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With the decline of the Mycenaean centers, Achaians
from the Argolid came and settled here, founding important
cities.
The region is named Achaia after them. Though politically
insignificant through most of antiquity, it started to play a
more dynamic role in 280 BC, when the Achaian Confederacy
was created.
In 146 BC the area fell to the Romans.
It embraced Christianity earlier than the rest of Greece
(St. Andrew the Apostle preached in Patras and was
martyred there).
In 1205 it occupied center stage with the founding of the Principality
of Achaia by the Franks.
Before too long it passed to the hands of the Palaiologues
who ruled the Peloponnese from Mistra, they were
succeeded by the Turks in 1460.
For a short period (1687-1715), the area was a Venetian
colony.
It was liberated in 1828.
Patras is the capital of the region or prefecture.
It owes its name to Patreas, chief of the Achaians.
The city is among the most important in Greece, and the
largest in the Peloponnese.
It is also a major transportation center, linking the country
with Italy and the Peloponnese with the lonian islands.
The city extends from the shore up to the Castle.
It is divided into two parts, the upper and the lower, whose
layout, parks and plazas give it a definite distinction.
The old city, at the foot of the castle, still has quite a number
of attractive neoclassical houses, while the lower city has many
mansions, such as those housing the Municipal Theatre, the
Odeon, etc.
The Cathedral of St. Andrew (picture), the city's
patron, rises majestically above the lower city.
To the left of it stands an older church built on the site of a Byzantine
church that was destroyed by the Turks.
From here Trion Navarchon street leads to Psila
Alonia -- the "balcony" of Patras -- a
lovely spacious square with slender palm trees and a sun dial.
Patras possesses a fine archaeological museum, an art
gallery and a printing museum.
Dominating the city from on high looms the ruined shell of the
castle, whose grounds have been transformed into a park.
From here you have a view of the whole city and the sea
beyond.
Patras' famous Carnival -- a festive sampling of its
citizens' imagination, humor and high spirits -- attracts
thousands of visitors every year.
Finally, the city's innumerable pastry shops, its quiet little
cafes, its wide range of taverns, its lively streets bustling
with locals, foreigners and transient travellers complete the
picture of Patras, beautiful and celebrated throughout Greece.