Boeotia, Greek Βοιωτία, Viotía, is a region in Central Greece and borders on the regions there Fokida in the west and Fthioda in the north Chakis in the region Euboea. In the south the Gulf of Corinth forms a natural border, in the east lies the region Attica with the capital Athens.
places
- 1 Arachova
- Ski center at the foot of the Parnassus Mountains - 2 Livadia
- Capital of the region with a rich history - 3 Orchomenos - An important city in Boeotia in antiquity with a Mycenaean domed tomb and Byzantine churches.
- 4 Thiva - modern city on the site of the ancient "seven-gate Thebes", home of Dionysus, Heracles, Oedipus and Antigone
Other goals
- Ancient heritage
- 1 Thebes Archaeological Museum: Excavations from Thebes and Boeotia from prehistory to the Byzantine period.
- 2 Chaironeia (14 km north of Livadia): site of a battle in the Macedonian Wars. A grave memorial with a larger than life lion statue was erected for the fallen Thebans, which was reconstructed in 1902. Ancient theater, archaeological museum.
- 3 Thespeia (Modern Greek Θεσπιές, Thespiés; 18 km west of Thiva): In ancient times, place of worship of the god of love Eros and the muses.
- 4 Plataiai (Modern Greek Πλαταιές, Plataiés; 18 km southwest of Thiva)
- 5 Aulis (modern Greek Αυλίδα, Avlída; 6 km south of Chalkida): ancient port city, sanctuary of Artemis. Location of the tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides (translated into German by Schiller).
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- Medieval heritage
- 6 Luke Chapel in Thiva with the presumed tomb of the evangelist Luke, who is said to have been bishop of Thebes in the earliest phase of Christianity.
- 7 Osios Loukas: The Byzantine hermit monastery from the 10th century has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.
- 8 Castle ruin Livadia: The castle of Livadia is picturesquely situated on a 240 meter high hill on the southern edge of the city. In the same place there was an ancient acropolis from the 5th century BC. BC She was a. The castle was built over by the Byzantines and later the Franks. The current shape of the castle comes from the time when the warriors of the so-called "Catalan Company" occupied the area. That is why the castle is known as the “Catalan castle”, one of the four of its kind in Greece.
- Memorials
- 9 Distomo mausoleum: Memorial to the victims of the massacre on June 10, 1944.
- 10 Karakolithos Resistance Monument (Καρακόλιθος; 11 km east of Distomo or 12 km west of Livadia, on national road 48), designed by the artist Aggelika Korovessi, is dedicated to the struggle of the Greek partisans against the German occupiers in World War II.
background
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The oldest traces of settlement in the region date from the Paleolithic Age. Thebes and Orchomenos were already the seat of important dynasties in the Mycenaean period (2nd millennium BC). In the 13th century BC Thebes was one of the - maybe even the leading power in Greece. This is also reflected in the Greek mythology again: So Thebes is said to be the birthplace of God Dionysus (who was especially venerated here) and the demigod Heracles be. The sphinx lived on a mountain near Thebes, where she devoured everyone who came her way and could not solve her riddle. This only succeeded Oedipus, the tragic father murderer and mother husband who also became king of Thebes. His son Polynices led the "Seven against Thebes" against his brother Eteocles. Antigone - the sister of the two - is the main character of another important classical Greek drama.
The eponymous tribe of Boat probably migrated in the 12th century BC From direction Thessaly into the region. From the 6th to the 4th century BC The Boeotian League consisted of 15 city-states (poleis) under the leadership of Thebes. This developed from a league of cities into an instrument of power in Thebes: cities that wanted to leave the league were fought by Thebes, and in some cases even destroyed.
In the Persian Wars the Boeoten were neutral, at times even allied with the Persians under Xerxes I. One of the decisive battles of the Persian Wars, the Battle of Plataiai, found 479 BC In Boeotia and ended with a Greek victory that put an end to the second Persian advance into Greece. In the following decades the Boeotian League was the most important opponent Athens on the Greek mainland, which was reflected in several battles and a temporary occupation of Boeotia by Athens. In the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) the Boeoten stood on the side Spartas against common rival Athens. After the war, the alliance with and in Sparta broke up Battle of Leuktra 371 BC The Boeotian League succeeded in defeating the Spartans, which had been considered unbeatable until then. The Theban general Epaminondas had developed the "crooked order of battle" for this purpose (which was still used until modern times). Epaminondas also coined the name Boeotia as the “Ares dance ground” because of the many campaigns and battles that took place here.
A few years followed, in which Boeotia or Thebes held the predominant position in Greece. This ended with the rise of Macedonia. At the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC Boeoten and Athenians suffered a decisive defeat and were forced into the Corinthian League, which was under Macedonian hegemony. The revolt of the Thebans against this hegemony threw down the troops of Alexander the Great and destroyed Thebes (which the other Boeotian cities expressly consented to). The capital of the Boeotian League was moved to Onchestus. In the following conflicts Boeotia sought neutrality and no longer played an independent role. In Roman times, the Boeotian League only had a cultic role, but no longer a political one. The cities of Boeotia fell into disrepair if they had not already been destroyed in the previous wars.
Although such great writers as Hesiod, Pindar and Plutarch Coming from Boeotia, Boeotians were generally considered - especially in relation to the Athenians - to be rural, coarse and uneducated. Derived from it beotien in French to this day the meaning of "Kulturbanause".
During the time of the Crusades, Boeotia was under Frankish rule as part of the Duchy of Athens. After Greece gained independence in 1836, a prefecture of Boiotia was established, which was converted into a regional district in 2011. At 3,211 km², this is about the same size as the canton of Vaud or somewhat larger than the Saarland or Vorarlberg. But it only has 120,000 inhabitants, so it is quite sparsely populated.
The Distomo massacre on June 10, 1944, in which members of the 4th SS Police Panzer Grenadier Division murdered 218 civilians - including pregnant women, small children and babies - is one of the most serious war crimes committed by the German occupiers in Greece during World War II. None of the perpetrators was convicted. Germany has refused to pay compensation to the bereaved to this day, invoking its state immunity.
language
getting there
The closest international airport is Athens (110 km from Thiva, 150 km from Livadia).
The Athens – Lianokladi – Thessaloniki railway runs through the region, with stops in Inoi (near Tanagra / Schimatari), Thiva (Thebes) and Livadia.
The transport cooperative K.T.E.L. Thivas offers bus connections from Athens to Thiva (Thebes) every hour on weekdays (6 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and every two hours on weekends, the journey takes about 1:10 hours. KTEL Livadias runs almost every hour on weekdays (5.50 am to 10 pm) and every two hours on weekends (7.30 am to 8.30 pm) from Athens via Thiva and Aliartos to Livadia (2 hours in total)
The Greek A1 motorway (Athens – Lamia – Thessaloniki; toll) leads through the east of Boeotia, past Schimatari, Thiva (Thebes) and Akrefnio. The well-developed EO 3 national road continues from Thiva towards Livadia. The drive from Athens to Thiva takes a good hour if traffic is favorable, and about 1:45 hours to Livadia.
mobility
The most important regional bus provider is KTEL Livadias. On weekdays it offers buses almost every hour on the routes Livadia – Aliartos – Thiva and Livadia – Orchomenos, approximately every two hours Livadia – Distomo – Antikyra, on weekends a little less frequently. The Livadia – Arachova connection is only offered once a day.
As some of the sights are outside of the larger towns, a rental car is advisable. The best thing to do is to do this at the airport in Athens. There are no major car rental companies in Boeotia itself.
