District north of the Gulf of Corinth, ancient Greece.
Aetolia figures prominently in early legend. By 367 BC it had been organized by various tribes into a federal state comprising the Aetolian League . Coming under Roman rule, it was incorporated into the province of Achaea (see Achaean League ) in 27 BC by Augustus . Governed later by Albania and Venice, it came under Turkish rule in AD 1450. It was the scene of fierce fighting in the War of Greek Independence (182129). Modern Aetolia is linked with Acarnania as a department of Greece.