Cyme (Euboea)
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Kymi (
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
: , ) is a coastal town and a former municipality (6,706 inhabitants in 2021) in the island of
Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...
,
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 ...
, named after an ancient Greek town of the same name. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Kymi-Aliveri Kymi-Aliveri () is a municipality in the Euboea regional unit, Central Greece, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Aliveri. The municipal unit has an area of 804.983 km2. Municipality The municipality Kymi-Aliveri was formed at the ...
, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 167.616 km2.


History

The ancient Euboean Kyme is mentioned as a harbor town related to the more prominent ''
poleis 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 ...
'' of
Chalkis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved fro ...
and
Eretria Eretria (; , , , , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th century BC, mentioned by many famous writers ...
in antiquity. Together with these, it is sometimes named as the founding ''metropolis'' of the homonymous Kymē (Cumae) in Italy, an important early Euboean colony, which was probably named after it. According to
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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
,
Hippocles of Cyme Hippocles of Cyme (in Greek: ''Ιπποκλής ο Κυμαίος'') was an ancient Greek '' oecist'' from Cyme in Euboea. As Strabo narrates, he, along with Megasthenes of Chalcis, undertook the task of creating a new colony A colony is a ...
, an ancient Greek
oecist The ''oikistes'' (), often anglicized as oekist or oecist, was the individual chosen by an ancient Greek polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern u ...
, was from here. He, along with Megasthenes of Chalcis, founded the colony near the area where then Rome flourished. This new colony contributed its
Euboean alphabet Many local variants of the Greek alphabet were employed in ancient Greece during the archaic and early classical periods, until around 400 BC, when they were replaced by the classical 24-letter alphabet that is the standard today. All forms ...
to the culture of the area, which subsequently became the
Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is the collection of letters originally used by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered except several letters splitting—i.e. from , and from â ...
. There are few relevant archaeological traces in the area and its exact location is not known. A
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
settlement has been excavated in nearby Mourteri. Some modern authors believe that Kyme never existed as an independent ''polis'' in historical times but that it was a mere village dependent on either Chalkis or Eretria. In a woodcut map of Euboea of 1528, by
Benedetto Bordone Benedetto Bordone (died 1531) was a Venetian manuscript editor, Portrait miniature, miniaturist and cartographer. He was born in Padua, then part of the Republic of Venice. His date of birth is unknown but his parents were married in Padua in 144 ...
, it is mentioned as Chimi.


Geography

It is located on a hilltop near the shores, on the Aegean side of the Euboea island. It has its own port, down from the hilltop, serving a line to Skyros island and some commercial traffic. Ortari mountain is located northwest of Kymi.


Attractions

Kymi is a small town and the surrounding region overlooks the Aegean Sea. Due to its vantage point, Kymi is sometimes called "The Balcony of the Aegean". Kymi has one of the largest man-made ports in the country and serves as a transportation hub for the eastern Aegean Islands and northern Greece. The city Kymi is considered the greenest of Greece in terms of native vegetation and is second all in clean sand beaches. There are numerous tourist and sightseeing attractions, such as the house of the noted pathologist and researcher George Papanicolaou, inventor of the
Pap smear The Papanicolaou test (abbreviated as Pap test, also known as Pap smear (AE), cervical smear (BE), cervical screening (BE), or smear test (BE)) is a method of cervical screening used to detect potentially precancerous and cancerous processes in ...
, the Folklore Museum of Kymi, the Monastery of the Transfiguration, three small Byzantine churches in Oxilithos, the Archaeological Collection and the Archaeological Sites, and a ruined Venetian tower in San handkerchief etc. The most well known agricultural products produced in Kymi are figs, cherries and olive oil. Local specialties include the "cocoon display," handicrafts made from cocoons, and sweets such as baklava and almond.


Notable people

*
Georgios Papanikolaou Georgios Nikolaou Papanikolaou (or George Papanicolaou ; ; 13 May 1883 – 19 February 1962) was a Greek physician, zoologist and microscopist who was a pioneer in cytopathology and early cancer detection, and inventor of the pap smear for d ...
(1883–1962), physician, pioneer in cytology and early cancer detection, and inventor of the
pap test The Papanicolaou test (abbreviated as Pap test, also known as Pap smear (AE), cervical smear (BE), cervical screening (BE), or smear test (BE)) is a method of cervical screening used to detect potentially precancerous and cancerous processes i ...
for
cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix or in any layer of the wall of the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that can invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later sympt ...
* Nikolaos Pappas (1930–2013), Admiral and commander of the destroyer , mutinied in 1973 in protest against the
Regime of the Colonels In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...
, later Chief of the Greek Navy and government minister * Ioannis Velissariou (1861–1913), Major and
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
military hero


Climate


Transportation

The road network in the Kymi region is quite underdeveloped. There is only one major road (regional road) connecting the city of Kymi with Chania Avlonariou (a part of Avlonari),
Aliveri Aliveri () is a town and a community in the island of Evvoia, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit Tamyneoi, and the seat of the municipality Kymi-Aliveri. Aliveri is situated in the central part of the island, on the South Euboean Gulf. I ...
and from there to the
Greek National Road 44 National Road 44 (, abbreviated as EO44) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects Thebes with Karystos on southern Euboea, via Chalcis and Eretria. The total length of the GR-44 is nearly 160 km. The highway lies in the ...
towards
Chalkis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved fro ...
and
Karystos Karystos () or Carystus is a small coastal town on the Greek island of Euboea. It has about 5,000 inhabitants (12,000 in the municipality). It lies 129 km south of Chalkis. From Athens it is accessible by ferry via Marmari from the port of ...
. There is also a half-unpaved road to Hiliadou beach and the nearby north Euboea villages. The port connects to the island of
Skyros Skyros (, ), in some historical contexts Romanization of Greek, Latinized Scyros (, ), is an island in Greece. It is the southernmost island of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC, the island was known as ...
,
Skopelos Skopelos (, ) is a Greek island in the western Aegean Sea. Skopelos is one of several islands that comprise the Northern Sporades island group, which lies east of the Pelion peninsula on the mainland and north of the island of Euboea. It is par ...
,
Alonnisos Alonnisos ( ), also transliterated as Alonissos, is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. After Skiathos and Skopelos it is the third member of the Northern Sporades. It is (2 nm) east of the island of Skopelos. Alonnisos is also the name of a vi ...
.


Sports

Kymi has a few basketball courts, as well as an outdoor football pitch. There is also a sports club called Kymi Sports Club, with teams in football, basketball and volleyball.


References

{{Authority control Populated places in Euboea Kymi-Aliveri Ancient Euboea Cities in ancient Greece