Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional

geographic region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

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 ...

. In English, the area is usually called Central Greece, but the equivalent Greek term (Κεντρική Ελλάδα, ''Kentrikí Elláda'') is more rarely used. It includes the southern part of the Greek mainland (sans the Peloponnese), as well as the offshore island of

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 ...

. Since 1987, its territory has been divided among the administrative regions of Central Greece and

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean S ...

, and the regional unit (former prefecture) of

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania ( el, Αιτωλοακαρνανία, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic region of Central Greece and the administrative region of West Greece. A combination of the histor ...

in the administrative region of

Western Greece Western Greece Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Δυτικής Ελλάδας, translit=Periféria Dhitikís Elládhas, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It comprises the western part of continental Greece and the north ...

Etymology

The region has traditionally been known as ''Roúmeli'' (Ρούμελη), a name deriving from the Turkish word '' Rūm-eli'', meaning "the land of the

Rūm Rūm ( ar, روم , collective; singulative: Rūmī ; plural: Arwām ; fa, روم Rum or Rumiyān, singular Rumi; tr, Rûm or , singular ), also romanized as ''Roum'', is a derivative of the Aramaic (''rhπmÈ'') and Parthian (''frwm'') ...

he_Romans,_i.e._the_Byzantine_Greeks.html" ;"title="Byzantine_Greeks.html" ;"title="he Romans, i.e. the Byzantine Greeks">he Romans, i.e. the Byzantine Greeks">Byzantine_Greeks.html" ;"title="he Romans, i.e. the Byzantine Greeks">he Romans, i.e. the Byzantine Greeks and originally encompassing all of the Ottoman Empire's European possessions. The official name ''Stereá Elláda'' ("Continental" or "Mainland" Greece), derives from the juxtaposition with the Peloponnese peninsula across the Corinthian Gulf, and the fact that these two territories formed the independent

First Hellenic Republic The First Hellenic Republic ( grc-gre, Αʹ Ελληνική Δημοκρατία) was the provisional Greece, Greek state during the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. From 1822 until 1827, it was known as the Provisional Ad ...

after the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829).

Geography

Central Greece is the most populous geographical region of Greece, with a population of 4,591,568 people, and covers an area of , making it the second-largest of the country. It is located to the north of the Peloponnese and to the south of

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

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

, bordering the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

to the east, the Ionian Sea to the west and the Corinthian Gulf to the south. Its climate is temperate along its coastlines, and dry in the interior.

Mountains

The region is one of the most mountainous in Greece, having some of the highest elevations in the country.

Lakes

Central Greece also has some of the largest lakes in Greece; among the most important is Mornos lake in

Phocis Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc, Φωκίς) 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 Var ...

, which supplies water to Phocis, parts 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 ...

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

, and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

as well.

Rivers

Some important and well-known rivers of Central Greece are the Acheloos in

, which is the second longest of the country, the Spercheios in

, the Evenus in Aetolia-Acarnania, and the Mornos in

Cities

The principal cities of the region of Central Greece according to the census of 2001 are: *

*:3,130,841 (Athens urban area) *::3,761,810 (Athens metropolitan area) *

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 ...

:58,601 *

Agrinio Agrinio ( Greek: Αγρίνιο, , Latin: ''Agrinium'') is the largest city of the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit of Greece and its largest municipality, with 106,053 inhabitants. It is the economical center of Aetolia-Acarnania, although its c ...

:57,147 * Chalkida :53,584 * Thebes :21,211 * Livadeia :20,061

Culture

Roumelian music and dances

Roumelian dances tend to be slow and controlled. The clarinet is the main instrument in this region. The main dances of this region are ''

tsamiko The Tsamikos ( el, Τσάμικος, ''Tsamikos'') or Kleftikos ( el, Κλέφτικος) is a popular traditional folk dance of Greece, done to music of 3/4 meter. The dance The dance follows a strict and slow tempo not emphasising on the st ...

s'' (in which the leader performs energetic leaps) and ''kleftiko'', both influenced by the

Arvanites Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settl ...

of the region.

Gallery

File:Delphi-2.jpg, The Athenian Treasury in Delphi File:Livadeia general.jpg, Livadeia File:Galaxidi-2.jpg, Galaxidi File:Strandpromenade Chalkida.jpg,

Chalkis Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

File:20090803 hosiosloukas36.jpg, Hosios Loukas File:Fustanella Central Greece.JPG,

Fustanella Fustanella (for spelling in various languages, see chart below) is a traditional pleated skirt-like garment that is also referred to as a kilt worn by men of many nations in the Balkans (Southeast Europe). In modern times, the fustanella is par ...

from central Greece

External links

ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ - ΠΕΡΙΦΕΡΕΙΑ ΣΤΕΡΕΑΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ
{{Authority control Central Greece Traditional geographic divisions of Greece