2. The bay of Astakos

Look towards the entrance to the bay and you will see five islands. They are (left to right) Pontikos (Rat), Provati (Sheep), Karlonisi (Charles’ island), Drakonera (Dragon’s waters) and Kalogiros (Monk). They belong to Echinades, an archipelago of twenty-odd arid, rugged and uninhabited islands and islets that derive their name from the sea urchin, a clear reference to their prickly coastline. For 2500 years historians and geographers have debated the time it would take for these islands to join the mainland as a result of the alluvial deposits of the river Achelous. But so far they remain afar, aided by the rising levels of the sea that counteracts the effects of the river’s flow.

Once upon a time there were five nymphs who lived on the shores of the river Achelous. They were party girls and decided to host a great feast. No expense was spared; they sacrificed ten bulls and invited all the rural gods to their festal dance. But they made one huge crucial mistake! They forgot to invite Achelous himself, their mighty neighbour. He was furious. He swelled up with rage and sent his horrible flood waters sweeping all over the land. Woods and fields were swept away, along with the nymphs and the remains of their banquet. Everything was carried out to sea where it formed the Echinades. Only when they became islands did the nymphs remember mighty Achelous, but it was too late.

Achelous was not solely a vengeful party guest. He was also a caring lover of sorts. He met a girl called Perimele and took away by force his love’s virginity. Her father was rather not pleased with this development and hurled his daughter from a sheer cliff into the sea to drown. Achelous rushed to the rescue, using his waters to support her, while praying to Poseidon, the god of the sea, to provide a place of shelter or at the very least make the girl itself a place. He had not finished speaking when poor Perimele embraced her limbs and grew gradually more solid, until she became an isle to join the Echinades.

Missolonghi was a major stronghold of the Greek rebels during the War of Independence in western Greece. As such, it attracted Lord Byron, the famous Romantic poet, who was keen to participate in the liberation struggle. Byron sailed from Kefalonia on December 28th, 1823. He was accompanied by his handsome page Lukas Chalandritsanos and the Newfoundland dog Lyon, as well as thousands of dollars destined to support the Greek fighters. Unfortunately, the Ottoman fleet was patrolling the approach to Missolonghi and Byron’s ship was almost captured in the process of landing its passengers west of the city. Lukas managed to escape overland but the rest of the party had to sail away.

Byron was furious at the inability of the Greek navy to inform them of the enemy’s sortie. But his anger was nothing compared to his anxiety over the fate of his beloved page. His sailing ship took desperate evasive action among the bays, creeks and islets of western Greece in an effort to escape the Ottoman frigate pursuing them. They followed the rugged coast northwards until they reached the safety of the bay of Astakos. The local dignitaries invited Byron to come ashore but he declined, preferring to stay on board and keep an eye on the money. The weather was terrible, so it was only on January 3rd that he managed to sail for Missolonghi, where he was awaited like the Messiah.