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Amarynthos ( Greek: Αμάρυνθος, , also called Βάθεια ''Váthia''), is a coastal town and a former municipality in Euboea, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Eretria, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 109.909 km2. In 2011 its population was 3,672 for the town and 6,723 for the municipal unit. The Amarynthos is 8 km east of Eretria, 27 km southeast of
Chalcis 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 ...
, 63 km northwest of Karystos and 10 km north of
Kalamos Kalamos ( grc, Κάλαμος, lit=reed, reed pen; la, Calamus) is a Greek mythological figure. He is son of Maiandros, the god of the Maeander river. Mythology A story in Nonnus's ''Dionysiaca'' tells about the love of two youths, Kalamos and K ...
, across the gulf. The Greek National Road 44 ( Thebes - Chalcis - Karystos) passes through the town.


History

The area of Amarynthos, along with the region of Eretria, has a long and rich history. Many scientists place Eretria of the Mycenaean period in the location of the present town of Amarynthos. The archaeological artifacts testify a permanent settlement in this location since the Late Neolithic period, around
3000 BC The 30th century BC was a century that lasted from the year 3000 BC to 2901 BC. Events * Before 3000 BC: An image of a deity (detail from a cong) recovered from Tomb 12 in Fanshan, Yuyao, Zhejiang, is made during the Neolithic period by the Li ...
, which was one of the most important Helladic settlements and a significant port on the island of Euboea, during the Early Bronze Age. It had built its own trade with the Aegean Islands, concluded from the findings of Cycladic art in the region. During the Middle Helladic period, Amarynthos had developed its trade with mainland Greece and produced magnificent pieces of the Minyean art, while in the Late Helladic period it was one of the main areas of Euboea. During the
2nd millennium BC The 2nd millennium BC spanned the years 2000 BC to 1001 BC. In the Ancient Near East, it marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. The Ancient Near Eastern cultures are well within the historical era: The first half of the mil ...
, the Ionians arrived in the southern parts of Greece and settled Euboea, while the name of Amarynthos is mentioned in clay tablets with inscriptions in the
Linear B Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...
script. Apart from the trade, the locals also occupied with agriculture, pastoralism, fishing and copper processing. In ancient times, there was a festival in Amarynthos called "Amarýnthia", dedicated to Amarysia Artemis, who was worshipped as the patron goddess of Amarynthos and whose shrine was located in the plain of the region, being one of the most important in Central Greece. Parts of it were excavated between 1987 and 1992, hosted now at the Museum of Eretria. In Greek mythology, Amarynthos was a man from Eretria who usually ran after Artemis because of his love for her, and his name was given to the town. Pausanias in his ''Description of Greece'', mentions, along with Amarynthos, a town in Attica called Athmonia, where the
Athenians 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 a ...
also celebrated Amarysia Artemis in a festival as splendid as the one in Amarynthos
1.31.5
. Callimachus says that in Amarynthos, Artemis was worshipped as hornless (kolainis), because Agamemnon sacrificed to her a hornless ram made of wax, while Claudius Aelianus refers to the Eretrians who maimed animals to Artemis at Amarynthos.
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
, in the ''
Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen ...
'', locates the village of Amarynthos seven stadia distant from the walls of Eretria, to which the village belongs
10.1.10
. Amarynthos, like the whole of Euboea, was later ruled by the Macedonians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Venetians and the
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
until it joined the modern Greek state around 1830. After the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22) and the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the arrival of Greek refugees from Asia Minor in Euboea, many of which settled in Amarynthos, boosted the population of the town. In World War II, the Nazi Germany's troops burnt parts of the town.


Geography

The municipal unit Amarynthos is located in Central Euboea and stretches from the coast of the South Euboean Gulf into the mountainous inland. The area near the coast, around the town Amarynthos, is relatively flat and consists of farmlands. The Euboean
Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Les ...
overlooks the town, situated 10 km north of it. Amarynthos has a beach and several hotels, restaurants, bars and taverns can be found in the town. Amarynthos has several schools and shops, while the nearest hospital is in Chalcis.


Culture

Worth visiting in Amarynthos are the Byzantine churches of "Koimisi tis Theotokou" (κοίμηση της Θεοτόκου), "Metamorphosi tou Sotiros" (μεταμόρφωση του Σωτήρος) and "Zoodochos Pigi" (Ζωοδόχος πηγή), while to the northeast of the town there is the Byzantine monastery of "Agios Nikolaos" (άγιος Νικόλαος), with wall paintings of the 12th century. A
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...
tomb dating from the 4th century BC has been excavated in 1897 one kilometre outside of Amarynthos in a location called Vlychos. There is a 14th-century church named "Panagitsa" (Παναγίτσα) close to Ano Vatheia, and the famous "Skoteini Cave" (Σκοτεινή σπηλιά) located on a cliff 1.5 kilometre outside of the village Tharounia. Many new ancient monuments are revieled every year thanks to the escavations of the Swiss School of Archeology.


Subdivisions

The municipal unit Amarynthos is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets): *Amarynthos (Amarynthos, Galazia Nera) *Ano Vatheia (Ano Vatheia, Koukaki) *Gymno (Gymno, Metamorfosi) *Kallithea * Seta (Seta, Kato Seta)


Historical population


References


Notes


External links


Official WebsiteEuboea prefectural councilAmarynthos at e-city.gr
{{Subdivisions of the municipality of Eretria Cities in ancient Greece Ancient Euboea Populated places in Euboea