Amfilochia () is a town and a municipality in the northwestern part of

Aetolia-Acarnania Aetolia-Acarnania (, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece and the administrative regions of Greece, ...

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 ...

, on the site of

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

Amfilochia. Under the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, it was known as Karvasaras (Καρβασαράς; from ''

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

''). Amfilochia is situated by the

Ambracian Gulf The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf (), is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece. About long and wide, it is one of the largest enclosed gulfs ...

and features an amphitheatre. Amfilochia dates back to the ancient times and also features the ancient cities of

Amphilochian Argos Amphilochian Argos (, ) was the chief town of ancient Amphilochia, situated at the eastern extremity of the Ambraciot Gulf, on the river Inachus. Its territory was called Argeia (Ἀργεία). Foundation legend Its inhabitants laid claim to th ...

and Limnaia (or Limnaea).

History

According to Pausanias, the settlement is named after king Amphilochos, son of

Amphiaraus Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιάραος, Ἀμφιάρεως, "very sacred") was in Greek mythology the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Adr ...

. After the fall of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, Amphilochos settled in the area, which consequently was called Amphilochoi until the time of Pausanias. Under the Ottoman Empire,

Ali Pasha of Ioannina Ali Pasha (1740 – 24 January 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Yanina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a ...

, forcibly relocated residents of another village to the current location of the town and established a motel (''serai'' in Turkish) to serve passing caravans. This was how the name Karvasaras came up. In July 1944 a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

took place in the town between ELAS of the Greek Resistance against the occupation forces and their local collaborators, that resulted in victory for the Resistance.

Municipality

The municipality Amfilochia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 3 former municipalities, that became municipal units: *Amfilochia * Inachos * Menidi The municipality has an area of 1090.991 km², the municipal unit 397.879 km².

Subdivisions

The municipal unit of Amfilochia is divided into the following communities: *Amfilochia (Amfilochia, Boukka, Limnaia and Platos) *Ampelaki (Ampelaki, Amfilochiko Argos, Ariada, Kampos and Keramidi) *Anoixiatiko (Anoixiatiko, Agia Triada, Katafourko, Mavrorachi, Moni Retha, Xirolivado, Petralona, Profitis Ilia, Ptelea, Skreiko, Triantafylloula, Tsoukka, Psila Alonia) *Kechrinia (Kechrinia, Agioi Theodoroi, Kanalos, Kompothekla, Makrychoria, Falangias) * Loutro (Loutro, Krikellos, Xirakia) *Megas Kampos *Sardinia (Sardinia, Kalyvia) * Sparto (Sparto, Pigadaki, Tria Alonia) *Stanos * Varetada

Population

Transport

Amfilochia has a port which is sometimes used for the import of grain. It is linked with the GR-5 ( E55 and E951, Antirrio - Messolonghi - Ioannina) and is also traversed by the GR-42 that serves

Vonitsa Vonitsa () is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa. The beach town is situated on the south coast of the Ambracian Gulf, and is dominated by a Venetian fortress on a hill. Von ...

Preveza Preveza (, ) is a city in the region of Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula of the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the Preveza (regional unit), regional unit of Preveza, which is the s ...

and the island of

Lefkada Lefkada (, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island in the Ionian Sea on the ...

. Amfilochia is linked with the

Ionia Odos The A5 motorway, also known as the Ionia Odos (),
(FEK AAP' 253/21.12.2015, pp. 2098–2099). i ...

, a toll road that bypasses the town itself. Amfilochia is not linked with a railway.

Notable people

* Kyriakos Sfetsas (born 1945), composer * Nikolaos Stratos (1872–1922), politician and Prime Minister of Greece *

Andreas Stratos Andreas N. Stratos (; 1905 – 30 August 1981) was a Greece, Greek lawyer, politician and historian. The son of Prime Minister of Greece Nikolaos Stratos, he was elected a member of the Hellenic Parliament continuously from 1932 to 1961, serving fi ...

(1905–1981), politician and historian *

Vlasios Tsirogiannis Vlasios Tsirogiannis (, 1872–1928) was a Hellenic Army officer who rose to the rank of Lieutenant General. Life Vlasios Tsirogiannis was born on 1 January 1872 in Karvasaras (modern Amfilochia). He enlisted in the Hellenic Army as a volunteer ...

, military officer

References

External links

Municipality of Amfilochia
Municipalities of Western Greece Populated places in Aetolia-Acarnania Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Acarnania {{WGreece-geo-stub