Acheron springs

Nature lovers and enthusiasts love to walk and swim in the river springs of the ancient Greek underworld.

The source of the Acheron river is located in the Epirus region of northwest Greece, near the village Zotiko and it flows into the Ionnian sea.

In ancient Greek mythology, Acheron was known as the “river of woe”, and was one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld with the forest of Persephone around it.

In antiquity they believed that Acheron was the river, the crossing of which, according to ancient Greek mythology, the “psychopomp” of Hermes delivered the souls of the dead to Charon to end up in the kingdom of Hades. Each soul, passing through the Charod ferry, had to give from an oval to transport. Acheron, Kokytos and Pyriflegon formed the three rivers of Hades. According to popular tradition, the river’s waters were bitter as a “monster”  living in its springs poisoned the waters. Saint Donatos, patron saint of the Metropolis of Paramythia in Thesprotia, killed the beast and the waters of Acheron became sweet. An interesting element from the ancient Greek mythology that testifies to the continuation of this in modern folk tradition is as follows: During Titanomachy, the Titans drank water from Acheron to quench an event that caused the wrath of Zeus, who blew and bitter his waters.

Close to the source of the river there are various activities such as canoeing, kayaking and rafting, while there is the possibility of crossing the river to the mouth of Ammoudia, with a suitable point of descent to the Straits, which many like to walk, even if “crossing” the river was connected with the ancient myth of passing to the afterlife.