Kakia Skala: the road from "dark past"that everyone was afraid of

A dark past at Kakia Skala, a steep pass that was a real nightmare for every driver traveling from Athens to Patras and back.

Drivers have been subjected to endless torment for many years. And until the summer of 2006, those passing through Kakia Skala cursed a section of the highway due to sharp turns, huge queues (traffic jams), as well as dangerous sheer cliffs from which stones fell onto the roadway, endangering all passers-by and vehicles there.

Today, the “turns of the martyr” remained only in memory, thanks to 5 tunnels laid on this section of the road. Down the road to Patras are the tunnels “Gerania” 850 m long, “Eupalinos” 1700 m long and “Aitra” 1200 m long. And in the opposite direction, to Athens, the tunnels “Skiron” 370 m long and “Theseus” 350 m in length.

The cross section of the tunnels is 15 meters, they have three traffic lanes and an emergency one.

In the past, the name “Kakia Rock” (bad stairs, pass – literally) gave access to hard-to-reach roads that are difficult to drive on, as well as sites located next to the rocks in the rugged coastal region of Western Attica, on the northwestern coast of the Saronic Gulf.

Myth

Procrustes (ancient Greek Προκρούστης literal translation “stretching”, also known as Damast or Polypemon) is a character in the myths of Ancient Greece. Son of Poseidon, husband of Silea (daughter of Corinth), father of Sinis. Killed by Theseus in Herma, on the way to Athens.

Procrustes was a robber who lay in wait for travelers on the way. By deceit, he lured travelers into his house, laid them on his bed, and those for whom it was short, cut off their legs, and for those who were long, stretched their legs along the length of this bed. Theseus laid him on his own bed so that only the head remained on the bed and cut it off. From the hands of Theseus, the son of Procrustes Sinis also fell, who also traded in robberies and adopted sadistic inclinations from his father.
According to some reports, his real name is Polypemon (Πολυπήμων, “causing a lot of suffering”, “malicious”), Damast (Δαμαστής “overcome”)[10] or Prokopt (“truncator”).
The expression “Procrustean bed” has become winged and means rigid boundaries into which they want to drive something, sacrificing or forcing something significant to be sacrificed for this.

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