Istiaia ( el, Ιστιαία, , before 1913: Ξηροχώρι - ''Xirochori''EETAA
Local government changes ) is a town and a former municipality in

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. It was named after the ancient town Histiaea, which was mentioned by the ancient Greek poet

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a 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. Homer is considered one of the ...

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

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

Istiaia-Aidipsos Istiaia-Aidipsos ( el, Ιστιαία-Αιδηψός) is a municipality in the Euboea regional unit, Central Greece, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Istiaia. The municipality has an area of 509.204 km2. Municipality The mun ...

, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 181.299 km². At the 2011 census the population was 7,091 for the municipal unit and 5,522 for the community. The town is located in the northwestern end of the island Euboea, 5 km from the north coast, and north of the mountain Telethrio. It was the capital of

Istiaia Province Istiaia-Aidipsos ( el, Ιστιαία-Αιδηψός) is a municipality in the Euboea regional unit, Central Greece, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Istiaia. The municipality has an area of 509.204 km2. Municipality The muni ...

until its abolishment in 2006. Visitor attractions of Istiaia include the Museum of Natural History and the church of Agios Nikolaos.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Istiaia is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages and population at the 2011 census given in brackets): *Avgaria (pop. 96) *Galatsades (Galatsades, Kamatriades, pop. 148) *Galatsona (pop. 65) *Istiaia (Agios Georgios, Istiaia, Kanatadika,

Nea Sinasos Nea Sinasos (Greek: Νέα Σινασός) is a village in the northern part of the island of Euboea in Greece. It is situated northeast of Istiaia, on the road to Artemisio. It was founded in the mid-1920s by refugees originating from Sinasos (pr ...

, Neochori, pop. 5,522) *Kamaria (pop. 381) *Kokkinomilea (pop. 72) *Kryoneritis (pop. 189) *

Milies Milies ( el, Μηλιές) is a village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality South Pelion, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area o ...

(pop. 169) *Monokarya (Kato Monokarya, Monokarya, pop. 155) *Voutas (Voutas, Kyparissi, Simia, pop. 294)

Population history

History

Istiaia was named after the ancient town Histiaea, already mentioned by

in his ''

''. The old town was situated 2 km west of the present town. Archaeological findings from 2000 BC have been done, suggesting a settlement existed here in the

Middle Helladic Helladic chronology is a relative dating system used in archaeology and art history. It complements the Minoan chronology scheme devised by Sir Arthur Evans for the categorisation of Bronze Age artefacts from the Minoan civilization within a h ...

period. Near the ancient town, a new town was founded, named Xirochori. Its name was changed into Istiaia in 1913, after the ancient town Histiaea.

References

*''Drandakis Great Greek Encyclopedia'', Vol XIII, p. 268

External links

Official website for Istiaia-AidipsosIstiaia Radio Station

Touristic Directory for Northern Euboea
Populated places in Euboea {{CentralGreece-geo-stub