Patras is the third largest city of Greece and the capital of the prefecture of Achaea, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers to the west of Athens. The city is built at the slopes of Mount Panachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras.
The most common explanation given for the name Patras is the mythological one, from Patreus the name of the town's legendary settler. In the Greek language, however, the word Patra, is etymologically related to the word Patrís, which means homeland. It is argued then, that the founding myth was created after the name and not vice versa.