast, and theGulf of Patras to its northwest. The mountainPanachaiko (1926 m), though not the highest of Achaea, dominates the coastal area nearPatras. Higher mountains are found in the south, such asAroania (2341 m) andErymanthos (2224 m). Other mountain ranges in Achaea areSkollis,Omplos, Kombovouni andMovri. Its main rivers ordered from west to east are theLarissos,Tytheus,Peiros,Charadros,Selinountas andVouraikos. Most of the forests are in the mountain ranges, though several are in the plains including the extreme west. There are grasslands around the mid-elevation areas and barren lands in the highest areas.
Achaea has hot summers and mild winters. Sunny days dominate during the summer months in areas near the coast, while the summer can be cloudy and rainy in the mountains. Snow is very common during the winter in the mountains of Erymanthos, Panachaiko and Aroania. Winter high temperatures are around the 10 °C mark throughout the low-lying areas.
As a part of the2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Achaea was created out of the formerprefecture Achaea (Greek:Νομός Αχαΐας). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.[3]
TheAchaean League was a Hellenistic-era confederation of city states in Achaea, founded in 280/281 BC. It later grew until it included most ofPeloponnese, much reducing theMacedonian rule in the area.[citation needed]
After Macedon's defeat by the Romans in the early 2nd century BC, the League was able finally to defeat a heavily weakenedSparta and take control of the entire Peloponnese. However, as theRoman influence in the area grew, the league erupted into an open revolt against Roman domination, in what is known asAchaean War. TheAchaeans were defeated at theBattle of Corinth (146 BC), and the League was dissolved by the Romans.[citation needed]
Achaea remained a province of theByzantine Empire after thefall of the Western Roman Empire. In the 6th and 7th centuries,Slavs invaded Greece and reached the Peloponnese, settling there. The coastal cities remained largely under Byzantine control, and aSiege of Patras in 805/807 failed. By the end of the 9th century, the whole peninsula was firmly under Byzantine control again, forming theTheme of the Peloponnese.
After theFourth Crusade several newCrusader states were founded in Greece. One of these was thePrincipality of Achaea, founded in 1205, which like the Roman province covered a much larger area than the Achaea region. The Achaea region was among the core territories of the Principality, with four baronies: the extensiveBarony of Patras, theBarony of Vostitsa, theBarony of Chalandritsa, and theBarony of Kalavryta. Patras, under the powerfulLatin Archbishopric of Patras, over time became a semi-autonomous domain under the protection of Venice and the Holy See. Although Kalavryta was lost to theByzantine Greeks already by the end of the 13th century, the other baronies survived until the Principality of Achaea was conquered by the Byzantine Empire in 1430, and became part of theDespotate of the Morea.
In theGreek War of Independence, Aigio was one of the first cities to be liberated by the Greeks and all of Achaea was liberated by the end of 1821. Achaea produced several heroes includingKanaris,Zaimis andRoufos and prime ministers of Greece includingAndreas Michalakopoulos as well as some head of states.
In the first administrative subdivision of independent Greece, Achaea was part of theAchaea and Elis Prefecture. This was divided into theprefectures of Achaea andElis in 1899. Achaea and Elis were reunited in 1909, and split again in 1930.
Achaea saw an influx of refugees that arrived fromAsia Minor during theGreco Turkish War of 1919–1922. Tens of thousands were relocated to their camps in the suburbs of Patras and a few villages mainly within the coastline. One of the camps was namedProsfygika.
Achaea today has about one-third of the population of the Peloponnese.Patras, the capital of Achaea, is the third largest city in Greece, behindAthens andThessaloniki. Two-thirds of the Achaean population live near Patras, and more than half within the city limits. The main industrial areas are around Patras.
The monasteryAgia Lavra is situated a few kilometres west ofKalavryta on the top of a hill. 12 to 20 km east, isCave Lakes, with lakes inside. The length is around 300 to 500 m.
The mountain hosts the most modern Greek telescope, named Aristarchus (after the ancient Greek astronomer -Aristarchus of Samos) and operated by theNational Observatory of Athens. A narrow gauge railway track runs for 30 km, mainly as a tourist attraction. The track begins near Kalavryta and ends off Diakopto.
Patras is one of the main industrial and commerce centers in Greece. Temeni is a place where the spring water Avra (Άυρα) is manufactured. It is owned byTria Epsilon, a division ofThe Coca-Cola Company and a parent. There is a small oil refinery near Rio. Athenian brewery has the largest production facility of the company in Patra.
There are two skiing resorts, one on the Panachaicus west of the mountain top (elevation around 1700 m) east of Patras, it will be Nafpaktos's closest because of the new bridge (mid-2004) and the other on Aroania, sometimes still calledChelmos, near Kalavrita. It is Kalavrita's closest resort.
^The spellingAchaea is the most common in English (as shown by the entries in the Britannica and Columbia encyclopedias and most dictionaries and other reference works) although this is based on an erroneous but well-established transliteration of theGreek original (which does not have a diphthong) and in disregard of theLatin spelling (Achaia) of the relatedRoman province. The spellingAchaia is used in English by the Greek authorities and theEuropean Union. The transliterationAkhaia of the (Ancient andModern) Greek is sometimes used in English, for example by the Encyclopædia Britannica and the Collins English Dictionary.
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