Návpaktos

Návpaktos (näf`päktôs) or Naupactus (nôpăk`təs), town, central Greece, a port on the strait (Strait of Ríon or Lepanto) between the gulfs of Corinth and Pátrai; also called Lepanto. The town was captured by Athens in 456 B.C. and was an important naval base in the Peloponnesian War. It later rose to commercial importance as part of the Byzantine Empire. It came under the rule of Venice in 1407 and of the Ottoman Turks in 1499. In 1571, Christian forces of Europe won a major naval battle over the Ottoman Empire near the town (see Lepanto, battle of). In 1828, Greek insurgents took the town from Ottoman control.