Ancient Kynetha was the northernmost city of Arcadian Azania. The city was founded in Archaic times, probably by Azans (ancient Arcadian tribe) around 1700 BC with settler Kynethos, one of the 50 sons of Lycaon and grandson of Pelasgos, the first king of the Arcadians. The name of the town derives from the words kyon (dog) and θέω (to run) and seems to be indicative of the love of its inhabitants for hunting which abounded in the area.
The location of ancient Kyneitha has not been precisely determined, but archaeological findings make it certain that it was located near the present-day Kalavrita.
Ancient Kynetha was a settlement in northern Arcadian Azania, near the border with Achaia, about 7.5 km from Lousoi. The city was founded in Archaic times. Azania was divided into five independent city-states, the oldest of which was Kynetha. The others were Feneus, Cleitor, Psophis and Thelpusha.
Kynetha was a member of the Achaean League, but according to Polybius it passed into the hands of the Aetolians when they besieged Cleitor and subsequently suffered great misfortunes. The Aetolians sacked the city in 220 BC, stealing the possessions and property of the inhabitants and killing many of them, while other inhabitants were forced to leave. However, despite the suffering the city suffered during the so-called "Allied War", it recovered quickly and a few years later (207/206 BC) it was among the Arcadian cities invited to participate in the festivals in honour of Artemis Lefkofrynis, in the Magnesia of Maeander of Asia Minor.
In Roman times, the city flourished again, and minted its own coinage again, thus retaining some privileges of freedom over other regions. In 120 BC, the inhabitants of the city took part in the Roman consul Gnaeus Dometius' campaign in Gaul. The city was visited by Pausanias in 174 AD, who mentions it in his "Arcadia" (the third book of the second part of the Pausanias' Peloponnese) and informs us that it was located forty stages after the Lousoi (a city that belonged to the territory of Cleitor) and the temple of Artemis.
The god Dionysus was worshipped in Kynetha, there was a sanctuary in the city and a festival was held every year in his honour, during which men smeared with fat caught and sacrificed a bull. The people, by eating the bull, believed that they now contained the god himself. This sacred feast was not accidentally held in the winter months, as it was believed to provide the much-needed strength and well-being to cope with the weather. They also worshipped the god Zeus, a bronze statue of whom they had donated to Olympia (a statue that reached a height of 2.70 m and represented the god on a bronze pedestal, holding thunderbolts).
Near Kynetha, under a plane tree, there was a spring with cold water, which was known as Alyssos, because it cured anyone suffering from rabies. This spring is now identified with a spring a short distance southwest of Kalavrita, where ancient stones have been found. At Kioupia, about a thousand metres east of Kalavrita, a burial jar with a bronze helmet was found, and two bronze shinbones, an iron sword, two spearheads and a bronze spearhead were also found. It is probable that this site was the site of the cemetery of Kynetha. In other locations around the town of Kalavrita, such as in the village of Skepasto, sherds of the Neolithic and Bronze Age have come to light, which testify to the existence of people who were interested in settling and investing in the town.