Leontio

Leontio (Greek: Λεόντιο, before 1923: Γουρζούμισα - Gourzoumisa) is a mountain village and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Erymanthos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated in the southern foothills of the Panachaiko, 13 km east of Chalandritsa, 22 km southeast of Patras, 20 km southwest of Aigio and 19 km northwest of Kalavryta. Its population in 2001 was 373 for the village, 570 for the community and 743 for the municipal unit.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Leontio is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):

Population

History

Evidence suggests that the Achaeans settled Leontio after the Trojan Wars, at this time it was a Polis. This is supported by archeological excavations in the area by the archaeologist N. Kiparisis during the period 1931-32. Mycenean tombs from the 14th-12th century BC were found. The different artifacts excavated in a number of ancient cemeteries confirmed the Polis flourished at about 1,000 BC. Though older findings date it back to 3,000-2,000 BC. The acropolis dates back to around the 3rd century BC.