1.
Thessaly
–
Thessaly is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, Thessaly became part of the modern Greek state in 1881, after four and a half centuries of Ottoman rule. Since 1987 it has formed one of the countrys 13 regions and is further sub-divided into 5 regional units and 25 municipalities, the capital of the region is Larissa. Thessaly lies in central Greece and borders the regions of Macedonia on the north, Epirus on the west, Central Greece on the south, the Thessaly region also includes the Sporades islands. In Homers epic, the Odyssey, the hero Odysseus visited the kingdom of Aeolus, the Plain of Thessaly, which lies between Mount Oeta/Othrys and Mount Olympus, was the site of the battle between the Titans and the Olympians. According to legend, Jason and the Argonauts launched their search for the Golden Fleece from the Magnesia Peninsula, Thessaly was home to extensive Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures around 6000–2500 BC. Mycenaean settlements have also discovered, for example at the sites of Iolcos, Dimini. In Archaic and Classical times, the lowlands of Thessaly became the home of baronial families, in the summer of 480 BC, the Persians invaded Thessaly. The Greek army that guarded the Vale of Tempe evacuated the road before the enemy arrived, not much later, Thessaly surrendered to the Persians. The Thessalian family of Aleuadae joined the Persians subsequently, in the 4th century BC, after the Greco-Persian Wars had long ended, Jason of Pherae transformed the region into a significant military power, recalling the glory of Early Archaic times. Shortly after, Philip II of Macedon was appointed Archon of Thessaly, the Avars had arrived in Europe in the late 550s. They asserted their authority over many Slavs, who were divided into numerous petty tribes, many Slavs were galvanized into an effective infantry force, by the Avars. In the 7th century the Avar-Slav alliance began to raid the Byzantine Empire, laying siege to Thessalonica, relations between the Slavs and Greeks were probably peaceful apart from the initial settlement and intermittent uprisings. Being agriculturalists, the Slavs probably traded with the Greeks inside towns and it is likely that the re-Hellenization had already begun by way of this contact. This process would be completed by a newly reinvigorated Byzantine Empire, with the abatement of Arab-Byzantine Wars, the Byzantine Empire began to consolidate its power in those areas of mainland Greece occupied by Proto-Slavic tribes. Following the campaigns of the Byzantine general Staurakios in 782–783, the Byzantine Empire recovered Thessaly, apart from military expeditions against Slavs, the re-Hellenization process begun under Nicephorus I involved transfer of peoples. Many Slavs were moved to other parts of the such as Anatolia. In return, many Greeks from Sicily and Asia Minor were brought to the interior of Greece, to increase the number of defenders at the Emperors disposal, even non-Greeks such as Armenians were transferred to the Balkans
2.
Lamia (city)
–
Lamia is a city in central Greece. The city dates back to antiquity, and is today the capital of the unit of Phthiotis. One account says that the city was named after the figure of Lamia, the daughter of Poseidon. Another holds that it is named after the Malians, the inhabitants of the surrounding area, in the Middle Ages, Lamia was called Zetounion, a name first encountered in the 8th Ecumenical Council in 869. It was known as Girton under Frankish rule following the Fourth Crusade, in Turkish, it was sometimes called Izdin or İzzeddin. The city was known as Zeitoun. Archaeological excavations have shown the site of Lamia to have inhabited since at least the Bronze Age. The city was fortified in the 5th century BC, and was contested by the Macedonians, Thessalians and Aetolians until the Roman conquest in the early 2nd century BC. After Alexander the Greats death in 323 BC, the Athenians, antipatros, the regent of Macedon, took refuge behind the substantial walls of the city. The war ended with the death of the Athenian general Leosthenes, Lamia prospered afterwards, especially in the 3rd century BC under Aetolian hegemony, which came to an end when Manius Acilius Glabrio sacked the city in 190 BC. Little is known of the history after. In Late Antiquity, the city was the seat of a bishop, suffragan of Larissa, the Synecdemus of Hierocles includes Lamia among the 16 cities of the province of Thessaly. The city was occupied by Slavs in the 7th century, and re-appears only in 869/70 under the name of Zetounion, following the Fourth Crusade, the city was captured by the Frankish crusaders. Initially, it was given as a fief to the Knights Templar, under Frankish rule, it was the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop, probably a suffragan of the Latin Archbishop of Neopatras. 1218/20, or perhaps shortly after 1223, the two towns were captured by Epirote forces. It thereby again became a Catholic see, the Catalans held the city from 1318 until 1391, and then passed to the Acciaioli Dukes of Athens. The fortress was razed by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I in 1394, after the disastrous Battle of Ankara in 1402, the weakened Ottomans were forced to return some territories, including the region of Zetounion, to Byzantine rule. The Turks besieged the city for two years sometime before 1415, but the Byzantines resisted successfully, sometime between 1424 and July 1426, however, the city had been once more conquered by the Turks
3.
Highways in Greece
–
Highways in Greece are generally organized so that the odd numbered highways are of north-south alignment and even numbered highways are of east-west alignment. The designation of some important roads of Greece as national was decided by a 1955 decree, in 1998, a survey of the Hellenic Statistical Authority defined some new national roads that were constructed after the 1963 decision. Furthermore, motorway numbers in Greece are different and irrelevant to other highways numbers, for example, Motorway 6 refers to the Attiki Odos motorway, while GR-6 refers to a different road. Greeces motorway network has been extensively modernised throughout the 2000s and part of it is still under construction, most of it is expected to be completed by early 2017. There are a total of 10 main routes throughout the Greek mainland and Crete, from which some feature numerous branches/auxiliary routes, most of the route has been upgraded to motorway standards, expept for 25 kilometres through the Tempe Valley. As of summer 2008, works were in progress around the Malian Gulf, most of the route around the bay, was completed in April 2008, but due to delays, the last part was finally given to traffic on March 16,2015. At Tempe valley, works started in 2008, in order to be completed around 2012 and this part will include 11 km of tunnels, made mostly for environmental protection and, of course, road safety. Furthermore, the section between Thessaloniki and Evzoni, is yet to be converted into motorway, but this is not planned to happen in the near future. The full length of motorway is around 553 km or 346 miles. Note that until recently, the P in PAThE referred to Patras, Motorway 11 is a branch of the A1, connecting it with the city of Chalcis. Motorway 12 is another branch of the A1, connecting it with the city of Volos, although it is a dual carriageway throughout its length, parts of it remain with traffic lights and not all sections of the branch are up to motorway standards. Ongoing construction has been happening to upgrade it to such and it also includes a tunnel near the village of Goritsa. Motorway 13 is a branch of the A1, from Thiva to Elefsina, connecting it with the Olympia Odos motorway. Motorway 2, colloquially referred to as the Egnatia Odos, is a new motorway starting at the port of Igoumenitsa, specifically, there are auxiliary routes to Albania and Bulgaria, with the main route leading to Turkey. The Republic of Macedonia is accessed through the A1, as described above, another auxiliary route runs close to the Evros river in the prefecture of the same name, reaching a point where Greeces, Turkeys and Bulgarias borders meet. Some of those routes are not motorways, but typical 2-lane highways. The project, was completed in 2009, with the length of the route being 670 kilometres or 416 miles. As it passes through the eastern periphery of Thessaloniki the A25 becomes part of the Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road, Motorway 27 is another branch of the A2, at Kozani which leads towards Ptolemaida and from there to Florina and the border crossing with the Republic of Macedonia
4.
Greece
–
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
5.
Macedonia (Greece)
–
Macedonia is a geographic and historical region of Greece in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region, dominated by mountains in the interior, Macedonia is part of Northern Greece, together with Thrace and sometimes Thessaly and Epirus. It incorporates most of the territories of ancient Macedon, a kingdom ruled by the Argeads whose most celebrated members were Alexander the Great, the name Macedonia was later applied to identify various administrative areas in the Roman/Byzantine Empire with widely differing borders. Even before the establishment of the modern Greek state in 1830, it was identified as a Greek province, by the mid 19th century, the name was becoming consolidated informally, defining more of a distinct geographical, rather than political, region in the southern Balkans. At the end of the Ottoman Empire most of the known as Rumelia was divided by the Treaty of Bucharest of 1913. Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria each took control of portions of the Macedonian region, with Greece obtaining the largest portion, Central Macedonia is the most popular tourist destination in Greece with more than 3.6 million tourists in 2009. Macedonia lies at the crossroads of human development between the Aegean and the Balkans, the earliest signs of human habitation date back to the palaeolithic period, notably with the Petralona cave in which was found the oldest European humanoid, Archanthropus europaeus petraloniensis. In the Late Neolithic period, trade took place from quite distant regions, one of the most important changes was the start of copper working. According to Herodotus, the history of Macedonia began with the Makednoi tribe, among the first to use the name, there they lived near Thracian tribes such as the Bryges who would later leave Macedonia for Asia Minor and become known as Phrygians. Macedonia was named after the Makednoi, accounts of other toponyms such as Emathia are attested to have been in use before that. Herodotus claims that a branch of the Macedonians invaded Southern Greece towards the end of the second millennium B. C, upon reaching the Peloponnese the invaders were renamed Dorians, triggering the accounts of the Dorian invasion. For centuries the Macedonian tribes were organized in independent kingdoms, in what is now Central Macedonia, the Macedonians claimed to be Dorian Greeks and there were many Ionians in the coastal regions. During the late 6th and early 5th century BC, the region came under Persian rule until the destruction of Xerxes at Plataea, many Macedonian cities were allied to the Spartans, but Athens maintained the colony of Amphipolis under her control for many years. The kingdom of Macedon, was reorganised by Philip II and achieved the union of Greek states by forming the League of Corinth. After his assassination, his son Alexander succeeded to the throne of Macedon, for a brief period a Macedonian republic called the Koinon of the Macedonians was established. It was divided into four administrative districts and that period ended in 148 BC, when Macedonia was fully annexed by the Romans. The northern boundary at that time ended at Lake Ohrid and Bylazora, strabo, writing in the first century AD places the border of Macedonia on that part at Lychnidos, Byzantine Achris and presently Ochrid. Therefore ancient Macedonia did not significantly extend beyond its current borders, the Acts of the Apostles records a vision in which the apostle Paul is said to have seen a man of Macedonia pleading with him, saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us
6.
Republic of Macedonia
–
Macedonia, officially the Republic of Macedonia, is a country in the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the states of the former Yugoslavia. A landlocked country, the Republic of Macedonia has borders with Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, the countrys geography is defined primarily by mountains, valleys, and rivers. The capital and largest city, Skopje, is home to roughly a quarter of the nations 2.06 million inhabitants, the majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25 percent, followed by Turks, Romani, Serbs, Macedonias history dates back to antiquity, beginning with the kingdom of Paeonia, a Thracian polity. In the late sixth century BCE the area was incorporated into the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Romans conquered the region in the second century BCE and made it part of the much larger province of Macedonia. Macedonia remained part of the Byzantine Empire, and was raided and settled by Slavic peoples beginning in the sixth century CE. Following centuries of contention between the Bulgarian and Byzantine empires, it came under Ottoman dominion from the 14th century. Between the late 19th and early 20th century, a distinct Macedonian identity emerged, although following the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, Macedonia remained a constituent socialist republic within Yugoslavia until its peaceful secession in 1991. Macedonia is a member of the UN and of the Council of Europe, since 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership. Although one of the poorest countries in Europe, Macedonia has made significant progress in developing an open, the countrys name derives from the Greek Μακεδονία, a kingdom named after the ancient Macedonians. The name is believed to have meant either highlanders or the tall ones. However, Robert S. P. Beekes supports that both terms are of Pre-Greek substrate origin and cannot be explained in terms of Indo-European morphology, the Republic of Macedonia roughly corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Paeonia, which was located immediately north of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia. In the late 6th century BC, the Achaemenid Persians under Darius the Great conquered the Paeonians, following the loss in the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 479 BC, the Persians eventually withdrew from their European territories, including from what is today the Republic of Macedonia. In 356 BC Philip II of Macedon absorbed the regions of Upper Macedonia, the Romans established the Province of Macedonia in 146 BC. Roman expansion brought the Scupi area under Roman rule in the time of Domitian, and it fell within the Province of Moesia. Whilst Greek remained the dominant language in the part of the Roman empire. Slavic peoples settled in the Balkan region including Macedonia by the late 6th century AD, during the 580s, Byzantine literature attests to the Slavs raiding Byzantine territories in the region of Macedonia, later aided by Bulgars. Historical records document that in c.680 a group of Bulgars, Slavs and Byzantines led by a Bulgar called Kuber settled in the region of the Keramisian plain, presians reign apparently coincides with the extension of Bulgarian control over the Slavic tribes in and around Macedonia
7.
M-1 motorway (Republic of Macedonia)
–
The A1 motorway is a motorway in the Republic of Macedonia and it forms part of the European route E75. It spans 165 kilometers as a four-lane, tolled, controlled-access highway and it crosses the country from north to south, starting at the border with Serbia near Kumanovo and ending at the Evzoni-Bogorodica border crossing with Greece near Gevgelija. Nevertheless, in the 30 kilometers part between Skopje Airport and Veles, the splits, creating a gradual distance of several kilometers. The northbound route is the motorway route whilst the slightly longer southbound route. Currently, enhanchment works are undertaken in this part, also, the 33-kilometer Smokvica–Demir Kapija section is under reconstruction in order to be brought to motorway standards. Works are due to finish in 2016
8.
Motorway 5 (Greece)
–
The Greek Motorway 5 is a motorway in Greece, partially still under construction. Upon completion, the motorway will be the second major road connection in Motorway 1. It will also be part of the trans-balkanic Adriatic–Ionian motorway and the European routes E55, the motorways main section, commonly referred to as Ionia Odos, starts at Ioannina and it follows the western coastline of mainland Greece down to the Gulf of Corinth. At Rio, it crosses the gulf via the Rio–Antirrio bridge, as of 2016, it is yet unknown if the future Patras - Pyrgos motorway will be part of the A5 and its construction is to be auctioned. However, it is not part of the current project, however, several sections might be put into operation earlier, along with the toll stations of the road, as well. As of February 2017, the construction progress stood at 90%, the bridge was inaugurated on 7 August 2004, a week before the opening of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. With a length of 33 km, the Agrinio bypass was the first major segment of the northern A5 section to be completed, while construction had begun in 2002/03, it was fully put into service in May 2009. Starting from Aitoliko, the road bypasses the largest city and economical center of the Aetolia-Acarnania prefecture, Agrinio and it largely replaced the 12 km longer National Road 5. In July 28,2015, a 4,5 km segment before the Aitoliko interchange became operational and this segment features the Ioannina-Antirrio carriageway, with the Antirrio-Ioannina carriageway being under construction where the old road was. The latter was moved eastwards in order to make room for the construction of the motorway, the 17 km Arta bypass begins from Sellades near Arta and ends at Filippiada, near the border with the prefecture of Preveza. As of December 2016, the 25 km Kouvaras interchange - Amfilochia interchange segment has been completed and it should have been opened by July 2016, but because of landslides just before the Amfilochia interchange, it was opened in 27 December 2016 by the minister Christos Spirtzis. It was also rumored that the 33 km long Gavrolimni-Kefalovryso segment would have opened as well but with several works remaining. The latter is one of the most difficult motorway segments under construction in Greece because of the mountainous terrain along its route. The most important tunnel of the motorway, the Klokova Tunnel, has mostly been excavated, the rest of the motorway will be completed by March 2017.15 billion in the project. The rest of the total €1.4 billion funds will be provided by the European Union, construction, undertaken by the Euroionia Joint Venture finally started in 2008 with a completion date of 72 months. The bill was ratified on March 28,2007, in 2010, it was expected that the full length of the motorway would be completed by the end of 2013. However, the economical problems led to the construction being stopped in 2011. Currently, the parts are expected to be finished by March 2017
9.
Boeotia
–
Boeotia, sometimes alternatively Latinised as Beotia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece and it was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its largest city is Thebes, Boeotia lies to the north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It also has a coastline on the Gulf of Euboea. It bordered on Megaris in the south, Attica in the southeast, Euboea in the northeast, Opuntian Locris in the north and Phocis in the west. The main mountain ranges of Boeotia are Mount Parnassus in the west, Mount Helicon in the southwest, Cithaeron in the south and its longest river, the Cephissus, flows in the central part, where most of the low-lying areas of Boeotia are found. Lake Copais was a lake in the center of Boeotia. It was drained in the 19th century, lake Yliki is a large lake near Thebes. The earliest inhabitants of Boeotia, associated with the city of Orchomenus, were called Minyans, pausanias mentions that Minyans established the maritime Ionian city of Teos, and occupied the islands of Lemnos and Thera. The Argonauts were sometimes referred to as Minyans, also, according to legend the citizens of Thebes paid an annual tribute to their king Erginus. The early wealth and power of Boeotia is shown by the reputation and visible Mycenean remains of several of its cities, especially Orchomenus, the origin of the name Boeotians may lie in the mountain Boeon in Epirus. Some toponyms and the common Aeolic dialect indicate that the Boeotians were related to the Thessalians and they moved south and settled in another rich plain, while others filtered across the Aegean and settled on Lesbos and in Aeolis in Asia Minor. Others are said to have stayed in Thessaly, withdrawing into the hill country, many ancient Greek legends originated or are set in this region. The older myths took their form during the Mycenean age when the Mycenean Greeks established themselves in Boeotia. Many of them are related to the myths of Argos, and others indicate connections with Phoenicia, Boeotia was also notable for the ancient oracular shrine of Trophonius at Lebadea. Graea, an ancient city in Boeotia, is thought to be the origin of the Latin word Graecus, from which English derives the words Greece. The major poets Hesiod and Pindar were Boeotians, on the other hand, the lack of good harbours hindered its maritime development. The importance of the legendary Minyae has been confirmed by archaeological remains, the Boeotian population entered the land from the north possibly before the Dorian invasion
10.
Egnatia Odos (modern road)
–
For the ancient Roman road of the same name, see Via Egnatia. For the street in Thessaloniki, see Egnatia Street, Egnatia Odos or Egnatia Motorway is the Greek part of European route. It is a motorway in Greece that extends from the port of Igoumenitsa to the eastern Greek–Turkish border at Kipoi. It runs a total of 670 km, the project began in 1994 and was completed in 2009, it was managed by the company Egnatia Odos, S. A. The route traverses the mountainous Greek regions of Epirus and Macedonia, crossing the Pindos and Vermio mountain ranges and it includes 76 tunnels and 1,650 bridges. It is a highway with sophisticated electronic surveillance measures, SCADA controls for the lighting/tunnel ventilation. Linked with nine major vertical axes connecting to the countries in the north. Part of its length, a section of about 360 km from Evros to Thessaloniki, parallels the ancient Roman Via Egnatia, the project has therefore been dubbed a modern Via Egnatia. However, the parallel is not exact, the original Via Egnatia was much longer and its section, from Thessaloniki to the Adriatic Sea. The project has raised concerns for the survival of nearby sites of ecological and archaeological significance, the construction of the Pindos stretch was delayed due to environmental concerns about the destruction of the habitat of the endangered brown bear. However, a new routing was proposed in 2003, and this part was completed by April 2009, in addition to the main highway, three perpendicular auxiliary highways are under construction connecting the highway to important cities, ports and airports of Macedonia. 94 km of the motorway had been built as part of other motorways, between 1997 and 2004,393 km of motorway were built. The main part of the project was completed by 30 May 2009, a final bridge was opened on 10 May 2014 The exits of the completed sections of the A2 motorway, The official website of EGNATIA ODOS S. A
.svg){kind=icon}
