Misplaced Pages

#559440

64-452: It forms most of the regional unit of Euboea , which also includes Skyros and a small area of the Greek mainland. Like most of the Greek islands, Euboea was known by other names in antiquity , such as Macris (Μάκρις) and Doliche (Δολίχη) from its elongated shape, or Ellopia (after Ellops the son of Ion ), Aonia and Abantis from the tribes inhabiting it, or Ocha/Oche (Ὄχη), which

128-769: A Latin Church diocese , see below. A large hoard of late medieval jewellery dating from Venetian times was found in Chalcis Castle in the nineteenth century and is now in the British Museum . The synagogue dated to around 1400. Negroponte played a significant role in the history of Frankish Greece , and was attacked by the Principality of Achaea in the War of the Euboeote Succession (1257/8),

192-705: A Sicilian force, while Chalcis was burned down by the Venetians in 1171. During the 13th century, the Greek element of the island was strengthened by the Byzantine Emperor Michael Palaiologos. Euboea came into prominence following the Fourth Crusade . In the partition of the Byzantine Empire by the crusaders after 1204, the island was occupied by a number of Lombard families, who divided it into three baronies,

256-634: A protracted and bloody siege , the well-fortified city of Negroponte (Chalcis) was wrested from Venice by Mehmed II and the whole island fell into the hands of the Ottoman Empire . The Doge Francesco Morosini besieged the city in 1688, but was forced to withdraw after three months. Albanians started settling Euboea gradually, since 1402, encouraged by the Venetians . In 1425, a total of 10,000 Albanians from various regions were settled in Euboea. A further indeterminate number of Albanians settled in

320-611: A bypass of Chalcis was opened from the southern part of the bridge to connect with GR-77, also with access to GR-44. Chalcis station is the northern terminus of the Oinoi–Chalcis railway , and is served by Line 3 of the Athens Suburban Railway . Chalcis also has a water polo team named NC Chalkida , a football (soccer) team named Chalkida F.C. , as well as a junior football team named Evoikos Chalkida. The Chalkida football team merged with Lilas Vasilikou for

384-623: A direct role as head of the Latin clergy in what remained of Latin Greece . The church of Saint Paraskevi (the patron saint of the island ) was the church of the Dominican Priory of Negroponte, one of the first two houses authorized for the Order of Preachers' Province of Greece in 1249. Started about 1250, this is among the oldest examples of early Dominican architecture surviving, and

448-424: A fixed bridge. In 1856, a wooden swing bridge was built; in 1896, an iron swing bridge, and in 1962, the existing "sliding bridge"; the construction works of the 19th century destroyed the most part of the medieval castle built across the bridge. The Euripus Bridge or Chalcis Bridge, a cable-stayed suspension bridge opened in 1993, joins Chalcis to the mainland to the south. A special tidal phenomenon takes place in

512-726: A fortress by which the Macedonian rulers controlled central Greece. It was used by kings Antiochus III of Syria (192 BC) and Mithradates VI of Pontus (88 BC) as a base for invading Greece. Characteristic is the fact that in 323 BC the Stagerite philosopher Aristotle comes to Chalkida to die the following year at his mother's house. Then during the Hellenistic era, settlers from Chalkida founded Chalkida in Syria, by order of Seleucus I, from which settlers founded another Chalkida in

576-481: A period of two years (2004–2006). The team was finally dissolved because of financial difficulties. Although there was a team created with the same name (AOX) it does not represent the glorious team of the past. Chalcis also has a basketball team ( AGEX ), which previously played in the Greek A2 Basketball League . For a while, Chalkida hosts the basketball team Ikaros Chalkidas that played in

640-493: A sizeable Jewish community lived until World War II, and the more modern suburb that lies outside it, chiefly occupied by Greeks. The old town, called the Castro (citadel), was surrounded by a full circuit of defense walls until they were completely razed for urban development around the start of the 20th century. The city is served by a railway station and is the terminus for the Athens Suburban Railway to Athens. There

704-696: Is a Holocaust memorial honoring the Jewish lives lost during World War II outside of the Chalkis Jewish cemetery. The Byzantine diocese of Chalkis was initially a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Corinth , but in the 9th century was transferred to the Metropolitan of Athens, remaining in the sway of the Patriarchate of Constantinople . It was also known as Euripo, like it is mentioned in

SECTION 10

#1732765660560

768-484: Is also the name of one of the highest mountains on the island. Its ancient and current name, Εὔβοια, derives from the words εὖ "good", and βοῦς "ox", meaning "(the land of) the well(-fed) oxen". Strabo writes that it took the name Euboea either by the heroine Euboea or because of a cave on the island at the Aegaean coast which was called βοὸς αὐλὴ (cow's stall) and there Io was said to have given birth to Epaphus . In

832-564: Is in the Iliad , where it is mentioned in the same line as its rival Eretria . It is also documented that the ships set for the Trojan War gathered at Aulis, the south bank of the strait near the city. Chamber tombs at Trypa and Vromousa dated to the Mycenaean period were excavated by Papavasiliou in 1910. In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, colonists from Chalcis founded thirty townships on

896-479: Is one of the regional units of Greece . It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece . It consists of the islands of Euboea and Skyros , as well as a 260 km area on the Greek mainland. Its land area is 4,167.449 km , whereas the total land area of the municipalities actually on the island Euboea is 3,684.848 km , which includes that of numerous small offshore islets ( Petalies Islands ) near Euboea's southern tip. The Euboea regional unit

960-499: Is one of the only early Dominican churches to retain its original form until the present. The central arch over the iconostasis and the ceiling and walls of the south chapel are the best examples of Italian Gothic stone-carving in Greece. Images of the Dominican saints, Dominic and Peter Martyr, stand at the base of the central arch. The north chapel holds the tomb of the founder of the senatorial Lippamano family of Venice. Some of

1024-465: Is subdivided into 8 municipalities, numbered in the picture in the infobox. These are: As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the former Euboea Prefecture ( Greek : Νομός Εύβοιας ) was transformed into a regional unit within the Central Greece region, without any change in boundaries. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below. Note :

1088-632: Is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece , situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from antiquity and is derived from the Greek χαλκός ( copper , bronze ), though there is no trace of any mines in the area. In the Late Middle Ages , it was known as Negropont(e) , an Italian name that has also been applied to the entire island of Euboea. The earliest recorded mention of Chalcis

1152-562: The Athenians , who expelled the ruling aristocracy and settled a cleruchy on the site. Chalcis subsequently became a member of both the Delian Leagues . Chalkis has had a Greco-Jewish presence since antiquity, which is sometimes claimed to have been continuous and to thus form Europe's oldest Jewish community, although there is no evidence of it through the early Middle Ages. In the Hellenistic period, it gained importance as

1216-517: The Avars and Slavs , and it was not until a failed Arab attack on Chalcis in the 870s that the island again came under threat. As a result, the island preserved a relative prosperity throughout the early medieval period, as attested by finds of mosaics, churches and sculpture throughout the 7th century, "even from remote areas of the island". In the 6th century, the Synecdemus listed four cities on

1280-807: The Catalan Company in 1317, the Turks in 1350/1, until it was finally captured by the Ottoman Empire after a long siege in 1470. That siege is the subject of the Rossini opera Maometto II . The Ottomans made it the seat of the Admiral of the Archipelago (the Aegean Islands). In 1688, it was successfully held by the Ottomans against a strong Venetian attack. Chalkida became part of

1344-519: The Euripus Strait : the phrase στὸν Εὔριπον 'to Evripos', was rebracketed as στὸ Νεὔριπον 'to Nevripos', and became Negroponte in Italian by folk etymology , the ponte 'bridge' being interpreted as the bridge of Chalcis to Boeotia . The town was a condominium between Venice and the Veronese barons of the rest of Euboea, known as the " triarchs ", who resided there. Chalcis or Negroponte became

SECTION 20

#1732765660560

1408-517: The Greek alphabet was first employed, c. 775–750 BC, and that Homer may have spent part of his life on the island. Chalcis and Eretria were rival cities, and appear to have been equally powerful for a while. One of the earliest major military conflicts in Greek history took place between them, known as the Lelantine War , in which many other Greek city-states also took part. In 490 BC, Eretria

1472-589: The Middle Ages , the island was often referred to by Byzantine authors by the name of its capital, Chalcis (Χαλκίς) or Euripos (Εὔριπος,) the name of the strait that separates the island from the Greek mainland, although the ancient name Euboea remained in use by classicizing authors until the 16th century. The phrase στὸν Εὔριπον 'to Evripos', rebracketed as στὸ Νεὔριπον 'to Nevripos', became Negroponte ("Black Bridge") in Italian by folk etymology ,

1536-515: The Titan god Crius is an indigenous deity. The population of the island, according to the census of 2001, was 198,130, making it the second most populous island of Greece. As a whole the Euboeans share a cultural identity similar to that of the people in the rest of Central Greece and speak a southern variety of Greek . In the southern part of the island there are Arvanite communities. Until

1600-606: The Triarchy of Negroponte ; each barony was split in 1216, giving six sestiere . The island's rulers came early on under the influence of the Venetian Republic , which secured control of the island's commerce in the War of the Euboeote Succession (1256–1258) and gradually expanded its control, until they acquired full sovereignty by 1390. On 12 July 1470, during the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1463–1479 and after

1664-540: The ponte 'bridge' being interpreted as the bridge of Chalcis. This name was most relevant when the island was under Venetian rule . That name entered common use in the West in the 13th century, with other variants being Egripons, Negripo, and Negropont. Under Ottoman rule, the island and its capital were known as Eğriboz or Ağriboz , again after the Euripos strait. Euboea was believed to have originally formed part of

1728-412: The 1970s there were still monolingual speakers of Arvanitika in southern Euboea. As of the late 20th century, in southern Euboea there were about 60 villages inhabited by Arvanites. Sarakatsani and Vlachs could be found mainly in the mountainous areas in central and northern Euboea respectively, but nowadays they have abandoned the nomadic way of life and live permanently in the towns and villages across

1792-615: The 2001 census. Most of the island features a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ) with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The history of the island of Euboea is largely that of its two principal cities, Chalcis and Eretria , both mentioned in the Catalogue of Ships . Both cities were settled by Ionian Greeks from Attica , and would eventually settle numerous colonies in Magna Graecia and Sicily , such as Cumae and Rhegium , and on

1856-462: The 880s and its bishop is attested in the 869–70 Church council held at Constantinople . By the 12th century, the town featured a Venetian trading station, being attacked by the Venetian fleet in 1171 and eventually seized by Venice in 1209, in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade . For Westerners, its common name was Negropont or Negroponte. This name comes indirectly from the Greek name of

1920-620: The 8th century BC the increase in trade between the Chalkidian colonies in lower Italy and Sicily with the local populations resulted in the spread of the Chalkidic alphabet among the most ancient inhabitants of the peninsula. The Etruscans took this alphabet and appropriated it so that they too could express themselves in writing. Over the centuries the Romans renamed it 'Latin'.So today, at least eight letters of all Latin-derived languages are

1984-507: The Byzantine imperial Notitia Episcopatuum since emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-912). Several of its Greek bishops are recorded, but some are disputed : At the establishment of the crusader state Lordship of Negroponte , Chalcis or Negroponte (seat of the central one of its three 'triarchies' constituent baronies) became a Latin Church diocese , the first bishop being Theodorus,

Euboea - Misplaced Pages Continue

2048-543: The Greek bishop of the see, who entered communion with the see of Rome , installed by papal legate . On 8 February 1314, the Latin see was united in commendam (as an 'additional benefice') with the Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople , so that the exiled Patriarch, excluded from Constantinople itself since the Byzantine reconquest of the city, could have actual jurisdiction on Greek soil and exercise

2112-532: The Lebanon Valley, as well as another Chalkida in Arabia. Under Roman rule, Chalcis retained a measure of commercial prosperity within the province of Achaea (southern Greece). It is recorded as a city in the 6th-century Synecdemus and mentioned by the contemporary historian Procopius of Caesarea , who recorded that a movable bridge linked the two shores of the strait. In Byzantine times, Chalcis

2176-552: The battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium in 480 BC, Persian forces occupied Euboea along with Attica and Boeotia. Following their decisive defeat at the Battle of Plataea the following year, the Persians withdrew from all of their European possessions, including Euboea. Both cities gradually lost influence to Athens, which saw Euboea as a strategic territory. Euboea was an important source of grain and cattle , and controlling

2240-524: The cities of southern Euboea, excluding the town of Karystos which was inhabited solely by Greeks. According to Hahn, the Albanians numbered 25,000 in south Euboea, out of 72,368 total population of the island as a whole. The Greek inhabitants of south Euboea spoke a certain dialect related to Old Athenian . This dialect was spoken in Kymi, Avlonari, Konistres, Aliveri, Karystos and other places. Although

2304-645: The coast of Macedonia . This opened new trade routes to the Greeks , and extended the reach of Western Civilization. The commercial influence of these city-states is evident in the fact that the Euboic scale of weights and measures was used among the Ionic cities generally, and in Athens until the end of the 7th century BC, during the time of Solon . The classicist Barry B. Powell has proposed that Euboea may have been where

2368-458: The colonization with the establishment of many important cities in the West, but also in the Greek area. The first recorded settlement in the West, which paved the way for the 2nd Greek colonization, is Pithecusae on the island of Ischia, in front of Naples, from Chalcidians and Eretrians around 770 BC. The etymology of the toponym "Pithikousa" comes from the pithos (pitharia) that the first settlers had with them to transport their products. Because of

2432-450: The column capitals are Byzantine. The town is now connected to mainland Greece by two bridges, the "Sliding Bridge" in the west at the narrowest point of the Euripus Strait and a suspension bridge. The Euripus Strait which separates the city and the island from the mainland was bridged in 411 BC with a wooden bridge. In the time of Justinian the fixed bridge was replaced with a movable structure. The Turks replaced this once again with

2496-532: The early Hellenistic period to well into the Roman Imperial period , the island was organized into the Euboean League . Unlike much of Byzantine Greece , Euboea was spared the bulk of the barbarian raids during late antiquity and the early medieval period, due to its relatively isolated location. The Vandals raided its shores in 466 and in 475, but the island seems to have been left alone by

2560-603: The first Chalcidian settlers, the Romans initially called all Greeks "Chalcidians", as they were the first Greeks they came into contact with.A few years later, the Chalcidian Antimnestos founds Rigio in 730-720 BC. and Crataimenis' fellow-citizen Zagli (later Messina) in 730 BC, thus wanting to control the sea strait between Sicily and Italy, just as the Metropolis of Chalkida controlled the Euboean gulfs. In

2624-463: The former municipalities of Anthidona and Avlida are on the mainland, attached to the northeastern part of Boeotia . Skyros is an island by itself. Note : Provinces no longer hold any legal status in Greece . Chalcis Chalcis ( / ˈ k æ l s ɪ s / ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa : Χαλκίς , romanized : Chalkís ), also called Chalkida or Halkida ( Modern Greek : Χαλκίδα , pronounced [xalˈciða] ),

Euboea - Misplaced Pages Continue

2688-707: The height of their prosperity. This war was one of the first known major wars between ancient Greek cities and took pan-Hellenic dimensions as the warring Chalcidians and Eretrians allied themselves with other Greek cities. As Herodotus mentions, the Samians allied with the Chalcidians, while the Milesians allied with the Eretrians. The Thessalians also allied with the Chalcidians, a fact mentioned by Plutarch. The historical sources provide evidence for only one battle of

2752-599: The island by the Greek Resistance and British MI11 to Çeşme in neutral Turkey , thereby escaping the Holocaust in Greece . Euboea is linked to the mainland by two bridges, one that runs through Chalcis and is also accessible from Thebes , and another which bypasses Chalcis and is accessed from Athens. All of Euboea's modern bridges are suspended . In the 1980s, the Dystos lake was filled with grass which

2816-436: The island in 1435. These Albanians intermingled with the local Greeks of the island. A contemporary report (1687) notes that in 1471 Greeks had abandoned the island and by 1687 almost all of the island was inhabited by Albanians. This isn't corroborated in other reports so it likely presents a doubtful depiction of the demographic situation in the island. According to Johann Georg Von Hahn (1854), Albanians were present in all of

2880-470: The island meant Athens could prevent invasion and better protect its trade routes from piracy . Athens invaded Chalcis in 506 BC and settled 4,000 Attic Greeks on their lands. After this conflict, the whole of the island was gradually reduced to an Athenian dependency. Another struggle between Euboea and Athens broke out in 446. Led by Pericles , the Athenians subdued the revolt, and captured Histiaea in

2944-407: The island, Aidipsos , Chalcis, Porthmos (modern Aliveri ) and Karystos , and a number of other sites are known as bishoprics in the subsequent centuries ( Oreoi and Avlon ), although their urban character is unclear. In the 8th century, Euboea formed a distinct fiscal district ( dioikesis ), and then formed part of the theme of Hellas . In 1157 all the coastal towns of Euboea were destroyed by

3008-589: The island. The mining areas include magnesite in Mantoudi and Limni , lignite in Aliveri and iron and nickel from Dirfys . Marble is mined 3 km (2 mi) north of Eretria which include Marmor Chalcidicum and asbestos in the northeastern part of Carystus in the Okhi mountain . The trees include chestnuts . The island belongs to Euboea Prefecture which also includes two municipalities on

3072-589: The mainland, Anthidona and Avlida , as well as the island municipality of Skyros . At the 2001 census the prefecture had a population of 215,136 inhabitants, whereas the island itself had a population of 198,130. The prefecture's land area is 4,167.449 km (65 sq mi), whereas the total land area of the municipalities actually on the island is 3,684.848 km (264 sq mi), which includes that of numerous small offshore islets ( Petalioi ) near Euboea's southeastern tip. Euboea (regional unit) Euboea ( Greek : Περιφερειακή ενότητα Εύβοιας )

3136-483: The mainland, and to have been separated from it by an earthquake . This is fairly probable, because it lies in the neighbourhood of a fault line , and both Thucydides and Strabo write that the northern part of the island had been shaken at different periods. In the neighbourhood of Chalcis , both to the north and the south, the bays are so confined as to make plausible the story of Agamemnon 's fleet having been detained there by contrary winds. At Chalcis itself, where

3200-582: The name Negroponte remained current in European languages until the 19th century, the Turks themselves called the city and the island Eğriboz or Ağriboz after the Euripos Strait. Under Ottoman rule, Ağriboz was the seat of a sanjak that also encompassed much of Continental Greece . At the conclusion of the Greek War of Independence in 1830, the island returned to Greece and constituted a part of

3264-400: The newborn Greek state after the Greek War of Independence . The modern town received an impetus in its export trade from the establishment of railway connection with Athens and its port Piraeus in 1904. In the early 20th century it was composed of two parts—the old walled town at the bridge over the Euripus, where a number of Turkish families continued to live until the late 19th century, and

SECTION 50

#1732765660560

3328-508: The newly established independent Greek kingdom . In 1982, in the Greek-speaking village of Antia in southern Euboea, the entire population knew the local whistled language called sfyria (from the Greek word sfyrizo 'whistle'), but only a few whistlers remain in the 21st century. Sfyria is "a whistled version of spoken Greek, in which letters and syllables correspond to distinct tones and frequencies." Beginning in late 1943, 1,000 Greek Jews were smuggled from Thessaloniki and Athens via

3392-471: The north of the island for their own settlement. By 410 BC, during the Peloponnesian War , the island succeeded in regaining its independence. Euboea participated in Greek affairs until it fell under the control of Philip II of Macedon after the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. It was incorporated into the Roman Republic in the second century BC. Aristotle died on the island in 322 BC soon after fleeing Athens for his mother's family estate in Chalcis. From

3456-407: The north of the island, one of the largest forest fires in modern Greek history. The promontory of Canaeum, which lies opposite the Malian Gulf, together with the neighbouring coast of Trachis , was the scene of the events connected with the death of Heracles , as described by Sophocles in the Trachiniae . Based on the records of the 2nd century AD geographer Pausanias , it is suspected that

3520-425: The northeast and Ochi (1,394 m (4,573 ft)) in the south. The neighboring gulfs are the Pagasetic Gulf in the north, Malian Gulf , North Euboean Gulf in the west, the Euboic Sea and the Petalion Gulf . The Petalioi archipelago lies to the southwest, while the Monilia islands lie to the west. With a total land area of 3,684 km (1,422 sq mi), the island had a population of 198,130 at

3584-534: The other. A bridge was first constructed here in the twenty-first year of the Peloponnesian War (410 BC). Geography and nature divide the island itself into three distinct parts: the fertile and forested north (which suffered major damage in the August 2021 forest fires); the forested mountainous centre, with agriculture limited to the coastal valleys; and the barren south. The main mountains include Dirfi (1,743 m (5,719 ft)), Kantili (1,246 m (4,088 ft)), Pyxaria (1,341 m (4,400 ft)) in

3648-424: The peninsula of Chalcidice and several important cities in Magna Graecia and Sicily , such as Naxos , Rhegion , Zankle and Cumae . Its mineral produces, metal-work, purple , and pottery not only found markets among these settlements but were distributed over the Mediterranean in the ships of Corinth and Samos . The development of the city led consequently to the increase of the population and finally to

3712-401: The same as their ancient Euboic counterparts. They are C, D, F, P, R, S and X (pronounced ks). The transmission of the Chalkidic alphabet to the west is the most important cultural contribution of ancient Chalkida to the world culture. The Lelantine War was a war fought in the late 8th century BC. between the two powerful ancient states of Evia, Chalkida and Eretria, which at that time were at

3776-451: The strait is narrowest at only 40 m, it is called the Euripus Strait . The extraordinary changes of tide that take place in this passage have been a subject of note since classical times, and it was so feared by sailors that the principal line of traffic from the north of the Aegean to Athens used to bypass Chalcis and the Euboic Sea. At one moment the current runs like a river in one direction, and shortly afterwards with equal velocity in

3840-399: The strait, as strong tidal currents reverse direction once every six hours, creating strong currents and maelstroms. The municipality Chalcis was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of Chalcis city itself with four former municipalities, which also became municipal units: The municipality has an area of 424.766 km , the municipal unit 30.804 km . In 2003,

3904-399: The war, undoubtedly the last, with the reference point being the death of the Thessalian Amphidamandas, who was praised by Hesiod. In this battle the help from the Thessalian cavalry resulted in victory for Chalkida, by which it acquired the best agricultural district of Euboea and became the chief city of the island. Late in the 6th century BC, its prosperity was broken by a disastrous war with

SECTION 60

#1732765660560

3968-507: Was set on fire by farmers to make more farmland. This act caused devastation of much of the plants and the environment in that area. A part of the lake later regenerated. Also the municipalities of Anthidona and Avlida in the mid to late 20th century, which once were part of Boeotia , reverted to Chalcis. Since then, the postal codes have corresponded with the rest of Euboea, including Skyros. A week-long major forest fire in 2021 destroyed over 50,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land in

4032-435: Was usually called Euripos , a name also applied to the entire island of Euboea, although the ancient name survived in administrative and ecclesiastical usage until the 9th century; alternatively, it is possible that the name was given anew to a settlement that was founded in the 9th century in the location of the ancient city, after the latter had been abandoned in the early Middle Ages. The town survived an Arab naval raid in

4096-403: Was utterly ruined by the Persian armies. Eretria, Athens, and other Ionian Greek states had previously burned the Persian city of Sardis and participated in the Ionian revolution. After Eretria was destroyed, its inhabitants were transported as captives to Persia . Though it was restored nearby its original site after the Battle of Marathon , the city never regained its former eminence. Following

#559440