As travellers cross the newer bridge over the ancient bed of the Achelous River, where a small artificial lake has now been created for water sports, they see stretching out before them the imposing walls of ancient Stratos, one of the strongest cities in Aetolia, and the impressive arched gate that stands guard over the lower reaches of the river. The geographer Strabon presents it, together with ancient Trichoneio, as a city of ancient Aetolia. It is built on the natural and disputed border between the two great nations, the Aetolians and the Acarnanians, on the west bank of the Achelos, the country’s richest river in terms of water, which in ancient times was navigable, at least as far as Stratos. This explains the existence of a riverside gate, which facilitated safe access to the river for its inhabitants. The city is often mentioned in written sources and is described as “great” by the Athenian historian Thucydides, while its territory, which extended to Lake Ozeros, is called “Stratiki” by Polybius. According to the prevailing view, it owes its name to the Acarnanian army, which often camped below the hill where the temple of Zeus Stratios is located. Stratus was the first capital of the Aetolian League and their central sanctuary from the 4th century to 272 BC.

The city’s monuments were first described by foreign travelers who visited Aetolia-Acarnania during the Ottoman period. However, the first excavations began in the area of the market and the temple of Zeus by French archaeologists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These are some of the oldest digs in the area, and they’re still going on today with rescue excavations and work to highlight the city’s monuments by the Archaeological Service. Anastasios Orlandos studied the temple of Zeus “as one of the finest examples of 4th-century architecture,” and all the monuments in the area were surveyed by the German archaeologist Fr. Noack. In the 1990s, systematic excavations began, the result of collaboration between the Archaeological Service and the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin. These investigations began after the compulsory expropriation of the houses of the first settlement of Stratos, which until 1928 was called Sourovigli or Sorovigli, when most of them were demolished so that the archaeological spade could bring to light the unique monuments of this great city from the bowels of the Acarnanian land. The new settlement was moved a little further south, along the old Antirrio-Ioannina National Road.

The old village was built by Vlachs from Epirus on the ruins of the ancient city, located on the sloping terrain of the hill, now covered with prickly pears, where the acropolis of the ancient city is located and, a little lower down, its market. The French traveler Léon Heuzey mentions it as early as 1856 as an agricultural settlement of great lords, which by 1892 had evolved into a village undergoing continuous reconstruction that continued until the 1960s, when it began to be gradually abandoned due to expropriations. The surviving stone houses of the old village, with their arches and balconies, although now in ruins, are remarkable examples of the traditional rural architecture of the area. Some houses from the old settlement have been preserved, including the stone-built church of Agios Nikolaos from 1871, which still keeps alive the memories of the inhabitants of the old village.

The ancient city is built in a key strategic position, as it controlled not only the only flat road connecting Epirus with Southern Greece, but also the banks of the Achelos River, located on its right bank. The study of sources and archaeological material shows that it was an important city as early as the end of the 6th century BC.

During the Peloponnesian War, it was an ally of Athens, which led to an expedition against it in 429 BC by the Peloponnesians, Epirotes, and Ambracians, which it successfully repelled. In the 4th century BC, it reached the height of its prosperity, especially after the city was reinforced by the Macedonian king Cassander from 314 BC onwards, and became the first capital of the Acarnanian League.

In 272 BC, the capital was moved from Stratos to Lefkada. In 260 BC, military conflicts broke out with the neighbouring Aetolians, leading a few years later to the occupation of the city by the latter, after they had first captured neighbouring Agrinio. At this time, the Sanctuary of Apollo at Actium became the religious center of the Aetolian League. In 169 BC, Stratos sided with the cities that invited the Romans to Greece as allies against King Perseus of Macedonia, while after the Battle of Pydna (167 BC) between the Romans and Macedonians, the capital of the Acarnanians was moved to Thyrreum, which became the third and last capital of the League. The gradual desertion of the city began in 31 BC after the Battle of Actium and the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra by Octavian Augustus, as the inhabitants of the Acarnanian cities were forced to move to the newly founded city of victory, Nicopolis, on the present-day peninsula of Preveza. In the 4th century AD, it was an episcopal seat called Acheloos, and in the 19th century, the old town of Sorovigli was built on top of the ancient ruins.

Research in recent decades has confirmed that this important city-state already existed in the Archaic period (6th century BC), while it flourished particularly in the late Classical and early Hellenistic periods (late 4th century BC), as it was particularly strengthened during this period by the Macedonian king Cassander, who aimed to settle nearby unfortified settlements and create a strongly fortified city against the ambitious and warlike Aetolians. Thus, around 314 BC, the city expanded, a new building program was implemented, new buildings were constructed, the area of the market doubled, a new temple of Zeus was erected, and the sacred precinct was enclosed by fortifications.

The well-preserved wall, one of the largest fortification projects in northwestern Greece, was built in the 5th century BC. It has a total length of approximately 4 km, follows the morphology of the terrain, and is reinforced at regular intervals with 55 towers, so as to offer adequate protection against new siege tactics, while it has 22 gates and gateways connecting it to the countryside. Strong fortifications also surrounded the acropolis, while a wall connecting the south central gate with the acropolis at some point divided the city into two parts. The date of its construction is unknown. It seems more likely that it was built during the period of war with the neighboring Aetolians in the middle of the 3rd century BC or shortly after the gradual Roman conquest of the region in the 2nd century BC. Outside the walls (extra muros), on either side of the main roads that started from the city gates and connected it with central Acarnania and ancient Limnaia (modern Amfilochia), lie its rich cemeteries, from which important funerary monuments with valuable grave goods, such as clay pots, works of miniature art and coroplastics, and inscribed tombstones, simple or with pediment tops, which are now on display at the Archaeological Museum of Agrinio and the Xenokrateio Archaeological Museum of Mesolongi.

Apart from the imposing ruins of Stratos, irrefutable witnesses to the fortified characteristics of a powerful city that was often the apple of discord between the Aetolians and the Acarnanians due to its strategic position on the waterways of the Achelos, excavations have brought to light the temple of Zeus Stratios, the agora, the theater, and public and private buildings that confirm the splendor of the ancient capital of the Acarnanians.

Perhaps the most imposing monument in the area is the temple of Zeus, which housed the religious center of a federal cult, a powerful confederacy, the Aetolian League. It was a sacred place of gathering, worship, trade, and possibly festivals, where the Acarnanians gathered not only for religious reasons but also to make decisions for the common good. The temple, built on a low hill with a breathtaking view of both the interior of the city and the Stratian plain, a striking monument for both residents and passing travelers, has been designated the “Parthenon of Aetolia,” as it is an iconic monument of the area and the wider region, which is preserved in very good condition. It is constructed entirely of local limestone on the site of an older temple. It dates back to the late 4th to early 3rd century BC and remained unfinished due to frequent military conflicts with the Aetolians, as evidenced by the lack of carving on the capitals of the columns. It is a Doric peripteral temple with 6 columns on the narrow sides and 11 on the long sides, measuring 34.19 x 18.39 m, which has a pronaos, cella, and opisthodomos, and a large altar to the east. The identification of the deity worshipped there is due to a liberating inscription found during the first excavations.

The agora was the commercial, political, and administrative center of the ancient city. It occupies two platforms connected by built steps and is surrounded by long arcades with open facades facing the squares inside. In front of the arcades stand a semicircular pedestal for statues, a large votive platform, and other bases for votive offerings, while a separate place is reserved for an altar for animal sacrifices, on which the metal ring used to temporarily tie the animals is still preserved. The entrance to the market was from the south through the central southern gate of the city. At the end of the eastern portico was the bouleuterion, a rectangular building with seats on all four sides, while a fountain has been identified at its southwestern end. The main use of the market dates back to the early Hellenistic period, i.e. the late 4th to early 3rd century BC.

The theater, built near the city market and the city walls, in a natural hollow on a hillside with a breathtaking view of the Achelos River and its plain, is the largest of the five theaters excavated in Aetolia-Acarnania, with a capacity of more than 6,000 spectators. Its location was first identified in 1805 by W.M. Leake. Its excavation and uncovering took place in the 1990s. Some rows of seats, the orchestra with the presiding officers’ seats, the drainage pipe for collecting and draining rainwater from the cavea, and the stage building are still in good condition. The foundations of the proscenium and the wings have been preserved, as well as parts of the sloping ramps used by the actors to ascend to the upper floor of the stage, known as the logeion. Its original construction dates back to the 4th century BC, while reconstructions and repairs, mainly to the stage building, were carried out in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. Of particular interest are the seats in the front row of the stalls, which occupy the width of each tier. Work is currently underway to secure, restore, and highlight the monument by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Aetolia-Acarnania and Lefkada.

The imposing fortifications of Stratos confirm in the most striking way Plutarch’s observation (Parallel Lives, Aratos, 50), “there are many places belonging to the Acarnanians, some on land and some on water, which are remarkably well fortified.” The number and importance of the Acarnanian fortifications are irrefutable evidence of the constant military conflicts that took place before their walls, both with their eternal rivals, the Aetolians, and with the other great powers of antiquity, the Athenians, Spartans, Macedonians, Epirotes, and Romans, and are shining examples of the Acarnanians’ mastery of a technology that has handed down impressive examples of military fortification art over the centuries. The unique monuments that have been brought to light by excavations within the ancient city (the temple of Zeus, the market, theater) confirm the splendor and grandeur of the first capital of the Acarnanian League, and stand proudly through time to remind visitors of its importance.