Exarchos is a Greek village in

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 border ...

prefecture. It is located in the southern part of Phthiotis, in

Locris Locris (; el, label=Modern Greek, Λοκρίδα, Lokrída; grc, Λοκρίς, Lokrís) was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the Locrians, made up of three distinct districts. Locrian tribe The city of Locri in Calabria (Italy), a ...

, 18 Km west of

Atalanti Atalanti ( el, Αταλάντη '' Atalantē'') is the second largest town in Phthiotis, Greece. It is located southeast of Lamia, north of Livadeia and northwest of Chalcis. In 2011, it was incorporated into the municipality of L ...

. The village is located on the slope of Mount

Chlomo Chlomo ( el, Χλωμό, ''Chlomó'') is a mountain in southeastern Phthiotis, Greece with an elevation of 1,081 m. Nearby mountains are Kallidromo to the northwest and Ptoo to the southeast. The plain of former Lake Copais lies to the south. Sett ...

at a height of about 300 meters. Its population is 699 inhabitants according to 2011 census. Exarchos belongs to Lokroi municipality. Most of the inhabitants of Exarchos are engaged in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. The wider area of the village consists of agricultural lands and the majority of crops include

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

and

cereals A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food en ...

History

Near Exarchos, there are the ancient

Phocian Phocis was an ancient region in the central part of Ancient Greece, which included Delphi. A modern administrative unit, also called Phocis, is named after the ancient region, although the modern region is substantially larger than the ancient ...

cities (

Polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

)

Abae Abae ( grc, Ἄβαι, ') was an ancient town in the northeastern corner of ancient Phocis, in Greece, near the frontiers of the Opuntian Locrians, said to have been built by the Argive Abas, son of Lynceus and Hypermnestra, and grandson of Dan ...

and

Hyampolis Hyampolis (Ὑάμπολις ''Iabolis'') was a city in ancient Phocis, Greece. A native of this city was called a ''Hyampolites''. Some ancient authors record that the city was also called simply ''Hya''. Mythology and situation In the ancient tr ...

. The cities flourished during

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times. Ruins of these cities are located in the north and west of Exarchos. The date of depopulation of two cities isn't known. Likely, it happened the late Roman period or the early Byzantine. The today village Exarchos was built after the dereliction of the ancient cities. The name possibly derived from someone

Exarch An exarch (; from Ancient Greek ἔξαρχος ''exarchos'', meaning “leader”) was the holder of any of various historical offices, some of them being political or military and others being ecclesiastical. In the late Roman Empire and ea ...

, a bishop of the eastern churches. However, inhabitants of the village suggest that the name comes from a time when the present site of the village was chosen as a place to amalgamate 6 villages in the area. Prior to its present name, it was called "Bogdanou" or "Vogdháni". Likely it was for a while an episcopal see. Near the village there are several churches from 13th century and later that show the continuous habitation of the area until now. Today, Exarchos is a small agricultural village, part of the Lokroi municipality.

Archeological Findings

Excavations carried out in the area of Exarchos confirm the fact that the ancient city of Ava was located there. The most important archaeological finds come from tombs in this area and are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Atalanta. Equally important is the finding of a tombstone from Roman times, which represents an androgynous in frontal position and a balanced arrangement with two children. This tombstone is now housed in the museum of Thebes . The acropolis of Abes, according to the excavations, is located in Smixi, southwest of Exarchos. In addition, relics of Middle Helladic buildings were found there, as well as a number of stone tools, clay flywheels, a copper plate and a beetle-shaped vessel made of ash clay.

Local customs and events

Interesting carnival events exist on Halloween with folk events based on current topics. During the summer months, the Exarchos cultural association "Yampolis" mainly organizes theatrical performances as well as dance nights with live music and dance clubs from all over Greece. The village festival takes place on May 10. In the area of Exarchos there are 9 churches and chapels: Saint Nikolaos (famous church with exceptional frescoes of the 12th century outside the settlement that operates on the Sunday of Thomas), Saint George in the central square of the village, Saint Ioannis north of the settlement, Panagia north of the central square, Panagia whose memory is celebrated on the Friday after Easter (Zoodochou Pigis), Metamorphosis tou Sotiros, Ag. Brigadiers, Agios Georgios, Saints Taxiarches, and Agios Athanasios.

Historical population

Places of interest

, archaeological site near Exarchos. *

, archaeological site near Exarchos. *Church of Agios Nikolaos, an old church of 13th century.

References

External links

{{Lokroi div Populated places in Phthiotis