SHORT DESCRIPRION OF PATRAS 

Patras is the third largest city of Greece. Patras is a conurbation of a quarter to million inhabitants and a centre of the political, economic, administrative and cultural life of Western Greece. During the four millenia of its history, most notably in the Roman times, Patras has many times assumed the role of a cosmopolitan centre of the Mediterranean world.The city is the capital of the Achaea prefecture of Greece and of the periphery of West Greece as well as the first urban centre of the peninsula of Peloponnese. Patras is of great signifiance to Christianity as the place where according to Christian Tradition the Fist-called Apostle Saint Andrew met his Martyrdom. The city is the seat of a Greek orthodox archbishopric, while there is a living community of Roman catholics curch and a historical Anglican church.

Patras is considered Greece's Gate to the West, a title which is justified by its role as international commercial center and busy port, with excellent car-ferry links with the Ionian islands and the major Adriatic ports of Italy, and as a functioning nodal point for the entry of goods, people, ideas and cultural influences from the European West. Having two Universities and a Technological Institution and their connected research institutes, the city is an important scientific centre, with a field of excellence in technical education. Furthermore the city is renowned for its european mediterranean-style carnival, whose main features are the mammoth satyrical floats and the extravagant balls and parades. The indigenous cultural scene revolves around the performing and plastic arts and modern urban literature. The city of Patras is the current European Capital of Culture.

Patras is located 200 kilometres west of Athens, on the northeastern coast of the Peloponnesos at the foot of Mount Panachaikon Mount, overlooking the Gulf of Patras, which is, in fact, an inlet of the Ionian sea. The area has a pleasant Mediterranean climate, with relatively cool yet humid summers and very mild winters.

The most common explanation given for the name Patras is the mythological one, from Patreus the name of the town's legendary settler. In the Greek language, however, the word Patra, is etymologically related to the word Patrís, which means homeland. It is argued then, that the founding myth was created after the name and not vice versa.Geography

Patras is located 215 kilometers west of Athens by road, 94 kilometers northeast of Pyrgos, 7 kilometers south of Rio, 134 kilometers west of Corinth, 77 kilometers northwest of, and 144 kilometers northwest of Tripoli.

Geography has played a prominent role in shaping the outlook of the modern city. The lowland, which is adjacent to the sea and streches between the estuaries of the rivers Glafkos and Haradros was originally made of soil transferred by the rivers and of dried up swamps. In modern times the lowland is the area of the modern lower town and the port facilities. Adjacent to the lower town on the plateau at the foot of Mount Panachaikon, is the old town, built around the Acropolis since the historic times. Consequently, the division of the modern city in lower and upper town is a result of its location on the natural flow of drainage from the foot of Mount Panachaikon.

The largest river in the area is Glafkos flowing South of Patras. Glafkos rises from the Mount Panachaikon and its water is since 1925, collected in a small mountainous reservoir-dam near the village of Souli and then pumped to provide energy for the country's first hydroelectric plant. The water is also used to water the orchards of Eglykas and as a supply for drinking water for the city. Other rivers are Haradros, Meilichos and the mountain torrent Diakoniaris.

Of great importance for the biological diversity in the area and the preservation of its climate, is the swamp of Agyia, a small and coastal aquatic ecosystem of only 30 hectares, located north of the city centre. Main features of the wetland is the apparent rarity of its survival in the heart of a densely populated urban centre in a relatively arid climate, and its admitedly high level of biodiversity, with over 90 species of birds being observed until the early 1990s, according to a study by the Patras Bureau of the Hellenic Ornithological Society.

An important geophysical characteristic of the region is its great seismicity, which has been recorded since the historic times and has caused frequent destruction until recently, namely in 1995 with a quake of 5 degrees in the Richter scale close to the urban area of Patras and a quake that occurred close to Aigion in 1995. The bordering Ionian islands, have also frequently been hit by more severe earthquakes. During antiquity the most notable example of destruction caused by earthquake in the region was the submergence of the ancient Achaean city of Eliki. 

History

Antiquity

The first traces of settlement in Patras date to the 3rd millennium BC, in modern Aroe. During the Middle Helladic period (the first half of the 2nd millennium BC) another settlement was founded in the region. Patras flourished for the first time during the Post-Helladic or Mycenean period (1580–1100 BC). Ancient Patras was formed by the unification of three Mycenaean villages located in modern Aroe, Antheia and Mesatis. Mythology tells us that after the Dorian invasion, a group of Achaeans from Laconia, led by the eponymous Patreus, established a colony. During antiquity, Patras remained a farming region but it was in Roman times when it became an important port.

After 280 BC, and prior to the Roman occupation of Greece, Patras played a significant role in the foundation of the second "Achaean League" (Achaiki Sympoliteia) together with the cities Dyme, Triteia and Pharai. As a consequence, the initiative of political movements was transferred for the first time to western Achaea. Later on and after the Roman occupation of Greece, in 146 BC, Patras played the main role and Augustus founded a Roman colony there. A cadastral map was drawn up, privileges were granted, crafts were created, the most important being that of earthen oil lamps which were exported almost to the whole world of that time, two industrial zones were created, temples were built, roads that rendered Patras a communication center were opened, streets were paved with flagstones, foreign religions were introduced. Patras was by then a cosmopolitan city. But at the end of the 3rd century AD it fell into decline, probably because of a strong earthquake that struck the whole of northeastern Peloponnese in 300 AD.Saint Andrew

According to the Christian tradition, Saint Andrew came to Patras to preach Christianity during the reign of Emperor Nero and was crucified as a martyr. He is said to have suffered crucifixion on a cross of the form called Crux decussata (X-shaped cross) and commonly known as "St Andrew's cross". He is ever since considered to be the patron saint of the city. According to tradition his relics were removed from Patras to Constantinople, and thence to the West. Local legends say that the relics were sold to the Romans by the local priests in exchange of the Romans constructing a water reservoir for the city (Thomopoulos).

In recent years, the relics were kept in the Vatican City, but were sent back to Patras by decision of the Pope Paul VI in 1964. The relics, which consist of the small finger and part of the top of the cranium of St Andrew, are since kept in the New Church of St Andrew in a special tomb, and are reverenced in a special ceremony every November 30. Two temples were built in his honor, an old byzantine-style basilica and a new monumental church completed in the 1970s.

Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman times

During Byzantine times Patras continued to be an important port and an industrial center. One of the most scholarly philosophers and theologians of the time, Arethas of Caesarea was born in Patras, circa 860. In the 9th century there is a sign that the city was prosperous: the widow Danielis from Patras had accumulated immense wealth in land ownership, carpet and textile industry and offered critical support in the ascent of Basil I the Macedonian to the Byzantine throne.

In 1204 Patras was conquered by the Fourth Crusade, and became the seat of the Latin Duchy of Achaia within the Principality of Achaea. In 1408, it became Venetian. It was seized again by the despot Constantine in 1430, who was immediately contested by the Ottoman Empire.