The Malian or Maliac Gulf () is a gulf in the western

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

. It forms part of the coastline of

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 ...

's region of

Phthiotis 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 (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

. The gulf stretches east to west to a distance of , depending on the definition, and is very shallow, with a maximum depth of . The only harbour is that of

Stylida Stylida (; older Στυλίς, Stylis) is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. The population of the municipality was 11,389 (2021). In ancient times the town was named Phalara (). Municipality The municipality Stylida was formed at ...

, which serves the city of

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 ...

. To its east is

Cape Lichada Mount Lichada and Cape Lichada () is a mountain and cape forming the northwest tip of the island of Euboea, Greece. Their ancient name was Κήναιον ''Kenaion'', Latinized as Cenaeum. There is a village called Lichada on the slopes of Mount Li ...

, the northwesternmost point of 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 ...

Name

The gulf is named after the ancient

Malians Malians are the citizens of Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered t ...

who lived on its shores.

History

Due to the constant accretion of silt from the river the

Spercheios The Spercheios (, ''Sperkheiós''), also known as the Spercheus from its Latinization of names, Latin name, is a river in Phthiotis in Central Greece (geographic region), central Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . It was worshipped a ...

and smaller streams, the gulf has been shrinking over the centuries. In the summer of 426 BC, a tsunami hit the gulf between the northwest tip of Euboea and Lamia. The ancient strait of

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; ; Ancient: , Katharevousa: ; ; "hot gates") is a narrow pass and modern town in Lamia (city), Lamia, Phthiotis, Greece. It derives its name from its Mineral spring, hot sulphur springs."Thermopylae" in: S. Hornblower & A. Spaw ...

, which at the time the famous battle was fought, was delineated by Mount

Kallidromo Kallidromo () is a mountain in southeastern Phthiotis and northeastern Phocis, in Central Greece. Its maximum elevation is 1,399 m. The Kallidromo lies south of the Malian Gulf, east of Mount Oeta and north of the Cephissus valley. The strategi ...

and the Malian Gulf, has now become a broad coastal plain. Under the

London Protocol of 1830 The London Protocol of 1830, also known as the Protocol of Independence () in Greek historiography, was a treaty signed between France, Russia, and Great Britain on 3 February 1830. It was the first official international diplomatic act that reco ...

, the line connecting the Malian Gulf and the Aspropotamos River was established as the northern border of the newly independent Greek state.

References

External links

Gulfs of Greece Landforms of Phthiotis Gulfs of the Aegean Sea Landforms of Central Greece {{CGreece-geo-stub