Amarinthos - Ano Vathia - Gymno - Kallithea - Seta

History

The derivation of the name is pre - Hellenic. «Amarinthos» was the name of a hunter who was the husband of the goddess Artemis. According to some sources, he was the King of Evia and the name of Amarinthos with the ancient Greek verb «Amarisso» which means to shine. We have evidence of inhabitants in the prehistoric period and Early Stone Age settlements have been discovered in Palichoria and Gymno. Archaeologists say that the mountain range of Olympus attracted many pre - hostoric populations.

Palichoria

During the historical period Amarinthos was a borough which belonged to the city - state of Eretria and therefore was able to follow the fortunes of the neighboring city.

During the ancient times, Amarinthos was famous mainly for the temple of «Amarinthias» or Amarisias Artemis, which was situated near the town and famous not only in Evia but also all over Greece. The Amarinthians considered Artemis to be their patron goddess and they dedicated the neighboring mountains of Olympus and Kitileo to the goddess.

A mayor festival took place every year of the great goddess called the «Amarinthia» or Amarisia. There was a large procession which started from Eretria and went as far as the temple to Stravona, three thousand took part in the festival which included music and athletic competitions and contests in drama. The Amarinthia were later transferred to Attica, to the borough of Athmonos today's Amarousio or Marousi.

In the temple of Amarinthia Artemithas one cane still find the stone pillars on which are inscribed the treaties of the Eretrians. Also, the treaty which had been agreed to by Eretria and Chalkida during the Lilandian war was placed in the temple for protection. The goddess Artemis who was respected by both sides, took on the role of guarantor of power and the two towns agreed to use only weapons for fighting hand to hand at the start of the battle.

There is no agreement about the exact location of Ancient Amarinthos but the majority of archaeologists agree that Ancient Amarinthos must have been on the hill «Palichoria» or «Palaiochoria». This hill is 8 kilometres (40 stadiums) from Eretria was 7 stadiums (1,5 kilometres) from Amarinthos. However «Palichoria» seems to be the most likely place for the geographical position of Ancient Amarinthos as there is continuous habitation from the later stone age an event which is in accord with the Pre - Hellenic derivation of the name of Amarinthos.

The plain of Amarinthos attracted the attention of the Macedonians and the existence of Macedonian tombs in the area of Vlihos and Koukaki is evidence of their influence. The Franks also left their mark and the ruins of a medieval tower at Gymno shows how important the Latin people considered the area to be.

At Palichoria, as shown by excavations, there was a settlement during the Byzantine Empire. When piracy was at its height during the Turkish occupation, the inhabitants of the coast were forced to abandon the area and flee to safety island. According to a local legend which mentions pirate raids against Palichoria, the inhabitants who managed to escape slaughter saught refuge island and established Ano Vathia which is not visable from the sea.

The area of Amarinthos, however, is scattered with Byzantine churches. It is worth noting that in the construction of the Byzantine churches ancient marble had been used much of which is uninscribed.

The first inhabitants of modern Amarinthos set out from Ano Vathia around the end of the last century and established inns for travellers along the sea front. After the fall of Asia Minor a refugee community was established which injected the town with «new blood» from the east.