Phocis (; ; ) is one of the

regional units of Greece The 74 regional units of Greece (, ; singular , ) are the country's third-level administrative units (counting decentralized administrations as first-level). They are subdivisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into munici ...

. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of

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 ...

on the east to the mountain range of

Vardousia Vardousia () is a mountain in northwestern Phocis and southwestern Phthiotis, Greece. Its highest peak, Korakas (; also known as Korax) reaches above sea level, making it the second-tallest summit in Central Greece after Giona. It is a south ...

on the west, upon the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...

. It is named after the ancient region of Phocis, but the modern regional unit also includes parts of ancient

Aetolia Aetolia () is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on ...

Locris Locris (; ; ) was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the Locrians, made up of three distinct districts. Locrian tribe The city of Locri in Calabria (Italy), also known in antiquity as "Epizephyrian Locris", was a colony founded by the ...

and Doris.

Geography

Modern Phocis has an area of , of which are forested, are plains, and the remainder is mountainous. The massive ridge of

(, which traverses the heart of the country, divides it into two distinct portions. The neighbouring prefectures are

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, ...

to the west,

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 ...

to the north and

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

to the east. It also shares a tiny border with

Evrytania Evrytania ( ; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi (approx. 8,000 inhabitants). Geography Evrytania is ...

. Much of the south and east are deforested and rocky and mountainous while the valley runs from Itea up to Amfissa. Forests and green spaces are to the west, the central part and the north. Its reservoir is the

Mornos Dam The Mornos () is a river in Phocis and Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece. It is long. Its source is in the southwestern part of the Oiti mountains, near the village Mavrolithari, Phocis. It flows towards the south, and enters the Mornos Reservoir near ...

on the

Mornos The Mornos () is a river in Phocis and Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece. It is long. Its source is in the southwestern part of the Oiti mountains, near the village Mavrolithari, Phocis. It flows towards the south, and enters the Mornos Reservoir nea ...

river. It covers nearly 1 km to 3 km². It was completed in the 1960s, and GR-48 was extended to pass through the dam. The roads of Phocis are: *

Greek National Road 3 Greek National Road 3 (, abbreviated as EO3) is a single carriageway road in Greece. It connects Elefsina near Athens with the border of North Macedonia at Niki. It passes through Larissa and Florina. At Niki, it connects with the M5K motorway ...

, NE *

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 ...

, Cen., N *

Greek National Road 48 National Road 48 (, abbreviated as EO48) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects the Greek National Road 5 at Antirrio with the town Livadeia, passing through Naupactus and Delphi. The section between Antirrio and Itea is ...

, SW, Cen., SE * E65, SW, S, SE

Administration

Prefecture

The

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

of Phocis was formed in 1947 from the previous

Phthiotis and Phocis Prefecture Phthiotis and Phocis Prefecture () was a prefecture of Greece. It was first established in 1833 as the Phocis and Locris Prefecture (Νομός Φθιώτιδος και Λοκρίδος) but abolished in 1836 and reconstituted in 1845 under its l ...

. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, a new regional unit Phocis was formed from the 1947 prefecture Phocis () without a change of territory.

Municipalities

In 2011 the regional unit Phocis was subdivided into 2 municipalities according to the table below.

Former provinces

The pre-2011 municipalities had been organized into two provinces: *Province of Dorida - Lidoriki *Province of Parnassida - Amfissa These were abolished. Provinces no longer hold any legal status in

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 ...

Demographics

Modern Phocis was inhabited by several

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 ...

tribes since antiquity, mainly by Phocians,

Locrians The Locrians (, ''Lokroi'') were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Locris in Central Greece, around Parnassus. They spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, and were closely related to their neighbouring tribes ...

and

Dorians The Dorians (; , , singular , ) were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Greeks, Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans (tribe), Achaeans, and Ionians). They are almost alw ...

, which were intermingled and formed the present-day Phocian population, with a unique linguistic and cultural heritage, frequently mentioned as Roumeliotes.

Population statistics

With a population of 40,343 (2001), it is one of Greece's least populous regional units, and has a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of .Detailed census results 2011
In the summer months, the population nearly doubles due to the influx of tourists. Most of the villages are in the south, the southeast and the east, especially in the areas between Amfissa and Itea. The north and the west are the least populated.

Notable people

* Alexander of Phocis *

Giannis Skarimpas Giannis Skarimpas, Giannis Skarimbas, or Yiannis Skarimbas (; September 28, 1893 – January 21, 1984), was a Greek writer, dramatist, and poet. Biography He was born in Agia Efthymia near Amfissa (now part of the Delphi municipality). He went ...

(September 28, 1893 in Agia Efthymia Parnassidos – January 21, 1984) *

Nikolaos Makarezos Nikolaos Makarezos (; 1919 – 3 August 2009) was a Greek Army officer and one of the masterminds of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. Early life and career He was born in 1919 in the village of Gravia, in the prefecture of Phocis. Af ...

(1919 – August 3, 2009) *

Eleni Karaindrou Eleni Karaindrou (; born 25 November 1941) is a Greek composer. She is best known for scoring the films of the Greek director Theo Angelopoulos. Biography Karaindrou moved with her family to Athens when she was eight years old, and she studied ...

Sporting teams

Here are the most popular sporting teams in the prefecture. All of the teams are under the Phocis Football Clubs Association in which it existed since 1985 after the separation and dissolution of the Phocis-Phtiotis Football Guild Union. *

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 ...

- Gravia * Asteras Iteas - Itea * Doxa Desfina - Desfina * Isaia Desfina - Desfina * Diagoras Polydrosos - Polydrosos * Dorikos Nea Dorida - Nea Dorida * Fokikos - Amfissa * A.O. Malesina - Malesina

History

Attribution

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Prefectures of Greece 1899 establishments in Greece Regional units of Central Greece