Akraifnio (), before 1933 known as Karditsa (),Name changes of settlements in Greece
/ref> is a village 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 ...

. It was the seat of the former municipality

Akraifnia Akraifnia () is a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece. It was established in 1997 from the former communities Akraifnio, Kastro, Boeotia, Kastro and Kokkino. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Orchomenus (Boeot ...

, which is a municipal unit of the municipality Orchomenos since the 2011 local government reform. Akraifnio is situated on the western edge of the Ptoo mountains, close to where the river Cephissus flows into

Lake Yliki Lake Yliki ( ''Yliki'', Ancient Greek: Ὑλίκη ''Hylike'', Latinised as ''Hylica'') is a large natural lake of Boeotia, central Greece. Situated 8 km north of Thebes at 78 m elevation, it has been an important source of drinking water for the ...

. It is 17 km northwest of Thebes. The A1 motorway (Athens-Thessaloniki) passes southwest of the village.

Population

History

Akraifnio was named after the ancient city Acraephia (). Acraephia or Acraephnium (Ἀκραίφνιον) was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

city ''(

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

)'' on the eastern shore of

Lake Copais Lake Copais, also spelled Kopais or Kopaida (; ), was a lake in the centre of Boeotia, Greece, west of Thebes. It was first drained in the Bronze Age, and drained again in the late 19th century. It is now flat dry land and is still known as Kop ...

(drained in the late 19th century) and at the foot of the Ptoo mountains. It was believed to have been founded by the mythical Acraepheus. The ruins are a short distance south from the modern village. When Alexander razed Thebes those who were too weak or old to move to Attica settled at Acraephia. Near the town there was a sanctuary to Acraephian or Ptoan Apollo with an

oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

. In the late Middle Ages, the site was occupied by the village of Karditsa. In the 13th–15th centuries, it was part of the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

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

, and in the first decades of the 14th century, it was the seat of the knight Antoine le Flamenc, reputed to be "the wisest man in the duchy", and his son, Jean. Antoine is buried in the Church of Saint George, which he built, and which carries an inscription commemorating his donation. The municipality Akraifnio, with its seat in the village Kokkino, was established in 1835. In 1912 it was split into the communities Topolia, Loukisia, Kokkino, Karditsa and Mouriki. The village and community Karditsa was renamed Akraifnio in 1933 after the ancient city. Akraifnio became part of the larger municipality

in 1997.

Landmarks and points of interests

*Pelagia Monastery (at 560 m above sea level), oldest parts dating from the 12th century *Sarakinos Cave, located at the edge of the Kopaida plains. Archaeological excavations have resulted in findings dating from the

Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

up to 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 his ...

Age.Ministry of Culture and Sports, Sarakinos Cave
/ref>

References

{{Orchomenos div Populated places in Boeotia Orchomenus (Boeotia)