GULF OF

ARTA (anc. Sinus Ambracius)  , an inlet of the Ionian Sea, 25 M. long and ro broad, most of the northern shores of which belong to Turkey, the southern and eastern to Greece . Its only important affluent, besides the Arta, is the Luro (anc . Chandra), also from the north . The gulf abounds with mullets, soles and eels . Around its shores are numerous ruins of ancient cities: Actium at the entrance, where the famous battle was fought in 31 B.c.; Nicopolis, Argos, Limnaea and Olpae; and several flourishing towns, such as Preveza, Arta (anc . Ambracia), Karavasara or Karbasaras, and Vonitza . The river ARTA (anc . Arachthus or Aratthus, in Livy xxxviii . 3, Aretho) is the chief river of Epirus, and is said to have been navigable in ancient times as far as Ambracia . Below this town it flows through a marshy plain, consisting mainly of its own alluvium; its upper course is through the territory of the Molossians; its total length is about 8o m .