Nafpaktos
Nafpaktos is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth,3 km west of the mouth of the river Mornos. It is named for Naupaktos, an important Athenian naval station in the Peloponnesian war, as a strategically crucial possession controlling access to the Gulf of Corinth, Naupactus changed hands many times during the Crusades and the Ottoman–Venetian Wars. It was under Venetian control in the 15th century, and came to be known by the Venetian form of its name, excepting a brief period of Venetian control in 1687–1699, Lepanto remained under Ottoman control until Greek independence in 1829. The modern municipality was incorporated in 1946, but merged into the larger Nafpaktia municipality in the 2010 reform, Nafpaktos is now both the name of a municipal unit within Nafpaktia and of the town proper within the Nafpaktos unit. The municipal district has an area of 159,947 square kilometres, the town is 9 km northeast of Antirrio,18 km northeast of Patras,35 km east of Missolonghi and 45 km southeast of Agrinio.
The Greek National Road 48/E65 passes north of the town and it is the second largest town of Aetolia-Acarnania, after Agrinio. The ancient name Naupaktos means boatyard and it was Latinized as Naupactus. By the late period, the local name had been corrupted to Nepahtos, Epaktos or Epahtos. By the Franks it was called Neopant, Nepant or Lepant, french sources of the 14th century give Nepant or Neopant, Venetian sources have Nepanto or Lepanto. The name was adapted in Ottoman Turkish from Greek Νέπαχτος as Aynabahti or İnebahtı, the ancient name was revived in modern Greece in the 19th century. In Greek legend, Naupactus is the place where the Heraclidae built a fleet to invade the Peloponnese, two major battles were fought here. In 404 it was restored to the Locrians, who subsequently lost it to the Achaeans, Philip II of Macedon gave Naupactus to the Aetolians, who held it till 191 BC, when after an obstinate siege it was surrendered to the Romans. It was still flourishing about 170, the Roman playwright Plautus mentions Naupactus in his comedy Miles Gloriosus as the destination of an Athenian master who is on a diplomatic mission to the city.
In 551/2, during the reign of Justinian I, the city was destroyed by an earthquake, the town and its hinterland were hit by an epidemic coming from Italy in 747/8 and almost deserted. From the late 9th century, probably the 880s, it was capital of the Byzantine thema of Nicopolis, at the same time, its bishopric was elevated to a metropolis. During the 9th–10th centuries, the town was an important harbour for the Byzantine navy, a rebellion of the local populace, which led to the death of the local strategos George, is recorded during the early reign of Constantine VIII. In 1040, the town did not take part in the uprising of Peter Delyan, St. Nicholas of Trani is recorded as having departed for Otranto in 1094 from the port. The history of the town over the two centuries is obscure, during the visit of Benjamin of Tudela in 1165, there was a Jewish community of about 100 in the town
Achelous River
The Achelous, Acheloos, is a river in western Greece. It formed the boundary between Acarnania and Aetolia of antiquity and it empties into the Ionian Sea. In ancient times its spirit was venerated as the river god Achelous, in particular, there is the Achelous, which flows through Acarnania into the sea and has already turned half the Echinades islands into mainland. It is rarely known as Thestios and Axenos, the river Achelous begins at about 2,000 metres elevation on the eastern slope of Lakmos mountain in the Pindus range, near the village Anthousa in the westernmost part of the Trikala regional unit. One of its first tributaries is the Aspropotamos, meaning the white river, the river flows generally southwards, and forms part of the boundary between the regional units of Arta and Trikala, which is the boundary between Epirus and Thessaly. Further downstream, it forms the boundary of Arta and Karditsa, the river runs into the Kremasta reservoir, which is fed by the rivers Agrafiotis and Megdovas.
On exiting the Kremasta reservoir, the river flows southwest into Aetolia-Acarnania, feeding the Kastraki reservoir,10 to 15 kilometres downstream from this lake, it flows into the Stratos reservoir. Further downstream, it runs through the lowlands west of Agrinio and it finally empties into the Ionian Sea,29 km west of Missolonghi. From upstream to downstream there is the Mesochora Dam which was completed in 2001 but has not impounded its reservoir, below that is the Sykia Dam which is partly constructed. Further down is the Kremasta and Stratos Dams, in 1359 the Battle of Achelous between Albanian forces under Peter Losha and the Despotate of Epirus under Nikephoros II Orsini took place near the river Achelous. Nikephoros II was defeated and killed during the battle, and two new states were established in the area, the Despotate of Arta and the Despotate of Angelokastron, in the 1960s, the Kremasta Dam in the Aitoloacarnania-Evrytania boundary was under construction. The dam, made of concrete, took years to complete, the dam includes a power station with transformer lines in the east.
The dam powers electricity for the part of Greece and the central part. It caused some erosion in some flooded valleys. The Kastraki Dam is downstream and was completed in 1969, downstream of Katsiki, the Stratos Dam was completed in 1989. The arch bridges includes the Karafilio and the Ardanovo, the Acheloos River Diversion project has been the center of debate since the 1980s. It calls for four large dams, the Sykia, Mesochora and Pyli, along with a 17.4 km-long channel. The goal of the project is to divert 600,000,000 m3 annually from the river west towards the Thessaly plains in order to help irrigate 240, construction on the project has been stalled several times, the latest in 2005, because of environmental and social concerns
Homer
Homer is the name ascribed by the ancient Greeks to the semi-legendary author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems which are the central works of Greek literature. The Odyssey focuses on the home of Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Many accounts of Homers life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread being that he was a bard from Ionia. The modern scholarly consensus is that these traditions do not have any historical value, the Homeric question - by whom, when and under what circumstances were the Iliad and Odyssey composed - continues to be debated. Broadly speaking, modern scholarly opinion on the authorship question falls into two camps, one group holds that most of the Iliad and the Odyssey is the work of a single poet of genius. The other considers the Homeric poems to be the crystallization of a process of working and re-working by many contributors and it is generally accepted that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century B. C.
Most researchers believe that the poems were transmitted orally. The Homeric epics were the greatest influence on ancient Greek culture and education, to Plato, the chronological period of Homer depends on the meaning to be assigned to the word Homer. Was Homer a single person, an imaginary person representing a group of poets and this information is often called the world of Homer. The Homeric period would in that cover a number of historical periods, especially the Mycenaean Age. Considered word-for-word, the texts as we know them are the product of the scholars of the last three centuries. Each edition of the Iliad or Odyssey is a different, as the editors rely on different manuscripts and fragments. The term accuracy reveals a belief in an original uniform text. The manuscripts of the work currently available date to no earlier than the 10th century. These are at the end of a missing thousand-year chain of copies made as each generation of manuscripts disintegrated or were lost or destroyed and these numerous manuscripts are so similar that a single original can be postulated.
The time gap in the chain is bridged by the scholia, or notes, on the existing manuscripts, librarian of the Library of Alexandria, he had noticed a wide divergence in the works attributed to Homer, and was trying to restore a more authentic copy. He had collected several manuscripts, which he named, the Sinopic, the one he selected for correction was the koine, which Murray translates as the Vulgate. Aristarchus was known for his selection of material
Vehicle registration plates of Greece
Greek vehicle registration plates are composed of three letters and four digits per plate. The letters represent the district that issues the plates while the numbers begin from 1000 to 9999, similar plates with digits beginning from 1 to 999 are issued for motorcycles which exceed 50 cc. With the exception of Athens and Thessaloniki, all districts are represented by the first 2 letters, the final letter in the sequence changes in Greek alphabetical order after 9,000 issued plates. For example, Patras plates are ΑΧΑ-1000, where ΑΧ represents the Achaia prefecture of which Patras is the capital, when ΑΧΑ-9999 is reached the plates turn to ΑΧΒ-1000 and this continues until ΑΧΧ is finished. Only the letters from the intersection between the Latin and Greek alphabets by glyph appearance are used, namely Α, Β, Ε, Ζ, Η, Ι, Κ, Μ, Ν, Ο, Ρ, Τ, Υ, Χ. This is because Greece is a party to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. The rule applies in a way in Russia, Belarus and Herzegovina. Combinations used for residents are L-NNNN and are limited.
Until 2003, taxis used L-NNNN, the plate was aligned with the prefecture, when number plates were introduced to Greece, they were numbered and in the late 1950s the system was L-NNN and LL-NNN. The letters were Greek letters and Latin letters, respectively, in 1956, the system was NNNNNN. In 1972, they became lettered and the system was LL-NNNN while trucks used L-NNNN, in 1983, the system was LLL-NNNN and the first two letters are prefecture letters. In 2004, the euroband was added, the first 2 of 3 letters of a licence plate usually represent the prefecture where the car was registered. Π. — Disabled in war ΔΟΚ — Test plates ΔΣ — Corps Diplomatique or foreign delegation Ε. Α. or ΕΛ. ΑΣ. — Hellenic Police ΛΣ — Coast Guard ΞΑ — Foreign missions ΕΣ — Hellenic Army ΠΑ — Hellenic Air Force ΠΝ — Hellenic Navy ΠΣ — Fire Guard ΠΚ — President of the Government, i. e
Venice
Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals.
The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is possible.
The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, known as the Greek Revolution, was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between 1821 and 1832 against the Ottoman Empire. Even several decades before the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, during this time, there were several revolt attempts by Greeks to gain independence from Ottoman control. In 1814, an organization called the Filiki Eteria was founded with the aim of liberating Greece. The Filiki Eteria planned to launch revolts in the Peloponnese, the Danubian Principalities, the first of these revolts began on 6 March 1821 in the Danubian Principalities, but it was soon put down by the Ottomans. The events in the north urged the Greeks in the Peloponnese into action and on 17 March 1821 and this declaration was the start of a spring of revolutionary actions from other controlled states against the Ottoman Empire. By the end of the month, the Peloponnese was in revolt against the Turks and by October 1821. The Peloponnesian revolt was followed by revolts in Crete and Central Greece.
Meanwhile, the makeshift Greek navy was achieving success against the Ottoman navy in the Aegean Sea, tensions soon developed among different Greek factions, leading to two consecutive civil wars. In the meantime, the Ottoman Sultan negotiated with Mehmet Ali of Egypt, although Ibrahim was defeated in Mani, he had succeeded in suppressing most of the revolt in the Peloponnese, and Athens had been retaken. Following years of negotiation, three Great Powers—Russia and France—decided to intervene in the conflict and each sent a navy to Greece. Following news that combined Ottoman–Egyptian fleets were going to attack the Greek island of Hydra, the battle began after a tense week-long standoff, ending in the destruction of the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet. As a result of years of negotiation, Greece was finally recognized as an independent nation in the Treaty of Constantinople of May 1832, the Revolution is celebrated by the modern Greek state as a national day on 25 March. The Fall of Constantinople on 29 May 1453 and the subsequent fall of the states of the Byzantine Empire marked the end of Byzantine sovereignty.
After that, the Ottoman Empire ruled the Balkans and Anatolia, Orthodox Christians were granted some political rights under Ottoman rule, but they were considered inferior subjects. The majority of Greeks were called Rayah by the Turks, a name referred to the large mass of non-Muslim subjects under the Ottoman ruling class. Demetrius Chalcondyles called on Venice and all of the Latins to aid the Greeks against the abominable, however, Greece was to remain under Ottoman rule for several more centuries. The Greek Revolution was not an event, numerous failed attempts at regaining independence took place throughout the history of the Ottoman era. Throughout the 17th century there was resistance to the Ottomans in the Morea and elsewhere
First Siege of Missolonghi
The First Siege of Missolonghi was an attempt by Ottoman forces to capture the strategically located port town of Missolonghi during the early stages of the Greek War of Independence. After Battle of Peta Omer Vryonis initially tried to take the town by negotiations, against the opinion of Reşid Mehmed, the besieged Greeks took advantage of this, dragging the negotiations out until November 8, when they were reinforced by sea with over 1,500 fighters. Then the Ottomans realized their mistake, and resumed the siege in earnest, after a month of bombardment and sorties, the main Ottoman assault was set for the night of December 24, before Christmas, calculating that the Greeks would be caught by surprise. The Greeks however were warned by Vryonis Greek secretary, and the attack failed, the siege was subsequently lifted on December 31. Missolonghi remained under Greek control, and resisted another Ottoman attempt at its capture a year and its resistance achieved wider fame when Lord Byron arrived there, dying in the town of fever in April 1824.
The city was besieged for a third and final time, resisting both Ottoman and Egyptian armies for almost a year, until its fall on April 10,1826. Dimitrios Deligeorgis, a commander during the first siege Second Siege of Missolonghi Third Siege of Missolonghi
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
Ibrahim Pasha was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He served as a general in the Egyptian army that his father established during his reign, in the final year of his life, he succeeded his still living father as ruler of Egypt and Sudan, due to the latters ill health. His rule extended over the dominions that his father had brought under Egyptian rule, namely Syria, Morea, Thasos. Ibrahim pre-deceased his father, dying 10 November 1848, only four months after acceding to the throne, upon his fathers death the following year, the Egyptian throne passed to Ibrahims nephew, Abbas. Ibrahim remains one of the most celebrated members of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, particularly for his military victories. Today, a statue of Ibrahim occupies a prominent position in Egypts capital and his Mother Emine of Nusretli was the Cousin to Muhammad Ali Pasha, born at Nusretli in 1770 and died in Cairo 1824. She was the widow of Ottoman Turk Ali Bey Serezli, and it is further known that he was born in the village of Nusratli, near the town of Drama, the Ottoman province of Rumelia, in what is now the western parts of Macedonian region in Greece.
In 1805, during his fathers struggle to establish himself as ruler of Egypt, when Muhammad Ali went to Arabia to prosecute the war against the Ibn Saud in 1813, Ibrahim was left in command of Upper Egypt. He continued the war with the power of the Mameluks. In 1816, he succeeded his brother Tusun Pasha in command of the Egyptian forces in Arabia, the campaign lasted two years, and ended in the destruction of the House of Saud as a political power. Muhammad Ali landed at Yanbu, the port of Medina, on 1813, the holy cities had been recovered from the Saudis, and Ibrahims task was to follow them into the desert of Nejd and destroy their fortresses. Such training as the Egyptian troops had received, and their artillery, but the difficulty of crossing the desert to the Saudis stronghold of Diriyah, some 400 miles east of Medina made the conquest a very arduous one. Ibrahim displayed great energy and tenacity, sharing all the hardships of his army, by the end of September 1818, he had forced the Saudi leader to surrender, and had taken Diriyah, which he sacked.
On December 11,1819 he made an entry into Cairo. After his return Ibrahim gave effective support to the Frenchman, Colonel Sève, Ibrahim set an example by submitting to be drilled as a recruit. In 1824, Muhammad Ali was appointed governor of the Morea by Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II, Ibrahim was sent to the Peloponnese with a squadron and an army of 17,000 men. The expedition sailed on July 4,1824, but was for some months unable to do more than come, the fear of the Greek fire ships stopped his way to the Morea. When the Greek sailors mutinied from want of pay, Ibrahim was able to land at Modon on February 26,1825 and he remained in the Morea until the capitulation of October 1,1828 was forced on him by the intervention of the Western powers
Motorway 5 (Greece)
The Greek Motorway 5 is a motorway in Greece, partially still under construction. Upon completion, the motorway will be the second major road connection in Motorway 1. It will be part of the trans-balkanic Adriatic–Ionian motorway and the European routes E55, the motorways main section, commonly referred to as Ionia Odos, starts at Ioannina and it follows the western coastline of mainland Greece down to the Gulf of Corinth. At Rio, it crosses the gulf via the Rio–Antirrio bridge, as of 2016, it is yet unknown if the future Patras - Pyrgos motorway will be part of the A5 and its construction is to be auctioned. However, it is not part of the current project, several sections might be put into operation earlier, along with the toll stations of the road, as well. As of February 2017, the construction progress stood at 90%, the bridge was inaugurated on 7 August 2004, a week before the opening of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. With a length of 33 km, the Agrinio bypass was the first major segment of the northern A5 section to be completed, while construction had begun in 2002/03, it was fully put into service in May 2009.
Starting from Aitoliko, the road bypasses the largest city and economical center of the Aetolia-Acarnania prefecture, Agrinio and it largely replaced the 12 km longer National Road 5. In July 28,2015, a 4,5 km segment before the Aitoliko interchange became operational and this segment features the Ioannina-Antirrio carriageway, with the Antirrio-Ioannina carriageway being under construction where the old road was. The latter was moved eastwards in order to make room for the construction of the motorway, the 17 km Arta bypass begins from Sellades near Arta and ends at Filippiada, near the border with the prefecture of Preveza. As of December 2016, the 25 km Kouvaras interchange - Amfilochia interchange segment has been completed and it should have been opened by July 2016, but because of landslides just before the Amfilochia interchange, it was opened in 27 December 2016 by the minister Christos Spirtzis. It was rumored that the 33 km long Gavrolimni-Kefalovryso segment would have opened as well but with several works remaining.
The latter is one of the most difficult motorway segments under construction in Greece because of the mountainous terrain along its route. The most important tunnel of the motorway, the Klokova Tunnel, has mostly been excavated, the rest of the motorway will be completed by March 2017.15 billion in the project. The rest of the total €1.4 billion funds will be provided by the European Union, undertaken by the Euroionia Joint Venture finally started in 2008 with a completion date of 72 months. The bill was ratified on March 28,2007, in 2010, it was expected that the full length of the motorway would be completed by the end of 2013. However, the economical problems led to the construction being stopped in 2011. Currently, the parts are expected to be finished by March 2017
Orlov revolt
The revolt, a major precursor to the Greek War of Independence, was eventually suppressed by the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire had its longest period of peace between 1739 and 1768, when it did not engage any of its European rivals. Europe was caught up in costly and bloody conflicts while the Ottomans stayed out and tended to economy and politics and this peaceful period came to an end on 23 October 1768, when war was declared on Russia. Causes were aggressive Russian foreign policy, interference in Crimea, there were insignificant events in 1768–69, as both sides prepared for a long campaign. In preparation of war, Russian agents promoted Greek rebellion to support actions in the north. Russian artillery captain Grigorios Papadopoulos, a Greek, was dispatched to Mani, the organization of the Greek rebellion was put under brothers Orlov, with Alexei being the Russian fleet commander. Some Greek notables joined the Russian side, and promised them men and supplies, Russia planned to incite Orthodox Christians to revolt, and sent agents to Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania and the Morea.
Another Orlov brother, was sent to coordinate rebels in Morea, Russia assembled a war fleet for deployment in the Mediterranean, described as one of the most spectacular events of the 18th century, which caught the Ottomans off-guard. The first fleet contingent departed in August 1769 and arrived in the Aegean in December and this expedition of four ships, few hundred soldiers and inadequate arms supplies greatly disappointed the Greeks. Nevertheless, combined Russian-Greek forces attempted at a campaign, among the Greek leaders that were approached were Panagiotis Benakis, a notable from Kalamata, the local metropolitan bishop Anthimos, and Cretan shipping magnate John Vlachos Daskalogiannis. The arrival of the Russian fleet in Mani in February 1770 saw the establishment of armed groups in Mani. However, the small Russian expeditionary force could not convince a part of the local Greeks to take arms, the Russian manpower was much fewer than expected and mutual distrust developed between the Greek and Russian leaders.
Initially an army of 1,400 men was formed, the Greek forces were divided into major units with the help of a small number of Russian officers and soldiers. The Greek rebels were successful and managed to defeat Ottoman forces in Laconia. The revolt however failed to spread, thus the fortresses of Navarino, Methone. The rebels did manage to control the fortress of Mystras, where they set up a local government, the Greek revolt in Crete was led by Daskalogiannis. Soon after Sfakians refused to pay taxes and revolted in great numbers, the support promised by the Russian emissaries never arrived at Crete and Daskalogiannis was left to his own devices. He managed to organize a band of 2,000 well armed men who descended from the mountains onto the plains of western Crete and they attacked and killed local Turks in an unsuccessful effort to convince other Cretans to join them in their quest to overthrow the Ottomans
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 607.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). 
Messolonghi (municipal unit)
