The Pinios or Karamanli dam is the largest dam in Greece and one of the largest if not the largest dam in Europe.
Lake Pinios is an artificial lake that was created after the construction of a dam on the river Pinios. It is located in the prefecture of Ilia. Its area is 19,895 sq.km and is the largest lake in the Peloponnese.
The construction of the dam began in September 1961 under the tutelage of Konstantinos Karamanlis and the project was delivered in 1968. One of the myths of Hercules and more specifically the myth with them was the source of inspiration for the conception of this idea and the implementation of this colossal project. stables of Augeia.
According to the legend “The Dung of Augeia” was the manure that had been collected in the huge stables of the king of Ilis Augeia with the 3,000 oxen, which had not been cleaned for many years. Cleaning these stables from all the manure in just one day was Hercules’s fifth feat and to achieve this Hercules had to bypass the river Pinios and pass it through the stables of the King of Ancient Elis located in breathing distance from the current point where the dam has been constructed.
With the enrichment of the dam with water, the village of Xenies was abandoned, which was located at the bottom of the lake under creation, as well as the settlements of Paleochora, Agia Anna and Souli.
It is located above Ancient Ilida, 20km. about from the coast near the village Center. This is one of the most important land improvement projects in the Prefecture of Ilia. The water is used for the irrigation of the lowlands along the Lappa-Amaliada-Kardama axis, while a special environmental study was prepared in order to utilize the development potential of the area, which surrounds the lake of the Pinios dam.
Nevertheless, while 60 years have passed since the construction of the dam, the artificial lake of Pinios, the dam of Pinios as well as the wider area including Ancient Elis are deprived of the slightest visibility and are literally declining while the facilities of the dam are looted and looted.
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