Gravia () is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern part of

Phocis Phocis (; ; ) 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 Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...

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 ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 161.651 km².

Location

The municipal unit Gravia is situated in the foothills of the mountains Giona and

Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

. The northeastern part of the municipal unit covers the western end of the wide valley of the river Cephissus. There are farmlands in the valley. The municipal unit borders

Phthiotis Prefecture Phthiotis (, ''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 bordered by the Malian Gu ...

to the north and northeast. The

Greek National Road 27 National Road 27 (, abbreviated as EO27) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects the Greek National Road 3 at Bralos, south of Lamia, with the GR-48 near Itea, passing through Amfissa. It is part of the European route E65 ...

connects Gravia with Itea,

Amfissa Amphissa ( ) is a town in Phocis, Greece, part of the municipality of Delphi, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 315.174 km2. It lies on the northern edge of the olive forest of the Crissaean plai ...

and

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

. Gravia is located south of

, northwest of Livadia and north of

and Itea.

History

The name is of Slavic origin, pointing to a settlement of the area after the 6th century; initially it was the name of a local river (mod. Koukouvistianos), which was later transferred to a castle some 5 km northwest of the modern settlement, above the

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

of the ancient settlement of

Pindus The Pindus (also Pindos or Pindhos; ; ; ) is a mountain range located in Northern Greece and Southern Albania. It is roughly long, with a maximum elevation of (Smolikas, Mount Smolikas). Because it runs along the border of Thessaly and Epiru ...

. The castle was most likely built by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

in the early 13th century, being mentioned for the first time in 1259, when the

Prince of Achaea The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states Frankokratia, founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). The principality witnessed various overlords during its more than tw ...

William II of Villehardouin William of Villehardouin (; Kalamata, 1211 – 1 May 1278) was the fourth prince of Achaea in Frankish Greece, from 1246 to 1278. The younger son of Prince Geoffrey I, he held the Barony of Kalamata in fief during the reign of his ...

crossed the local pass on his way to the

Battle of Pelagonia The Battle of Pelagonia or Battle of Kastoriae.g. ; . took place in early summer or autumn 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and an anti-Nicaean alliance comprising Despotate of Epirus, Kingdom of Sicily and the Principality of Achaea. It was a ...

. In 1275 it was one of the castles ceded by the ruler of

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

John I Doukas John I Doukas (), List of Latinised names, Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Medieval Thessaly, Thessaly from to his own death in 1 ...

, to the

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 ...

, as the dowry of his daughter

Helena Angelina Komnene Helena Angelina Komnene () was a daughter of the Greek ''sebastokrator'' John I Doukas, ruler of Thessaly in ca. 1268–1289, and a Greek princess of Aromanian origin, known only by her monastic name, Hypomone. In 1275, the Byzantine Emperor Mich ...

. The castle's history is unknown thereafter, except for a brief mention in 1304. Gravia is famous for the battle of the Gravia Inn, that took place during the

Greek Revolution of 1821 The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

Odysseas Androutsos Odysseas Androutsos (; 1788–1790 – 1825; born Odysseas Verousis ) was a Greek armatolos in eastern continental Greece and a prominent figure of the Greek War of Independence. Born in Ithaca (island), Ithaca, the son of an Arvanites, Arva ...

along with a group of Greek soldiers successfully repelled an attack from the Turkish army led by Omer Vryonis in May 1821.

Municipal districts

* Apostolias *Gravia *

Kaloskopi Kaloskopi (, before 1927: Κουκουβίστα - ''Koukouvista'') is a mountain village in the municipal unit of Gravia, northeastern Phocis, Greece. It is situated in the northeastern foothills of Mount Giona, 8 km west of Kastellia and ...

Kastellia Kastellia (, before 1979: Καστέλλι - ''Kastelli'') is a village in the municipal unit of Gravia, Phocis, Greece. It is situated at the western end of the wide Cephissus valley, at the foot of the mountains Giona and Oeta. It is 3 ...

* Mariolata * Oinochori * Sklithro * Vargiani

Population

Sporting clubs

Androutsos Gravia A.S. Androutsos Gravia (Greek: Α.Σ. Ανδρούτσος Γραβιάς ''A.S. Androutsos Gravias'') was an athletic club based in the village of Gravia in Phocis, Greece. The club had been founded in 1959. Its logo and jerseys were red and wh ...

References

Sources

External links

Official website of the municipality of Gravia
{{Gravia Populated places in Phocis Delphi Castles in Greece