DYMAEAN
WALL

Where archaeological importance coincides with unique aesthetics, you’ll find the prehistoric acropolis of the Dymaion Wall, also known as the Castle of the Nun. Built on the peak of the southernmost of the Black Mountains, it is the only example of a fortified Mycenaean citadel in the region of Western Greece.
The views it offers visitors are breathtaking, as the vista it affords stretches from the wider area of ancient Dymi all the way to the coastal zone of the Gulf of Patras to the north and the Ionian Sea to the west.
According to myth, the wall was built by Hercules during his war with King Augeias of Elis. The fortification was probably built around 1300 BC. and it is of cyclopean construction. It has a length of about 250 meters, a thickness of 4.5-5.5 meters and a maximum surviving height of 8.4 meters.
Human settlement in the area began before the construction of the wall, during the Neolithic era (6600-3300 BC). Many other events followed. The area was occupied by the Aetolian General Euripidas during the Social War between the Aetolian and the Achaean Confederation (220-217 BC) before it was handed over to the Macedonian king Philip V. It was later inhabited by Roman settlers, while in Byzantine times some additional modifications to the fortifications took place. In 1408, the Venetians first settled in the area; during the Second Venetian Occupation (1687-1715), a thousand settlers from Lidoriki moved into the previously uninhabited Black Mountains. The use of the northern part of the fortification as a cemetery is attributed to this period. During World War II, it was used by Italian occupation forces who caused irreparable damage to the ancient remains.
Despite all its adventures, however, the wall has survived to this day and it invites visitors to admire its enduring grandeur.