Mount Ainos Kefalonia/Greece

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About Mount Ainos Kefalonia/Greece

Ainos is a mountain which located in Kefalonia. It roofs a national forest since 1962. The extent of the national forest is about 30.000 arces which the 2/3 of them have been covered from the unique kind of fir tree in the world, especially the endemic ''abies chephalonia''. Inside the national forest a lot of species in danger find it as a shelter, for example the famous wild through creed horses.
Inside Ainos forest are presented various broadleaved types and bushes as sage-leafed pear (Pirus amygdaliformis), Crataegus(Crataegus sp.>.>), etc. Splendid thickets, that cover total surface 646 hectare, are developed mainly in the mountain "Roudi", that constitutes separate piece of core of nathional park in north-western it mainly volume of Ainos. In the taller rocky Alpine regions, they dominate thorny firewood Astragalus cephalonicus and Astragalus augustifolius. Important is the spread of firewood Phlomis fruticosa.
The fauna of National forest, it is very important for the island. It includes few mammals, as the fox (Vulpes vulpes), the badger (Marches foina), the hare (Lepus europaeus) etc, as well as a important number of species fowl fauna as the rock partridge (Alectoris graeca), the eagle (Circaetus gallicus).
Recently was located the blackwoodpecker (Dryocopus martius), a species of woodpecker that is not answered in other island of Mediterranean
The highest top of Ainos is 'Megas Soros', where you can view clearly Zakinthos, faintly Lefkada and Peloponisos and Sterea's Elladas near seasides. You can also view clearly and Ithaca. Its high costimated at 1628 metres and definitely is the only high(and the highest)mountain of Kefalonia.


HISTORICAL
The storms and the lightnings, were for the ancient residents of Cephalonia a proof, that the father of gods and persons found itself there! In the Ainos in the taller top the Big Pile, he existed altar dedicated in Zeus of Ainos. The taller top Pile took her name from abundant residues of sacrifices, that were found there. When the priests in the Ainos sacrificed in his altar Zeus, tobacco went up in the sky it gave the signal, for the beginning of second almost simultaneous sacrifice, that it began in the rocky island Zeus near in the cape Liakas, in optical straight line with the Big Pile. The priests saw the second column of tobacco and they understood that the sacrifice had been completed.
Holy the Zeus of Ainos, at the Apollonio the Rodio, he was one from older holy with PanHellenic glamour religious centre. The Ainos was mark for the course of oceangoing boats in the Antiquity. His dense forests from Kefallonian forest supplied the residents with raw material for the shipbuilding of boats. The Kefallonian forest they used for the shipbuilding of Triremes, because his timber was light, while the pine for the commercial boats, because it did not rot easily.
The timber of trees of forest was precious for the shipping and it attracted the interest of naval populations that conquered the Cephalonia and same the Venecian. The dark colour of forest made their Venecian give in the Ainos the name Monte Nero, that is to say Black Mountain and for the same reason certain ancient writers they named the Cephalonia Melania (black).
The overexploitation of Ainos(Monte Nero) from their Venecian, existed the beginning of destruction of forest. In 1501 the Venecian founded in Omala colony from 200 woodcutter and carpenters for the woodcut of forest. Then was be at risk to cutover completely the Ainos.In the dues of 16th century, a big fire disappearred the two third forest. They followed also other fires, with bigger 1797, where the forest was burned for weeks and the fire ruined more from half, that had remained. For first time were placed limits in the forest
Were prohibited the pasturage of animals and the culture and were placed foresters, however the metres were not observed. In opposition with their Venecian, Britisher that occupied the island in 1809, they protected the Ainos. The Britisher Governor Karolos Napier, opened the first street in the mountain and made acquaintance in Europe the type of Kefallonian forest, sending sperms for the creation of nursery. The first scientific study, he categorized as separate type with the name Abies cephalonica.
Afterwards the Union of Seven islands with Greece in 1864, the Greek Government appointee the first foresters. In 1962 the state named the Ainos National Forest for the protection of Kefallonian forest and infrequent and endemic plants..


DRAGON of AINOS Fable or truth
The existence dracons in the world has heard more a lot as fairy tale no as real historical make. However in the historical sources of period of Venecian in the island we meet official documents that prove the existence dragons in the Ainos area. From this documents results that the Venecians had looking for the drakon across compensation, that they killed in the village Saint Nikolaos the brothers Jakovos and Vernrdis Brescani, which received and the compensation.