§10.2.1Αἰτωλοὶ μὲν τοίνυν καὶ Ἀκαρνᾶνες ὁμοροῦσιν ἀλλήλοις, μέσον ἔχοντες τὸν Ἀχελῶον ποταμὸν ῥέοντα ἀπὸ τῶν ἄρκτων καὶ τῆς Πίνδου πρὸς νότον διά τε Ἀγραίων Αἰτωλικοῦ ἔθνους καὶ Ἀμφιλόχων, Ἀκαρνᾶνες μὲν τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέραν μέρος ἔχοντες τοῦ ποταμοῦ μέχρι τοῦ Ἀμβρακικοῦ κόλπου τοῦ κατὰ Ἀμφιλόχους καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦ Ἀκτίου Ἀπόλλωνος, Αἰτωλοὶ δὲ τὸ πρὸς ἕω μέχρι τῶν Ὀζολῶν Λοκρῶν καὶ τοῦ Παρνασσοῦ καὶ τῶν Οἰταίων.
Now the Aetolians and the Acarnanians border on each other, having between them the river Achelous, which flows from the north and from Pindus southward through the territory of the Agraeans, an Aetolian tribe, and that of the Amphilochians; the Acarnanians possessing the part of the river towards the west as far as the Ambracian Gulf near the Amphilochians and the temple of Actian Apollo, and the Aetolians the part towards the east as far as the Ozolian Locrians, Parnassus, and the Oetaeans.
ὑπέρκεινται δʼ ἐν τῇ μεσογαίᾳ καὶ τοῖς προσβορείοις μέρεσι τῶν μὲν Ἀκαρνάνων Ἀμφίλοχοι, τούτων δὲ Δόλοπες καὶ ἡ Πίνδος, τῶν δʼ Αἰτωλῶν Περραιβοί τε καὶ Ἀθαμᾶνες καὶ Αἰνιάνων τι μέρος τῶν τὴν Οἴτην ἐχόντων·
In the interior and in the northern parts, there lie above the Acarnanians the Amphilochians, and above these the Dolopes and Pindus, and above the Aetolians the Perrhaebians, the Athamanes, and a part of the Aenianes who hold Oeta.
τὸ δὲ νότιον πλευρόν, τό τε Ἀκαρνανικὸν ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ Αἰτωλικόν, κλύζεται τῇ ποιούσῃ θαλάττῃ τὸν Κορινθιακὸν κόλπον, εἰς ὃν καὶ ὁ Ἀχελῶος ποταμὸς ἐξίησιν, ὁρίζων τὴν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν παραλίαν καὶ τὴν Ἀκαρνανικήν· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ Θόας ὁ Ἀχελῶος πρότερον.
The southern side, both the Acarnanian and the Aetolian alike, is washed by the sea which forms the Corinthian Gulf, into which the river Achelous also empties, bounding the coast of the Aetolians and that of the Acarnanians; the Achelous was formerly called Thoas.
ἔστι δὲ καὶ ὁ παρὰ Δύμην ὁμώνυμος τούτῳ, καθάπερ εἴρηται, καὶ ὁ περὶ Λάμιαν.
There is also a homonymous river near Dyme, as has been said, and one near Lamia.
εἴρηται δὲ καὶ ὅτι ἀρχὴν τοῦ Κορινθιακοῦ κόλπου τὸ στόμα τοῦδε τοῦ ποταμοῦ φασι.
And it has also been said that they call the mouth of this river the beginning of the Corinthian Gulf.
§10.2.2πόλεις δʼ εἰσὶν ἐν μὲν τοῖς Ἀκαρνᾶσιν Ἀνακτόριόν τε ἐπὶ χερρονήσου ἱδρυμένον Ἀκτίου πλησίον, ἐμπόριον τῆς νῦν ἐκτισμένης ἐφʼ ἡμῶν Νικοπόλεως, καὶ Στράτος, ἀνάπλουν ἔχουσα τῷ Ἀχελώῳ πλειόνων ἢ διακοσίων σταδίων, καὶ Οἰνειάδαι, καὶ αὐτὴ ἐπὶ τῷ ποταμῷ, ἡ μὲν παλαιὰ οὐ κατοικουμένη, ἴσον ἀπέχουσα τῆς τε θαλάττης καὶ τοῦ Στράτου, ἡ δὲ νῦν ὅσον ἑβδομήκοντα σταδίους ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐκβολῆς διέχουσα·
Among the Acarnanians, the cities are Anactorium, founded on a peninsula near Actium, a trading-port of Nicopolis which is now built in our time; and Stratos, which has a navigation up the Achelous of more than two hundred stadia; and Oeniadae, which is also on the river, the ancient city being uninhabited and equally distant from the sea and from Stratos, while the present city is about seventy stadia above the mouth.
καὶ ἄλλαι δʼ εἰσί, Πάλαιρός τε καὶ Ἀλυζία καὶ Λευκὰς καὶ Ἄργος τὸ Ἀμφιλοχικὸν καὶ Ἀμβρακία, ὧν αἱ πλεῖσται περιοικίδες γεγόνασιν ἢ καὶ πᾶσαι τῆς Νικοπόλεως·
There are also others, Palairus, Alyzia, Leucas, Amphilochian Argos, and Ambracia, most or even all of which have become dependencies of Nicopolis.
κεῖται δʼ ὁ Στράτος κατὰ μέσην τὴν ἐξ Ἀλυζίας ὁδὸν εἰς Ἀνακτόριον.
Stratos lies about midway on the road from Alyzia to Anactorium.
§10.2.3Αἰτωλῶν δʼ εἰσὶ Καλυδών τε καὶ Πλευρών, νῦν μὲν τεταπεινωμέναι, τὸ δὲ παλαιὸν πρόσχημα τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἦν ταῦτα τὰ κτίσματα.
Among the Aetolians, there are Calydon and Pleuron, now indeed humbled, but in ancient times these foundations were the pride of Greece.
καὶ δὴ καὶ διῃρῆσθαι συνέβαινε δίχα τὴν Αἰτωλίαν, καὶ τὴν μὲν ἀρχαίαν λέγεσθαι τὴν δʼ ἐπίκτητον· ἀρχαίαν μὲν τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀχελώου μέχρι Καλυδῶνος παραλίαν ἐπὶ πολὺ καὶ τῆς μεσογαίας ἀνήκουσαν εὐκάρπου τε καὶ πεδιάδος, ᾗ ἐστὶ καὶ Στράτος καὶ τὸ Τριχώνιον ἀρίστην ἔχον γῆν· ἐπίκτητον δὲ τὴν τοῖς Λοκροῖς συνάπτουσαν ὡς ἐπὶ Ναύπακτόν τε καὶ Εὐπάλιον, τραχυτέραν τε οὖσαν καὶ λυπροτέραν, μέχρι τῆς Οἰταίας καὶ τῆς Ἀθαμάνων καὶ τῶν ἐφεξῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἄρκτον ἤδη περιισταμένων ὀρῶν τε καὶ ἐθνῶν.
And indeed Aetolia happened to be divided into two parts, one being called Ancient Aetolia and the other Epictetus (the Acquired); Ancient Aetolia being the coast from the Achelous as far as Calydon, extending far into the interior, which is fertile and level, where also lie Stratos and Trichonium, which has the best land; Epictetus being the part adjoining the Locrians in the direction of Naupactus and Eupalium, which is rougher and more barren, extending as far as Oetaea, the Athamanes, and the mountains and tribes next in order turning towards the north.
§10.2.4ἔχει δὲ καὶ ἡ Αἰτωλία ὄρος μέγιστον μὲν τὸν Κόρακα, συνάπτοντα τῇ Οἴτῃ, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων ἐν μέσῳ μὲν μᾶλλον τὸν Ἀράκυνθον, περὶ ὃν τὴν νεωτέραν Πλευρῶνα συνῴκισαν ἀφέντες τὴν παλαιὰν ἐγγὺς κειμένην Καλυδῶνος οἱ οἰκήτορες, εὔκαρπον οὖσαν καὶ πεδιάδα, πορθοῦντος τὴν χώραν Δημητρίου τοῦ ἐπικληθέντος Αἰτωλικοῦ· ὑπὲρ δὲ τῆς Μολυκρείας Ταφιασσὸν καὶ Χαλκίδα, ὄρη ἱκανῶς ὑψηλά, ἐφʼ οἷς πολίχνια ἵδρυτο Μακυνία τε καὶ Χαλκίς, ὁμώνυμος τῷ ὄρει, ἣν καὶ Ὑποχαλκίδα καλοῦσι· Κούριον δὲ πλησίον τῆς παλαιᾶς Πλευρῶνος, ἀφʼ οὗ τοὺς Πλευρωνίους Κουρῆτας ὀνομασθῆναί τινες ὑπέλαβον.
Aetolia also has as its highest mountain Corax, which adjoins Oeta; and of the others, more in the center is Aracynthus, around which the inhabitants founded the later Pleuron, abandoning the old one situated near Calydon, which was fertile and level, when Demetrius surnamed Aetolicus was ravaging the country; and above Molycreia are Taphiassus and Chalcis, mountains sufficiently high, upon which were founded the small towns Macynia and Chalcis, homonymous with the mountain, which they also call Hypochalcis; and Curium near old Pleuron, from which some supposed the Pleuronians were named Curetes.
§10.2.5ὁ δʼ Εὔηνος ποταμὸς ἄρχεται μὲν ἐκ Βωμιέων τῶν ἐν Ὀφιεῦσιν Αἰτωλικῷ ἔθνει (καθάπερ καὶ οἱ Εὐρυτᾶνες καὶ Ἀγραῖοι καὶ Κουρῆτες καὶ ἄλλοι), ῥεῖ δʼ οὐ διὰ τῆς Κουρητικῆς κατʼ ἀρχάς, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ αὐτὴ τῇ Πλευρωνίᾳ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς προσεῴας μᾶλλον παρὰ τὴν Χαλκίδα καὶ Καλυδῶνα· εἶτʼ ἀνακάμψας ἐπὶ τὰ τῆς Πλευρῶνος πεδία τῆς παλαιᾶς καὶ παραλλάξας εἰς δύσιν ἐπιστρέφει πρὸς τὰς ἐκβολὰς καὶ τὴν μεσημβρίαν· ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ Λυκόρμας πρότερον·
The river Evenus begins from the Bomienses in the territory of the Ophieis, an Aetolian tribe (just like the Eurytanes, Agraeans, Curetes, and others), and at first it flows not through the Curetan country, which is the same as Pleuronia, but rather through the more easterly region past Chalcis and Calydon; then bending back to the plains of old Pleuron and turning to the west, it wheels toward its mouth and the south; it was formerly called Lycormas.
καὶ ὁ Νέσσος ἐνταῦθα λέγεται πορθμεὺς ἀποδεδειγμένος ὑφʼ Ἡρακλέους ἀποθανεῖν, ἐπειδὴ πορθμεύων τὴν Δηιάνειραν ἐπεχείρει βιάσασθαι.
And Nessus is said to have died here, having been appointed ferryman by Heracles, when, while ferrying Deianeira across, he attempted to violate her.