|
Man first appeared
both on Evia and on Skyros during the Paleolithic Age.
Particularly, in the region of New Artaki finds were discovered
coming from workshops which produced stone tools. During
the next centuries (1200 B.C. and later) the Ionians arrived
and settled on Evia throwing out the older inhabitants,
the Avandes. Chalkis, Eretria and the region of Oreon
were completely destroyed by the Romans during the first
and second Macedonian wars.
The roman expending domination came to an only temporary
standstill when the king of Pontos, Mithridates, conquered
the island, wishing to transform it into a base for his
expeditions against the Romans. Around the 7th century
the city of Chalkis was abandoned, as its citizens left
the original site and settled in the west near the hill
of Euripus, where they fortified themselves with a wall.
With the fall of the Byzantine Empire and its division
among the Latin conquerors, the island of Evia was taken
over by three Lombard noblemen.
|
During
the following years Evia, or otherwise called
the kingdom of Negreponte, became a commercial
center with an excellent organization. During
the period when Evia belonged to the Ottoman
Empire, it constituted together with the eastern
mainland an administrative region with seat
in Chalkis.
It should be noted that Evia under the Ottoman
occupation underwent periods of terrible oppression,
while the Turks, recognizing the stating importance
of the geographic position of Chalkis, had transformed
it into a fortress. The island achieved its
freedom long after the declaration of the Greek
Independence, a fact with bears witness to the
hardships it passed under the Turkish slavery.
|
|
|
|
In
the following years its fate improved considerably
with Evia becoming a county with Chalkis as
its capital. In the same county as the large
island are also the islands of Skyros and the
northern Sporades. From there on its development
was the main concern.
The bridge over the channel of Euripos and the
railway connection with Athens was the volting
board for the progress of the county. Industry
and tourism strengthened Evia and helped it
to prosper economically.
Birthplace of the famous musician Nikolas Skalkotas
and the writer-poet Jannis Skaribas, Evia today
forms a point of attraction with an highly developed
cultural element, tradition and tourist infrastructure.
|
|
