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Evia - History

Currently 2.14/5 1 2 3 4 5 Rating 2.1/5 (14 votes) Evia has been populated since the Stone Age. Many dispersed remains and settlements dating from that era have been found in the towns of Chalkida, Amarinthos, Psachna, Karystos, Istiaia etc. Remains from the Bronze Age have been found in Lefkandi and a large protohelladic town in Manica. It was from Avlida, a neighbouring port of Chalkida, that the Greek fleet set sail for Troy, following the sacrifice of Iphigenia. The people of Evia, the Avandes, took part in this war with 40 ships. During the second Greek colonization, the two powerful towns of the island, Chalkida and Eretria, founded colonies not only in Greece (Chalkidiki) but also in Italy and Sicily. In the 7th century BC the long-lasting conflicts between Chalkida and Eretria started, known as the “Lelantine War”. During the Persian wars the Cape of Artemisio became the scene of the homonymous naval-battle – the dress rehearsal for the Salamina naval-battle. In 146 BC the Roman commander Momius destroyed Chalkida because it had resisted the Romans on the same side as the Principality of Achaea During the reign of the Byzantine Empire it plays a strategic role within Greece. In 1204 Boniface of Montferrat conquered Evia, which was subsequently renamed Negroponte. Most of the towers built on the island date from that period. On May 8th 1821 the flame of the Greek revolution against the Turks was lit on Evia, led by Angelis Govios and then by Nikolaos Kriezotis. Eventually Evia was handed over to Greece with a Turkish firman in 1830. The contribution of Evia to the two world wars and the National Resistance of 1940-1945 was significant.