A region with a rich history that is not widely known, is Oiniades in Aitoloakarnania.
Greece holds a treasure trove of stories, mysteries, legends, and traditions. Sites and ruins across the country hint that great events have unfolded in certain places since antiquity. One place with a rich yet little-known history is Oiniades.
It is an ancient city in Aetolia-Acarnania that flourished during the Hellenistic period. Today, the area features an archaeological site that is accessible to anyone wishing to discover the history of this place.
So, Oiniades was an ancient city-state with a significant history and a strategic position, which during the Hellenistic period was the second most powerful city of the Acarnanians after Stratos. The city of Oiniades was built on the northern bank of the river Achelous. Today, it can be found five kilometers west of the modern village of Katochi.
Its proximity to the mouth of the Achelous was crucial as navigation flourished and a port with commercial activity emerged. Arriving there, you can see what remains of it and imagine what the city was like then, when it was alive.
Beyond its cultural and economic heyday, the ancient city is also linked to a legend about its king. In the hilltop castle lived a king named Trikardos. This king had a handsome son, Aniliagos, who was never to be seen by the Sun. When Aniliagos became king, he met and fell in love with Kyra-Rini, who lived in her tower in the ancient city of Aetolia. It is said that he visited her every night but always left before dawn...
For the record, Kyra-Rini was, according to one version, the wife of Andronikos Palaiologos and, according to another, the daughter of Alexios III Komnenos. So, because King Aniliagos would not tell her why he always left so early, Kyra-Rini grew jealous and one night decided to deceive him so that he would not hear the roosters and would not realize the breaking of dawn.
So she slaughtered all the roosters in the tower, with the result that Aniliagos did not wake in time and stayed until late, coming face to face with the sun at the river. And just like that, King Aniliagos was gone forever.
Source: Reader.gr
