Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ;

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

and

Katharevousa Katharevousa (, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contemporary vernacular, Demotic ...

: Φθιῶτις) 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. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is bordered by the Malian Gulf to the east,

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 ...

in the south,

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 ...

in the south,

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, ...

in the southwest,

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 ...

in the west, Karditsa regional unit in the north, Larissa regional unit in the north, and Magnesia in the northeast. The name dates back to ancient times. It is best known as the home of

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

Geography

Phthiotis covers the northern and southern shorelines of the Malian Gulf, an inlet of the

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 stretches inland towards the west along the valley of the river

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 ...

. In the south it covers the upper part of the Cephissus valley. There are several mountain ranges in Phthiotis, including the

Othrys Mount Othrys ( – ''oros Othrys'', also Όθρη – ''Othri'') is a mountain range of central Greece, in the northeastern part of Phthiotis and southern part of Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia. Its highest summit, ''Gerakovouni'', situated on ...

in the northeast, the

Tymfristos Tymfristos ( ) is a mountain in the eastern part of Evrytania and the western part of Phthiotis, Greece. The mountain is a part of the Pindus mountain range. The elevation of its highest peak, Velouchi (), is 2,315 m. The nearest mountains are K ...

in the west, the

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 ...

in the southwest, Oeta in the south and the Kallidromo in the southeast.

History

"Phthiotis" means "the region of

Phthia Phthia (; or Φθίη ''Phthía, Phthíē'') was a city or district in ancient Thessaly according to Greek mythology. In Literature It is frequently mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'' as the home of the Myrmidons, the contingent led by Achilles i ...

", the southernmost region of ancient

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 ...

around Pharsalus and home of

. In Classical times, it also referred to the region of

Achaea Phthiotis Achaea Phthiotis () or simply Phthiotis () was a historical region of ancient Thessaly, Thessaly, in ancient Greece. It lay in southeastern Thessaly, between Mount Othrys and the northern shore of the Pagasetic Gulf. Inhabited by , it was origina ...

, which bordered on Thessalian Phthiotis to the south and east. Achaea Phthiotis covered the northern part of the present regional unit Phthiotis and the southern part of present Magnesia. The southeastern part of present Phthiotis was covered by the ancient region

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 the southwestern part was ancient Malis and

Ainis Ainis (, , Modern Greek , ) or Aeniania (), was a Regions of ancient Greece, region of ancient Greece located near Lamia (city), Lamia in modern Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece, roughly corresponding to the upper valley of the S ...

Transport

* E65, S, Cen., NE * Greek National Road 1/ E75, SE, E, Cen., NE *

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 ...

, SE, S, Cen., N * Greek National Road 27, S, Cen. * Greek National Road 38, W, Cen.

Administration

The regional unit Phthiotis is subdivided into 7 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): * Amfikleia-Elateia (2) * Domokos (3) * Kamena Vourla (6) * Lamia (1) * Lokroi (4) * Makrakomi (5) * Stylida (7)

Prefecture

The prefecture Phthiotis and Phocis was created in 1845. In 1947 this prefecture was split into the southern part

and the northern part Phthiotis. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Phthiotis was created out of the former prefecture Phthiotis (). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.

Provinces

* Province of Domokos - Domokos * Province of Phthiotis - Lamia * Province of

- Atalanti ''Note:'' 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 ...

Persons

* Thanos Livaditis (1934–2005) * Dimitrios Holevas

Sporting teams

* Lamia F.C. *

Ionikos Lamias BC Ionikos Lamias B.C. was a Greek professional basketball club based in Lamia (city), Lamia, Greece. In 2014, the club merged with Esperos Lamia. History In 2006, Ionikos Lamias was promotion and relegation, promoted to the Greek A2 Basketball Leag ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Prefectures of Greece Regional units of Central Greece