Astacus or Astakos (Ancient Greek: Ἄστακος) was a town on the west coast of ancient Acarnania, on a bay, one side of which is formed by the promontory anciently named Crithote. Astacus is said to have been a colony of Cephallenia. At the commencement of the Peloponnesian War, it was governed by a tyrant, named Evarchus, who was deposed by the Athenians in 431 BCE, but was shortly afterwards restored by the Corinthians. It is mentioned as one of the towns of Acarnania in a Greek inscription, the date of which is subsequent to 219 BCE.
Its site is located near the modern Astakos.
References
- Strabo. Geographica. Vol. p. 459. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
- Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v.
- Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Vol. 2.30, 2.33, 2.102.
- Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax p. 13; Ptolemy. The Geography. Vol. 3.14.
- August Böckh, Corpus Inscript., No. 1793.
- Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 54, and directory notes accompanying. ISBN 978-0-691-03169-9.
- Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Astacus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
38°33′17″N 21°05′29″E / 38.5546°N 21.0915°E / 38.5546; 21.0915
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