Istiaia (, , before 1913: Ξηροχώρι - ''Xirochori''
[EETAA]
Local government changes ) is a town and a former municipality in
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 ...
. It was named after the ancient town
Histiaea, which was mentioned by the ancient Greek poet
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
.
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
br>2.537
Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality
Istiaia-Aidipsos, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit.
The municipal unit has an area of 181.299 km
2.
The town is located in the northwestern end of the island Euboea, 5 km from the north coast, and north of the mountain
Telethrio. It was the capital of
Istiaia Province until the province was abolished in 2006. Visitor attractions of Istiaia include the Museum of Natural History and the church of Agios Nikolaos.
Subdivisions
The municipal unit Istiaia is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages and population at the 2011 census given in brackets):
*Avgaria (pop. 96)
*Galatsades (Galatsades, Kamatriades, pop. 148)
*Galatsona (pop. 65)
*Istiaia (Agios Georgios, Istiaia, Kanatadika,
Nea Sinasos, Neochori, pop. 5,522)
*Kamaria (pop. 381)
*Kokkinomilea (pop. 72)
*Kryoneritis (pop. 189)
*
Milies (pop. 169)
*Monokarya (Kato Monokarya, Monokarya, pop. 155)
*Voutas (Voutas, Kyparissi, Simia, pop. 294)
Population history
History
Istiaia was named after the ancient town of
Histiaea, already mentioned by
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
in his ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
''. The old town was situated 2 km west of the present town. Archaeological findings from 2000 BC have been done, suggesting a settlement existed here in 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 ...
period.
Near the ancient town, a new town was founded, named Xirochori. Its name was changed into Istiaia in 1913, after the ancient town Histiaea.
[
]
References
*''Drandakis Great Greek Encyclopedia'', Vol XIII, p. 268
External links
Official website for Istiaia-AidipsosIstiaia Radio Station
Touristic Directory for Northern Euboea
Populated places in Euboea
Istiaia-Aidipsos
{{CentralGreece-geo-stub