Achaea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Achaea Prefecture Νομός Αχαΐας
Periphery	West Greece
Capital	Patras
Population	331,316 (2005)Ranked 5th
Area	3,271.507 km² Ranked 14th
Population density	101.3/km²Ranked 9th
Number of provinces	3
Number of municipalities	21
Number of communities	2
Postal codes	25x xx - 26x xx
Area codes	2610, 269x0
Licence plate code	ΑΖ
ISO 3166-2 code	GR-13
Website	http://www.achaia.gr/

Achaea (Greek: Ἀχαΐα, Achaïa) is an ancient province and a present prefecture of Greece, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the north, bordering the Gulf of Corinth, into which the mountain Panachaicus (1,902 m, the northernmost mountain range in the Peloponnese) projects.

Achaea is bounded on the west by the territory of Elis, on the east by that of Sicyon, which, however, was sometimes included in it. The population in 2001 had reached over 300,000.

[edit] Geography

Its geography features the Omblos to the east Erymanthos mountains to the centre, the mountains including Marathia to the east, Chelmos or Aroania in the southeast, the Skollis in the southwest, Movri to the west and Mavros Oros to the west. Rivers ordered from west to east include the Larissos, Tytheos, Parapeiros and the Charadros to the northwest and the Selinountas and the Vouraikos and several others to the east. Most of the forests are in the mountain ranges, though several are in the plains including in the extreme west. There are grasslands around the mid-elevation areas and barren lands in the highest areas.

[edit] Climate

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 Erymanthus, Panachaicus and Aroania. Winter high temperatures are around the 10°C mark throughout the low lying areas.

[edit] Main towns and cities

Here are the cities ranked by the largest, as of 2003.

• Patra (Patras) 150,000 (est.), (met. about 200,000)
• Aigion 30,000 (est.)
• Rhion
• Ovrya
• Kato Achaia
• Aigeira
• Akrata
• Kalavryta
• Vrachnaiika
• Mintilogi
• Paralia
• Alissos
• Ptéri
• Chalandritsa
• Diakopton/Diacopton
• Psathopyrgos

[edit] Provinces

• Aigialeia - Aigio
• Kalavryta Province - Kalavryta
• Patras Province - Patras

[edit] Municipalities and communities

[edit] History

Map of ancient Achaea

The origin of the name has given rise to much speculation; Achaean is a common term for the Greek troops in Homer. Possibly corresponding are the Ahhiawa of 13th century BC Hittite texts. The Achaeans proper in the Catalogue of Ships are from Argos and Tiryns. However, one theory is that the Achaeans were driven to this region by the Dorian invaders of the Peloponnese. Another Achaea, in the south of Thessaly, called sometimes Achaea Phthiotis, has been suggested to be the cradle of the original tribe.

In Ancient Roman times the name of the province of Achaea was given to the whole of Greece, except <a href="/wiki/Thessaly" titl