Acarnan was one of the Epigones, a son of Alcmaeon and Calirrhoe and the brother of Amphoterus. He was a legacy of Achelous.
History[]
His father was murdered by Phegeus, when he and his brother were very young, and Calirrhoe prayed to Zeus to make her sons grow quickly, that they might be able to avenge the death of their father. The prayer was granted, and Acarnan with his brother slew Phegeus, his wife, and his two sons.
The inhabitants of Psophis, where the sons had been slain, pursued the murderers as far as Tegea, where however they were received and rescued. At the request of Achelous they carried the necklace and peplus of Harmonia to Delphi, and from thence they went to Epirus, where Acarnan founded the state called after him Acarnania.