Greek city of Oiniadai in Akarnania
Bronze 22mm (6.24 grams) Struck circa 219-211 B.C.
Reference: HGC 4, 899; Sear 2298 var.; BMC Central, pp. 189-190, nos. 6-14; BCD Akarnania 345-352
Laureate head of Zeus right.
OINIAΔAN, Bearded head of river-god Achelous right; trident above.

In the extreme south of the country, near the mouth of the Achelous, Oiniadai was close to the Aitolian border.

 You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.  

The Achelous, also Acheloos, is a river in western Greece. It formed the boundary between Acarnania and Aetolia of antiquity. It empties into the Ionian Sea. In ancient times its spirit was venerated as the river god Achelous.

Herodotus, taking notice of the shoreline-transforming power of the Acheloos River, even compared it to the Nile in this respect:

‘There are other rivers as well which, though not as large as the Nile, have had substantial results. In particular (although I could name others), there is the Achelous, which flows through Acarnania into the sea and has already turned half the Echinades islands into mainland.’ (2.10, trans. Waterfield)

The previous name was Thoas. It is rarely known as Thestios and Axenos.

In Greek mythology, Achelous was originally the god of all water, and the rivers of the world were viewed by many as his sinews. Later, in Hellenistic times, he was specifically a river god who became the patron deity of the Achelous River, which is the largest river of Greece, and thus the chief of all river deities, every river having its own river spirit (though the initiated still revered him as the god of all water).

Achelous was also an important deity in Etruscan mythology, intimately related to water as in the Greek tradition but also carrying significant chthonic associations. Man-faced bull iconography was first adapted to represent Achelous by the Etruscans in the 8th century BC, and the Greeks later copied this tradition.

Oiniades is a municipal unit of the municipality Missolonghi, Greece. The municipal unit has an area of 270.899 km². It was named after the ancient town of Oeniadai.

Ancient Oeniadai (Ancient Greek: Οἰνιάδαι) was a port town on the west bank of the river Achelous and one of the most important towns of ancient Acarnania. Oeniadai was first mentioned in the 5th century BC.

It was situated against a hill in the marshes, which protected it from invaders. Its location has been identified on that of the present village Katochi.

It was an important port on the route to Corfu. It changed its alliances repeatedly in the course of history; at first it was a member of the Peloponnesian League, but in 424 BC it was incorporated in the Delian League. In the Hellenistic period, Oiniadai allied with the Aetolians until 218 BC when Philip V declared it free. From 211-189 BC during the Roman-Macedonian wars the city was again under Aetolian control. In Roman times it lost its strategic importance. However it was still inhabited in the 3rd century AD judging from coin finds.

Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital and principal city in ancient times was Stratos. The north^[1] side of Acarnania of the Corinthian Gulf was considered part of the region of Epirus.

Acarnania’s foundation in Greek mythology was traditionally ascribed to Acarnan, son of Alcmaeon.

In the 7th century BC, Greek influence in the region became prominent when Corinth settled Anactorium, Sollium and Leucas, and Kefalonia settled Astacus. Settlements in Alyzeia, Coronta, Limnaia, Medion, Oeniadae, Palaerus, Phoitiai and Stratus are also mentioned by Thucydides, this latter city being the seat of a loose confederation of Acarnanian powers that was maintained until the late 1st century BC.

Because it is located strategically on the maritime route to Italy, Acarnania was involved in many wars. In the 5th century BC, the Corinthians were forced out of their Acarnanian settlements by Athens. The Acarnanian League came into existence as a loose federation of the Acarnanian cities. In the 4th century BC, c.390 BC, the cities of Acarnania surrendered to the Spartans under King Agesilaus, and continued to be Spartan allies until joining the Second Athenian Empire in 375 BC. The Acarnanians later sided with the Boeotians in their fight against Sparta, and with Athens against Philip II of Macedon at Chaeronea.

Acarnania thereafter came under Macedonian rule. In 314 BC, at the behest of the Macedonian king Cassander, the settlements of Acarnania lying near the Aetolian border were conglomerated into fewer, larger settlements. Still, border conflicts with the Aetolians were frequent, and led to Acarnania’s territory being partitioned between Aetolia and Epirus, c.250 BC. After the fall of the king of Epirus, the Acarnanian territory that had been given to Epirus regained its independence, and Leucas became the capital of the region.

Acarnania allied itself with Philip V of Macedon against Rome in 200 BC, although it lost Leucas because of this, and the city of Thyrreion was appointed the new capital.

In the 1st century BC, Acarnania suffered greatly at the hands of pirates, and in Rome’s civil wars. Afterwards, the towns and settlements of Acarnania fell under the rule of Nicopolis.