Antiquity According to mythology, the ancient city of Agrinion (or Agrinium), situated in the area of
Megali Chora, was built by king
Agrios, son of
Portheus and a great-grandson of
Aetolos (king of
Plevron and
Calydon) around 1600–1100 BC. The town, built near the banks of river
Achelous (the natural border between
Aetolia and
Acarnania), was claimed by both states during ancient times. Agrinio became member of the
Aetolian League and it was later destroyed by
Cassander in 314 BC during the League's wars against the
Kingdom of Macedonia.
Ottoman era The city reappeared during the
Ottoman period with the name
Vrachori and apart from its Greek population it was also inhabited by many Turks (Muslims). In 1585 it was deserted during the revolt of
Theodoros Migas. At the beginning of the 18th century, it became the administrative centre of
Aetolia-Acarnania (then as the
sanjak of
Karleli), depended on the imperial harems. Vrachori participated in the
Greek Revolution and was temporarily liberated, by an army group led by
Alexakis Vlachopoulos, on 11 June 1821. In August 1822, while
Reşid Mehmed Pasha's (Kütahi) troops were marching towards Vrachori, its citizens decided to burn and evacuate their city, following the strategy of
scorched earth. The deserted city was recaptured by the Turks. The city was finally included in the borders of the newborn Greek state permanently in 1832 with the
Treaty of Constantinople (9 July 1832) and was renamed after its ancient name,
Agrinion.
Modern era In the years following the liberation, Agrinio went through an important growth and development, especially at the end of the 19th century and the dawn of the 20th. After the
Greco-Turkish War and the Asia Minor Catastrophe, many refugees from
Asia Minor (western
Turkey) arrived in the city and settled in the district of Agios Konstantinos. At the same period there was an important internal immigration to Agrinio from the whole
Aetolia-Acarnania region, along with immigration from the areas of
Epirus and
Evrytania. During the
Interwar period, in spite of economical crisis, works of infrastructure took place in the city, like the paving of streets and the installation of electricity, and a water tower was installed in 1930. At the same time excavations revealed the ancient city of Agrinion. Growth and prosperity returned after
World War II and the
Greek Civil War. This growth was boosted by the building of two major hydroelectric dam installations at
Kremasta and
Kastraki, on the north of the city. The tobacco industry and olive tree cultivation became the main income sources of the city. == Geography ==