Lamia ( el, Λαμία, ''Lamía'', ) is a city in central Greece. The city dates back to antiquity, and is today the capital of the regional unit of

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

and of the Central Greece region (comprising five regional units). According to the 2011 census, the Municipality of Lamia has a population of 75.315 while Lamia itself a population of 52,006 inhabitants. The city is located on the slopes of

Mount Othrys Mount Othrys ( el, όρος Όθρυς – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central Greece, in the northeastern part of Phthiotis and southern part of Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on ...

, near the river Spercheios. It serves as the agricultural center of a fertile rural and livestock area.

Name

One account says that the city was named after the mythological figure of

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

, the daughter of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

and queen of the Trachineans. Another holds that it is named after the Malians, the inhabitants of the surrounding area. In the Middle Ages, Lamia was called Zetounion (Ζητούνιον), a name first encountered in the 8th Ecumenical Council in 869. It was known as Girton under Frankish rule following the Fourth Crusade and later El Citó when it was controlled by the

Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (Spanish: ''Compañía Catalana'', Catalan: ''Gran Companyia Catalana'', Latin: ''Exercitus francorum'', ''Societas exercitus catalanorum'', ''Societas cathalanorum'', ''Magna Societas Catalanorum' ...

of mercenaries. In Turkish, it was sometimes called İzdin or İzzeddin. The city was also known as Zeitoun.

History

Archaeological excavations have shown the site of Lamia to have been inhabited since at least the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

(3rd millennium BC). In antiquity, the city played an important role due to its strategic location, controlling the narrow coastal plain above

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...

that connected southern Greece with

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

and the rest of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. The city formed a

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

(city-state). The city was therefore fortified in the 5th century BC, and was contested by the Macedonians, Thessalians and Aetolians until the Roman conquest in the early 2nd century BC. After

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

's death in 323 BC, the Athenians and other Greeks rebelled against Macedonian overlordship.

Antipatros Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collaps ...

, the regent of Macedon, took refuge behind the substantial walls of the city (

Lamian War The Lamian War, or the Hellenic War (323–322 BC) was fought by a coalition of cities including Athens and the Aetolian League against Macedon and its ally Boeotia. The war broke out after the death of the King of Macedon, Alexander the Great, ...

, 323–322 BC). The war ended with the death of the Athenian general Leosthenes, and the arrival of a 20,000-strong

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

ian army. Lamia prospered afterwards, especially in the 3rd century BC under Aetolian hegemony, which came to an end when Manius Acilius Glabrio sacked the city in 190 BC. Little is known of the city's history after. In

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

, the city was the seat of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

(attested since 431), suffragan of Larissa, but had declined to obscurity: for instance, it is not shown on the 5th-century ''

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

''. Some archaeological remains from the period have been found in the Castle (the city's ancient acropolis), including a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

, coins and marble inscriptions, while the walls of the Castle are thought to have been rebuilt under

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renova ...

in the 6th century. The '' Synecdemus'' of Hierocles includes Lamia among the 16 cities of the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Thessaly. The city was occupied by Slavs in the 7th century, and re-appears only in 869/70 under the name of ''Zetounion'' (Ζητοῦνιον), probably deriving from a Slavic word for "grain". The city played once more a role in the

Byzantine–Bulgarian wars The Byzantine–Bulgarian wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Byzantines and Bulgarians which began when the Bulgars first settled in the Balkan peninsula in the 5th century, and intensified with the expansion of the Bulgarian Em ...

of the late 10th century due to its vicinity to Thermopylae: it was near the town that the Byzantine general Nikephoros Ouranos scored a crushing victory over Tsar

Samuel of Bulgaria Samuel (also Samuil; bg, Самуил, ; mk, Самоил/Самуил, ; Old Church Slavonic: Самоилъ; died October 6, 1014) was the Tsar (''Emperor'') of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 977 to 997, he was a ...

in the Battle of Spercheios in 997. The city was visited by Emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

in his triumphal journey to Greece in 1018, and in 1165, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela recorded 50 Jewish families in the city and of raids by the neighbouring

Vlachs "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...

. Following the Fourth Crusade (1204), the city was captured by the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

crusaders. Initially, it was given as a fief to the Knights Templar, who rebuilt its fortress. In 1209–10 the Templars were evicted due to their support to the rebellion of the Lombard barons of the

Kingdom of Thessalonica The Kingdom of Thessalonica () was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over conquered Byzantine lands in Macedonia and Thessaly. History Background After the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders in 1204, Bonif ...

. The Latin Emperor

Henry of Flanders Henry (c.1178 – 11 June 1216) was Latin emperor of Constantinople from 1205 until his death in 1216. He was one of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade in which the Byzantine Empire was conquered and Latin Empire formed. Life Henry was born i ...

confiscated the city (and neighbouring Ravennika) and made it an imperial domain under a ''

bailli A bailiff (french: bailli, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in h ...

'', possibly Rainerio of Travale. Under Frankish rule, it was the seat of a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

bishop (''Dioecesis Sidoniensis'' or ''Cythoniensis''), probably a suffragan of the Latin Archbishop of Neopatras. In , or shortly after 1223, the two towns were captured by the Epirote Greeks. Lamia remained in Greek hands until it was surrendered again to the Franks of the

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of th ...

in 1275 as part of the dowry of Helena Angelina Komnene, daughter of

John I Doukas John I Doukas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Δούκας, Iōánnēs Doúkas), Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Thessaly from to his own ...

, ruler of Thessaly. It thereby again became a Catholic see. The

Catalans Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citize ...

held the city from 1318 until 1391, when it passed to the Acciaioli Dukes of Athens. The fortress was razed by the Ottoman Sultan

Bayezid I Bayezid I ( ota, بايزيد اول, tr, I. Bayezid), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt ( ota, link=no, یلدیرم بايزيد, tr, Yıldırım Bayezid, link=no; – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He adopted ...

in 1394. After the disastrous

Battle of Ankara The Battle of Ankara or Angora was fought on 20 July 1402 at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and the Emir of the Timurid Empire, Timur. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to the ...

in 1402, the weakened Ottomans were forced to return some territories, including the region of Zetounion, to Byzantine rule. The Turks besieged the city for two years sometime before 1415, but the Byzantines resisted successfully. Sometime between 1424 and July 1426, however, the city had been once more conquered by the Turks. Apart from an attack by the troops of the

Despotate of the Morea The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...

in 1444, which plundered the city, from then on the town remained under firm Ottoman control until it became part of the newly independent

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label= Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, wh ...

in 1832. Until the annexation of Thessaly in 1881, it was a border city (the borders were drawn at a site known as "Taratsa" just north of Lamia).

Climate

Lamia has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

. It has 4 seasons; winter, spring, summer and autumn. Cold period lasts from late November to mid March and warm from mid April to late October. The record lowest temperature ever in Lamia is -13 °C (2001) and the record highest is 46.5 °C (1973). These are the following record highs yearly in °C: 24 (Jan), 25 (Feb), 33 (Mar), 33 (Apr), 40 (May), 45 (Jun), 47 (Jul), 46 (Aug), 41 (Sep), 38 (Oct), 30 (Nov), 26 (Dec). The most pleasant period is from April to end June and also on September to late October.

Landmarks

* Lamia Castle, the city's fortified Acropolis *Platia Eleftherias (Freedom Square) - site of the towns independence day parade, and main cathedral. Also has many cafes with outdoor seating. *Platia Diakou (Diakos Square) - square containing the statue of

Athanasios Diakos Athanasios Nikolaos Massavetas ( el, Αθανάσιος Νικόλαος Μασσαβέτας; 1788 – 24 April 1821) also known as Athanasios Diakos ( el, Αθανάσιος Διάκος) was a Greek military commander during the Greek War of ...

*Platia Parkou (Park Square) *Platia Laou (People's Square) - square featuring the statue of

Aris Velouchiotis Athanasios Klaras ( el, Αθανάσιος Κλάρας; August 27, 1905 – June 15, 1945), better known by the ''nom de guerre'' Aris Velouchiotis ( el, Άρης Βελουχιώτης), was a Greek journalist, politician, member of the Commun ...

Municipality

The municipality Lamia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units: *

Gorgopotamos Gorgopotamos ( el, Γοργοπόταμος) is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lamia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an are ...

*Lamia *

Leianokladi Leianokladi ( el, Λειανοκλάδι) is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea ...

(Lianokladi) *

Pavliani Pavliani ( el, Παύλιανη) is a village on Mount Oeta, and a former community in Phthiotis, Greece. It is divided into two settlements, Pavliani proper or Ano Pavliani (Άνω Παύλιανη) and Nea Pavliani (Νέα Παύλιανη) or Ka ...

Ypati Ypati ( el, Υπάτη) is a village and a former municipality in Phthiotis, central peninsular Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Lamia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an a ...

The municipality has an area of 947.006 km², the municipal unit 413.482 km².

Education

Six departments of the

University of Thessaly The University of Thessaly (UTH; Greek: ) is a public university in Thessaly, Greece, founded in 1984. The university includes the main campus in the city of Volos and regional campuses located in Karditsa, Larissa, Trikala, and the city of Lamia. ...

based in the city.

Historical population

Notable people

(1788–1821) Greek military commander during the Greek War of Independence, died in Lamia * Dimitrios Giatzis (1891–1964) Army officer * Ioannis Paparrodou (1904–1941) Army Officer *

(''nom de guerre'' of Athanasios Klaras) (1905–1945), leader of the World War II guerrilla resistance ( Greek People's Liberation Army) * Ilias Tsirimokos (1907–1968) politician, former Prime Minister of Greece * Thanos Leivaditis (1934–2005) actor and screenwriter *

Dimitris Koutsoumpas Dimitris Koutsoumpas ( el, Δημήτρης Κουτσούμπας, ; born 10 August 1955) is a Greek communist politician and MP who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece since 14 April 2013. Political career Dimitri ...

(1955) General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece * Niki Bakoyianni (1968) high jumper (Olympic silver medalist) * Christos Staikouras (1973) economist, politician,

New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinc ...

's Coordinator of Economic Affairs, Minister of Finance * (1984) actress

International relations

Lamia is twinned with: *

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...

, Poland *

Chioggia Chioggia (; vec, Cióxa , locally ; la, Clodia) is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the L ...

, Italy *

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...

, Greece * Paphos, Cyprus

Sporting teams

Lamia has some sport clubs that play in the higher national divisions. For a period of one season, Lamia hosted the Athenian basketball club Panellinios B.C. The main clubs of Lamia are shown below.

Gallery

File:Lamia and Thermopylae, by Louis Dupré - 1827.jpg, Lamia and

by Louis Dupré, 1827 File:Lamia01.JPG, Panoramic view File:Lamia young Dionisos.jpg, Young

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

statue, AM of Lamia File:Οικία Μίχου Λαμία.jpg, Michou mansion File:Gorgopotamos Bridge 16.jpg, Gorgopotamos Bridge near Lamia File:Νεοκλασικό Ελασσώνα Λαμία.jpg, Elassona mansion File:Μέγαρο Περιφέρειας Λαμία.jpg, Mansion of the Central Greece Administration File:Δικαστήριο Λαμία.jpg, The courthouse

References

Sources

* * * *Πάλλης, Γιώργος (2020). ''Από τη Λαμία στο Ζητούνι: Ανασυνθέτοντας μια μικρή βυζαντινή πόλη''. Αθήνα: Gutenberg. .

External links

Municipality of Lamia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamia (City) Greek prefectural capitals Greek regional capitals Municipalities of Central Greece Cities in ancient Greece Catholic titular sees in Europe Medieval sites in Central Greece Achaea Phthiotis Populated places in ancient Thessaly Thessalian city-states Populated places in Phthiotis