a group of islands at the mouth of the Achelous, off the coast of Acarnania. In the days of Herodotus some of these islands had become incorporated with the mainland, in consequence of the great quantities of alluvial soil annually brought down by the Achelous. Thucydides expected that in course of time the entire group would in this manner become part of the continent; but his anticipations have not yet even become realized. The alluvial deposits had ceased to a great extent in the time of Pausanias, who attributed this circumstance to the fact that the lands of Etolia were no longer cultivated so well as they once had been. Notice is taken of the Echinades by Homer, who mentions that Meges, the son of Phyleus, joined the Grecian expedition against Troy with 40 ships. Dulichium is specified as the particular island over which this Phyleus reigned, and its fertility is highly praised by the poet. It is not exactly known what this Dulichium really was. Some ancient writers identified it with Cephalonia; Strabo maintains that it was the same with Dolicha, one of the Echinades. None of these islands, however, as they now exist, bear out the Homeric description of Dulichium. Col. Leake observes that Petala, the largest of the group, seems to have the best claim to that distinction. Pliny gives a catalogue of nine of these islands: the group as it now stands comprises between twenty and thirty islands, some of which, however, are little more than barren reefs. Nine only of the whole number are at present under cultivation.