In the community of Leondio, there is a settlement and a temple of goddess Artemis that date back to the 8th century BC, while in various other locations of the area, like in Agios Ioannis there are domed tombs of the post-Mycenaean period, In Palaia Ktiria there is a water main, while in Loutra one can find a Roman bath.
Leondio was an ancient city of Achaia. It has been founded by the Ionians and was a member of the Ionian Dodekapolis or the Achaean Joint. It was a mountainous city on the ancient borders of Achaia and Arcadia, near Vlassia in Kalavryta where there have been found and excavated Mycenaean tombs, the ancient walls and the ancient theatre that date back in the 4th century BC.
In the village of Leondio, there has been found a temple dedicated to Artemis, which lies on the street that used to lead to Arcadia. The dimensions of the temple are 35*11 metres. The city was destroyed in the late 3rd century BC by Philip E’. Kallikratis, the General of the Achaean League came from Leondio, too.
For many years, archaeologists had been searching for Leondio on the south roots of the mount Panachaikon. In 1958, though, after a short excavation by archaeologist Mr. Gialouris on Kastritsi Hill, brought to light the auditorium of the theatre, which is located on the northeast slope of the hill within the walls of the city. The theatre of Leondio was relatively small and up to now, there have been discovered nine rows of seats while the upper rows were probably carved in the rock. The lapses of the theatre are saved and have over two meters in height, while in the remaining minimum excavated archaeological site, there have been discovered remains of walls and towers of the acropolis and the ruins of three large buildings.
This archaeological site is located on the Kalavryta-Chalandritsa-Patras road, within a distance of 35 km from the city of Kalavryta, in a by-pass of 1000 m on the right of the central axis. From the stone benches, you can see all that ancient Leondian people could see. The glaring foreground of Achaean nature, the dark fir forests of Erymanthos crowned by snowy peaks, the shadowy valley of Selinountas, the growl of which along with the breeze and the birds is now the only sounds that accompany you there. All around, within the white stones, a tuft of oaks sometimes manages to beat the wildness of the place, which was certainly beaten better by the Leondian People by constructing both a city and a cultural space.
Source: www.vlasia.gr
