Klokova (, also known as ''Paliovouna'' (Παλιοβούνα)) is a mountain in the southeast of

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania (, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece and the administrative regions of Greece, ...

, in western

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 classical antiquity, the mountain was known as ''Taphiassus'' (Ταφιασσός). Its highest point is 1,039 m.

Geography

The mountain is located nearly 6 km west of

Antirrio Antirrio (, pronounced , ) is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is a mu ...

and sits on the northeast shore of the

Gulf of Patras The Gulf of Patras (, ''Patraikós Kólpos'') is a branch of the Ionian Sea in Western Greece. On the east, it is closed by the Strait of Rion between capes Rio and Antirrio, near the Rio-Antirrio bridge, that is the entrance of the Gulf of C ...

. A nearby mountain range is Arakynthos to the northwest, separated from Klokova by the river

Evinos Evinos () is a river in western Greece, flowing into the Gulf of Patras. Its source is in the northern Vardousia mountains, near the village Artotina, Phocis. The river flows in a generally southwestern direction, for most of its length in Aet ...

. The National Road 5 runs along the southern foot of the mountain. This was once used for main traffic between

and

Messolonghi Missolonghi or Mesolongi (, ) is a municipality of 32,048 people (according to the 2021 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis Mesolongiou (). Missolon ...

as well as

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

, the traffic now carried by the A5 Ionia Odos motorway (part of the E55) running in the southern portion underneath with the Klokova Tunnel, which is 2.8 km long and was opened to traffic on 12 April 2017.Ionia Odos: the section Klokova - Kefalovryso is opened on Holy Wednesday

Mythology

According to

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Nessus and other centaurs were buried on the hill of Taphiassus. Nessus tried to carry

Deianeira Deianira, Deïanira, or Deianeira ( ; , or , ), also known as Dejanira, is a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name translates as "man-destroyer" or "destroyer of her husband". She was the wife of Heracles and, in late Classical acc ...

across the Evinos river, which led

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

to kill him. The decomposition of their bodies made water flowing at the foot of the hill to be ""bleak and with blood clots...".

Gallery

File:KlokovaPatra.jpg, Mount Klokova viewed from

Patras, Greece Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

. File:Klokova&VarasovaTsoukaleika.jpg, A view of several mountains, including Klokova from Tsoukaleika. File:A5 Klokova tunnel.jpg, A view of the Klokova Tunnel.

References

External links

Climbing Paliovouna
{{in lang, el Mountains of Greece Landforms of Aetolia-Acarnania Nafpaktia