Tower Of Amfikleia
The Tower of Amfikleia is a late medieval tower at Amfikleia, in Phthiotis, central Greece. Amfikleia (formerly Dadi), occupies a strategic location on the northern slopes of Mount Parnassus and south of the Boeotic Cephissus. The tower is located on the site of the acropolis of ancient Amphicleia, which today is occupied by the cemetery of the modern settlement. The tower measures by , making extensive use of spolia ashlar blocks from the acropolis for the first six courses of masonry at its base (corresponding to the ground floor) and then as quoins. In total, the tower survives to a height of about . The walls are thick at its base, and thin about at each of the two surviving above-ground floors. The first floor is supported by ledges offset from the north and south walls, extending from the ground to about in height. The entrance was above ground, at the level of the first floor, on the southern face of the tower near its eastern corner. The doorway, which survives in pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tower
A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifically distinguished from buildings in that they are built not to be habitable but to serve other functions using the height of the tower. For example, the height of a clock tower improves the visibility of the clock, and the height of a tower in a fortified building such as a castle increases the visibility of the surroundings for defensive purposes. Towers may also be built for observation tower, observation, leisure, or telecommunication purposes. A tower can stand alone or be supported by adjacent buildings, or it may be a feature on top of a larger structure or building. Etymology Old English ''torr'' is from Latin ''turris'' via Old French ''tor''. The Latin term together with Greek language, Greek τύ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amfikleia
Amfikleia ( el, Αμφίκλεια, before 1915: Δαδί - ''Dadi'') is a town and a former municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Amfikleia-Elateia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 229.366 km2, the community 108.124 km2. At the 2011 census, the population of the municipal unit was 4,186 and of the community 3,191. The town is situated at the northern foot of Mount Parnassus, in the valley of the river Cephissus. It is 11 km northwest of Kato Tithorea and 31 km southeast of Lamia. Greek National Road 3 (Thebes - Lamia) passes through the town. The town is served by a railway station with connections on the Athens–Thessaloniki railway. Subdivisions The municipal unit Amfikleia consists of the following communities: *Amfikleia *Bralos *Drymaia *Palaiochori *Tithroni *Xylikoi History Amfikleia was named after the ancient town Amphicleia ( grc, Ἀμφίκλε ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Phthiotis
Phthiotis ( el, Φθιώτιδα, ''Fthiótida'', ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. The capital is the city of Lamia. It is bordered by the Malian Gulf to the east, Boeotia in the south, Phocis in the south, Aetolia-Acarnania in the southwest, Evrytania in the west, Karditsa regional unit in the north, Larissa regional unit in the north, and Magnesia in the northeast. The name dates back to ancient times. It is best known as the home of Achilles. Geography Phthiotis covers the northern and southern shorelines of the Malian Gulf, an inlet of the Aegean Sea. It stretches inland towards the west along the valley of the river Spercheios. In the south it covers the upper part of the Cephissus valley. There are several mountain ranges in Phthiotis, including the Othrys in the northeast, the Tymfristos in the west, the Vardousia in the southwest, Oeta in the south ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the Geography of Greece, mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring List of islands of Greece, thousands of islands. The country consists of nine Geographic regions of Greece, traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras. Greece is considered the cradle of Western culture, Western civilization, being the birthplace of Athenian ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mount Parnassus
Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the countryside, being a major international recreational site, with views of montane landscapes. Economically its rolling foothills and valleys host extensive groves of olive, a cash crop marketed world-wide since prehistory. The mountain is also the location of historical, archaeological, and other cultural sites, such as Delphi perched on the southern slopes of the mountain in a rift valley north of the Gulf of Corinth. Parnassus is laced with trails for hiking in the three warm seasons. In the winter the entire range is open to skiing, especially from the resorts of Arachova. Its melting snows are a source of municipal water to the surrounding communities. The mountain is composed of limestone, but also contains bauxit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Boeotic Cephissus
The Cephissus ( grc, Κήφισσος), called the Boeotian Cephissus to distinguish it from other rivers of the same name, or Kifisos ( el, Βοιωτικός Κηφισός) is a river in central Greece. Its drainage basin is . In Greek mythology, the river god Cephissus was associated with this river. The river rises at Lilaia in Phocis, on the northwestern slope of Mount Parnassus. It flows east through the Boeotian plain, passing the towns Amfikleia, Kato Tithorea and Orchomenos. It drained into Lake Copais, which was therefore also called the Cephisian Lake, until 1887, when the lake was drained. An artificial outflow has been created to Lake Yliki (ancient Hylice), further east. Pausanias records a Theban tradition that the river Cephissus formerly flowed under a mountain and entered the sea until Heracles blocked the passage and diverted the water into the Orchomenian plain. Pausanias also says that the Lilaeans on certain days threw cakes and other customary items in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, yet every Greek city had an acropolis of its own. Acropoloi were used as religious centers and places of worship, forts, and places in which the royal and high-status resided. Acropolises became the nuclei of large cities of classical ancient times, and served as important centers of a community. Some well-known acropoloi have become the centers of tourism in present-day, and, especially, the Acropolis of Athens has been a revolutionary center for the studies of ancient Greece since the Mycenaean period. Many of them have become a source of revenue for Greece, and represent some great technology during the period. Origin An acropolis is defined by the Greek definition of ἀκρόπολις, akropolis; from akros (άκρος) or (άκ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amphicleia
Amphicleia or Amphikleia ( grc, Ἀμφίκλεια) or Amphicaea or Amphikaia (Ἀμφίκαια) was a Greek town in the north of ancient Phocis, distant 60 stadia from Lilaea, and 15 stadia from Tithronium. It was destroyed by the Persian army of Xerxes in his invasion of Greece (480 BCE). Although Herodotus calls it Amphicaea, following the most ancient traditions, the Amphictyonic League gave it the name of Amphicleia in their decree respecting rebuilding the town (346 BCE). It also bore for some time the name of Ophiteia (Ὀφιτεία), in consequence of a legend, which Pausanias relates. The place was celebrated in the time of Pausanias for the worship of Dionysus, to which an inscription refers, found at the site of the ancient town. The site of the ancient town is occupied by the cemetery of the modern town of Amfikleia. It is also the site of a medieval tower (Paliopyrgos), which has been built with extensive reuse of spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spolia
''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built structure is carried away to be used elsewhere. The practice is of particular interest to historians, archaeologists and architectural historians since the gravestones, monuments and architectural fragments of antiquity are frequently found embedded in structures built centuries or millennia later. The archaeologist Philip A. Barker gives the example of a late Roman period (probably 1st-century) tombstone from Wroxeter that could be seen to have been cut down and undergone weathering while it was in use as part of an exterior wall and, possibly as late as the 5th century, reinscribed for reuse as a tombstone. Overview The practice was common in late antiquity. Entire obsolete structures, including underground foundations, are known to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quoin
Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, these imply strength, permanence, and expense, all reinforcing the onlooker's sense of a structure's presence. Stone quoins are used on stone or brick buildings. Brick quoins may appear on brick buildings, extending from the facing brickwork in such a way as to give the appearance of generally uniformly cut ashlar blocks of stone larger than the bricks. Where quoins are decorative and non-load-bearing a wider variety of materials is used, including timber, stucco, or other cement render. Techniques Ashlar blocks In a traditional, often decorative use, large rectangular ashlar stone blocks or replicas are laid horizontally at the corners. This results in an alternate, quoining pattern. Alternate cornerstones Courses of large and small c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Towers In Greece
A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifically distinguished from buildings in that they are built not to be habitable but to serve other functions using the height of the tower. For example, the height of a clock tower improves the visibility of the clock, and the height of a tower in a fortified building such as a castle increases the visibility of the surroundings for defensive purposes. Towers may also be built for observation, leisure, or telecommunication purposes. A tower can stand alone or be supported by adjacent buildings, or it may be a feature on top of a larger structure or building. Etymology Old English ''torr'' is from Latin ''turris'' via Old French ''tor''. The Latin term together with Greek τύρσις was loaned from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean langua ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Duchy Of Athens
The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of the process known as Frankokratia, encompassing the regions of Attica and Boeotia, and surviving until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. History Establishment of the Duchy The first duke of Athens (as well as of Thebes, at first) was Otto de la Roche, a minor Burgundian knight of the Fourth Crusade. Although he was known as the "Duke of Athens" from the foundation of the duchy in 1205, the title did not become official until 1260. Instead, Otto proclaimed himself "Lord of Athens" (in Latin ''Dominus Athenarum'', in French ''Sire d'Athenes''). The local Greeks called the dukes "Megas Kyris" ( el, Μέγας Κύρης, "Great Lord"), from which the shortened form "Megaskyr", often used even by the Franks to refer to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |