Davleia (Greek: Δαύλεια) is a village and a former municipality in

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Livadeia Livadeia ( ''Livadiá'', ; or , ''Lebadia'') is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia Regional units of Greece, regional district. Livadeia lies north-west of Athens, west of Chalkida, south-east of Lamia (city), Lamia, ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. Its name comes from the ancient settlement

Daulis Daulis (), at a later time Daulia (Δαυλία), and also Daulium or Daulion (Δαύλιον), was a town of ancient Phocis, near the frontiers of Boeotia, and on the road from Orchomenus and Chaeroneia to Delphi. Overview It is said to have ...

. The municipal unit has an area of 94.985 km², the community 61.725 km². The municipality includes the eastern portion of Mount Parnassos.

Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

lies to the north. Davleia is located ESE of Lamia, SW of Kamena Vourla, W of

and Thiva, NE of Itea and E of

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

Modern population

History

Ancient

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, this city in

Phocis Phocis (; ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...

was called Daulis (Δαυλίς) and at a later stage Daulia (Δαυλία) and Daulion (Δαύλιον). Mentioned by

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, it was said to be named either in reference to the woody character of the area or after a

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, a daughter of the river-god Cephissus. In

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Daulis was the hometown of

Tereus In Greek mythology, Tereus (; Ancient Greek: Τηρεύς) was a Thracian king,Thucydides: ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' 2:29 the son of Ares and the naiad Bistonis. He was the brother of Dryas. Tereus was the husband of the Athenian pr ...

. Daulis was the city at the end of the road not taken by

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

. During the

Greco-Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Polis, Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world ...

, Daulis was destroyed for the first time in 480 BC. In 395 BC, the city was attacked by Thebes. In 346 BC, Daulis was destroyed again during the so-called

Third Sacred War The Third Sacred War ( 356– 346 BC) was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a large fine imposed in 35 ...

. In 220 BC, the city was attacked by the Aetolians. In 198 BC, the Romans occupied Daulis by a stratagem. In

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

, Daulia was a seat of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and is now a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Remains of the walls of the city's acropolis can be seen today above the modern town.

Modern

The settlement is mentioned by Frankish documents of the last years of Latin rule in Central Greece as Daulia while a few years later, specifically in 1466, it is recorded in an Ottoman settlement as Tavla, having a population of 150 families. A few decades later (1506) another Ottoman census records 220 families in Davlia. The fighter of the Greek Revolution, Panagiotis Antonopoulos, was born in Davlia. The inhabitants of Davlia took an active part in the revolution of 1821, while the place became several times a field of conflict between the Greek revolutionaries and the Ottoman troops. In 1856, gunmen from Davlia took part in the operation to exterminate the gang of the robber Davelis. During the period of the National Divide , on January 29, 1918, a clash took place between a gendarmerie detachment and a force of local anti-Venezuelan armed forces consisting of Epistratos and soldiers who had lost their lives. Five Cretan gendarmes and an officer were killed during the battle. On February 12 of the same year, following a military court ruling, six people (two soldiers and four civilians) were executed at the scene of the conflict and found guilty of killing gendarmes. On 5 May 1943, the settlement was set on fire by a detachment of the Italian Occupation forces, while on 21 October 1948, the DSE captain Pantelis Laskas (Pelopidas) was killed in an ambush by the National Guard and the gendarmerie. Dionysis Charitopoulos, Aris the leader of the rioters , Greek Letters, Athens 2003, p. 778.

Sights

The fortifications of the ancient city and some other buildings are preserved in good condition. Sights of the area are the nunnery "Holy Monastery of Jerusalem" located a little north of Davlia and the ruins of the church of Agios Theodoros in the castle. Near Davlia, Greek mythology places the point where Oedipus , on his way to Delphi , killed his father Laius.

Sport

In the settlement is located the football club A.P.O. Pandavliakos, which was founded in 1936.

Transport

Road

National Road 3 passes near the village connecting it with Livadia, Lamia and other cities of mainland Greece.

Rail

The village is served by Davleia railway station, situated north of the settlement on the Athens-Leianokladi railway with regional services to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and Leianokladi.

References

External links

Local website
{{Livadeia div Populated places in Boeotia Livadeia Cities in ancient Greece Former populated places in Greece Daulia