AGRINION

chief town of the noms (department) of Aetolia and Acarnania, west-central Greece. It lies 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Lake Trikhons, about midway between the Ionian Sea and the Gulf of Patras. Formerly called Vrakhri (an abbreviation of Evrekori, Town of the Jews), it has reverted to the name of an ancient Aetolian centre on the Achelous River that was just northwest of the present town. In 314 BC Agrnion received the assistance of the Macedonian king Cassander, who helped the Acarnanians reorganize their defense league against Aetolian aggression. Modern Agrnion, rebuilt after a destructive earthquake in 1887, is a tobacco-growing and processing centre. Pop. (1981) 35,774.