The Vouraikos (, , ''Erasinus'' () according to

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

) is a river in

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. In ancient times it was called Erasinos. Its source is in the Aroania mountains, near the village of Priolithos. It flows past the towns of

Kalavryta Kalavryta () is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of Achaea, Greece. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of Aigio, southeast of Patras and northwest of Tripoli, G ...

and

Diakopto Diakopto () is a coastal town in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reforms it is a municipal unit of the Aigialeia municipality. The municipal unit has an area of 103.932 km2. The town of Diakopto is situated on the ...

, and flows into the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...

near Diakopto. It is long. The name is derived from Boura, a mythological daughter of Ion and Helice who was beloved by Hercules, who according to legend opened the gorge in order to get close to her. This is the Vouraikos gorge, which has a length of about 20 km. In the gorge the river passes along dense vegetation and steep cliffs, waterfalls and caves. The Diakofto–Kalavryta Railway passes through the Vouraikos gorge. According to legend there was a cave on the banks of the river which was dedicated to Hercules. There pilgrims came to read their fate in the Tables of Knowledge, as they were called. w:el:Βουραϊκός ποταμός The river is mentioned by Pausanias in his ''Description of Greece''. 7.25.10
(in this translation as ''Buraicus'')

References

Ancient Greece Rivers of Greece Rivers of Western Greece Canyons and gorges of Greece Landforms of Arcadia, Peloponnese Rivers of Peloponnese (region) Drainage basins of the Gulf of Corinth {{Greece-river-stub