Agia Efthymia
Agia Efthymia
Αγία Ευθυμία | |
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UTC+3 (EEST) | |
Postal code | 331 00 |
Area code(s) | 22650 |
Vehicle registration | AM |
Website | www.agiathimia.com |
Agia Efthymia (Greek: Αγία Ευθυμία, [aˈʝa efθiˈmia]) is a village in the regional unit of Phocis, Greece. It is part of the municipality of Delphi, located on the foothill of Mount Giona the highest mountain of Central Greece, in the district of Parnassida in Central Greece.
History
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Classical antiquity
The history of Agia Efthymia can be traced back to ancient Greece, when the town was named Myonia and/or Myania. Myonia is attested by classical sources as a polis, thus it must have been a political community,[2] one of the principal of the ancient Greek tribe of Locrians, in the region of Ozolian Locris. Ruins of the ancient defence town walls have been preserved up to now, in and around the village, as well as remains of an ancient cemetery. In 338 BC, Myonia was sacked by Philip II of Macedon along with Amfissa, because Ozolian Locrians had illegally cultivated part of the Crissaean plain which belonged to Delphi. A treaty between Myonia and Hypnia has been published, as well as a decree of Delphi in honor of a citizen of Myonia, both dating from the 2nd century BC.[3]
The Myonians are also mentioned by
Pausanias, in his work Description of Greece, refers to Myonia as a town farther inland from Amfissa and above it, thirty stades away. The town was lying upon a hill, and it had a grove and an altar sacred to the gods called Meilichioi, the sacrifices to whom were offered at night and the rule was to consume the meat on the spot before sunrise. Beyond the city, there was a precinct of Poseidon, called Poseidonium, with a temple of the god in it, but the statue had disappeared before the author's time.[5]
In another book of the same work, Pausanias mentions that there was a bronze-plated shield in the
There had been some confusion during the 19th and early 20th century in identifying the original location of ancient Myonia, mainly due to Pausanias' description of the location of the ancient town. Nevertheless, several historians and specialists on the geography of ancient Greece have identified Myonia with the modern village of Agia Efthymia, so there is no doubt about it anymore. Louis Robert, in his work Études épigraphiques et philologiques, places Myonia at Agia Efthymia,[8] as well as The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites,[9] Alfred Philippson, and the editors of Inscriptiones Graecae, Günther Klaffenbach and Johannes Kirchner. William Martin Leake arrives at the same conclusion and locates Myonia at Agia Efthymia on the road from Salona to Galaxidi,[10][11] contradicting William Smith, who locates it on the road from Amfissa to Gravia in the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.[12]
Ottoman era
During the Ottoman occupation of Greece, Agia Efthymia held a leading role in the region of Parnassida and had one of the only three schools in Phocis, established by the teacher and monk Nikodimos Kavassilas, who was born in Agia Efthymia in 1595. He became principal of the School of Varnakova in 1648 until his death in May 1652, leaving interesting spiritual writings.
The disobedient character and resistance of the local people against the
Until 1821 and the Greek War of Independence, eleven massive attempts for independence took place on the Greek side, one of them headed by the Bishop of Salona, Philotheos Charitopoulos, who was born in Agia Efthymia. He, together with captain Kourmas, formed an alliance with Venetian army and navy, trying to overthrow the Ottoman domination when he was killed in the battlefield.
The man who took charge after Charitopoulos' death was his son-in-law, Kostas Zacharias, nicknamed "Konstantaras". His achievements were sung in popular folk songs. The poet Kostas Krystallis wrote the story Captain Konstantaras, in which he referred to the fact that Konstantaras killed his only left son - his other two sons had been killed by the Ottomans - with his own hands because he dishonored his family while he had been living on the island of Agios Konstantinos, opposite of Itea, where he had been sent to attend the local school. Konstantaras died in 1755 and his jurisdiction was shared to his three - second in command - men.
The tradition of the local fighters was continued by the famous fighter Astrapogiannos, who was also born in Agia Efthymia and his real name was Giannos Zacharis. Astrapogiannos was praised by popular folk songs too and the poet Aristotelis Valaoritis was inspired by Astrapogiannos' last moments after he was wounded. He wrote the poem Astrapogiannos in 1867, in which he praises the friendship between Astrapogiannos and his lieutenant, Lambetis. There was also a popular Greek film produced in 1970, titled O Astrapogiannos, dedicated to the fighter.
Other revolutionaries from Agia Efthymia who are popular in the local folk tradition are Arapogiorgos, the guerilla chief during 1750–1760, Mitros Dedousis around 1770, Georgios and Giannis Karaplis by the end of the 18th century. During the Greek War of Independence, several fighters from the village were distinguished, taking part in some of the most important battles like the
honor Kalpouzos family by visiting them in Agia Efthymia.Modern history
In the
During
Origin of the name
The ancient name of the village was Myonia (Μυωνία, Μυονία), also referred to as Myania (Μυανία), and it was held until 1580, slightly altered to Mynia (Μυνιά). The name is said to come from the word mys (μυς) which means 'muscle', due to the brawniness of the men in the town.
According to the
It is interesting that Agia Efthymia is feminine and not the name of the old man. Besides there is no female saint in Christianity with this name. The prevalent explanation of why the village was named Agia Efthymia instead of Agios Efthymios, is that the inhabitants might attempt to match the name of their village Mynia, which is feminine, with the feminine name Efthymia. Indeed, nowadays this seems very sensible since the residents call their village Aithymnia which sounds very close to the ancient name Mynia.
Archaeological finds
In the region, 4th century coins have been discovered, depicting, on the front side a head of Demeter with a peplos and a wreath made of wheat, whereas the rear side depicts Apollo seated, holding a branch of laurel and holding a lyre. The inscriptions bear the name of the Amphictyony.
In 1928, at Kazas, two iron swords within two graves were discovered, as well as lances and javelins and a bronze helmet of the 6th century BC, located in the Archaeological Museum of Amphissa. They present affinities with similar objects from Macedonia and northern Greece in general, a fact which may sho the Doric origin of the Locrians and the route followed by the Dorians during their descent to southern Greece.
Modern village
The village is situated on the foothill of Mount Giona, the highest mountain of Southern Greece, on the site that the ancient town existed. It is about 8.5 km SW of the prefecture's capital, Amfissa, to which it is connected by the recently reconstructed GR-48. Agia Efthymia is also close to some popular destinations of Greek and foreign travellers: the famous archeological site of Delphi, the coastal towns Itea and Galaxidi, Parnassos Ski Center.
The residents engages mainly in agriculture, with products like the popular olives of the region, pastoralism, building, while many of them work in the bauxite mines. During the 19th and 20th century, Agia Efthymia was one of the largest villages in Parnassida and the whole of Phocis. Now the population of the village has reduced to 374 residents according to the census of 2021, although the people originating from it who visit and live there during the year, especially in summer, increase the number to more than 1,000.
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Culture
Today there is the "Union of the Athens, Piraeus and Environs Agioefthymiotes", founded in 1957 by descendants of the village's people who live in Athens, which keeps its society in the Greek capital close to Agia Efthymia and publishes a newspaper which goes to around 1,600 households in and outside of Greece. In 1921 the "Agioefthymiotes Myonia - Mutual Support Society" was established in New York City by the local numerous society of immigrants from Agia Efthymia.
Giannis Skarimpas, a popular writer, was born and raised in Agia Efthymia, descended from a well-known local family which had taken part in the Greek War of Independence. Each year the society of the village organizes a series of cultural events called "Skarimpeia", dedicated to the writer. Ioanna Glymi, a professional painter who had taken part in various contests in Paris, also descended from Agia Efthymia and left to the community approximately 100 of her paintings. Other distinguished people who descended from the village were the hero of the Greek War of Independence Astrapogiannos, the painter Georgios Kalamaras and - as it is said -the popular folkloric personality Maria Pentagiotissa.
References
- ^ a b "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
- ^ Hansen & Nielsen 2004, p. 395
- ^ Habicht 1998, p. 142; IG_9.1².3.748 (English translation)
- ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 3.101
- ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece, 10.38.8
- ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece, 6.19.4 & 6.19.5
- ^ Stephanus of Byzantium
- ^ Robert 1938, pp. 237–242
- ^ The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, West Lokris Greece
- ^ Leake 1835, pp. 592–593
- ^ Leake 1857, pp. 60–61
- ^ Smith 1857, p. 386
- ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-21.
- ^ "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Perseus Project
- Perseus Project
Secondary sources
- Habicht, Christian (1998). Pausanias' Guide to Ancient Greece. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-06170-5.
- ISBN 0-19-814099-1.
- Leake, William Martin (1835). Travels in Northern Greece. J. Rodwell.
- Leake, William Martin (1857). On some disputed questions of ancient geography. John Murray, London.
- Robert, Louis (1938). Études épigraphiques et philologiques. Champion.
- Smith, William (1857). Dictionary of Greek and Roman geography. Walton and Maberly.
- Stillwell, Richard; MacDonald, William L.; McAllister, Marian Holland (1976). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites.