Gomfoi (Greek: Γόμφοι, before 1930: Ραψίστα - ''Rapsista''; la, Gomphi) is a village and a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the Trikala regional unit,

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) 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, The ...

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 ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Pyli Pyli ( el, Πύλη) is a municipality in the Trikala regional unit, Greece. Situated 18 km west of Trikala, right at the bottom of two mountains Itamos, and Koziakas, which mark the beginning of the Pindos mountainline, Pyli marks the entra ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 58.482 km². Population 4,782 (2011). The seat of the municipality was in

Lygaria Lygaria or Ligaria, Λυγαριά( el) is an anonymous Greek folkloric tune (syrtos).The meter is . It is widespread as a Nisiotika music tune, all over the world. Original form The original Greek form of the syrtos is a popular folk dance in ...

. Gomfoi is located in

Thessalian Plain The Thessalian plain ( el, Θεσσαλική πεδιάδα, Θεσσαλικός κάμπος) is the dominant geographical feature of the Greek region of Thessaly. The plain is formed by the Pineios River and its tributaries and is surrounded ...

, near the river

Pamisos Pamisos ( el, Πάμισος) is a former municipality in the Karditsa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Mouzaki, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an are ...

. It is 5 km northeast of

Mouzaki Mouzaki ( el, Μουζάκι) is a town and a municipality in the northwestern part of the Karditsa regional unit, Greece. Mouzaki is located on the southwestern edge of the Thessalian plain, where the river Pamisos descends from the Agrafa moun ...

, and 12 km southwest of the city of

Trikala Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...

. A town existed on the site of present Gomfoi in

ancient times Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

, which was renamed Philippoupolis (Greek: Φιλιππούπολις) during the reign of

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

. The area joined

in 1881.

History

Ancient Gomfoi - Gomphi in classical sources - was a town of

Histiaeotis Histiaeotis ( grc, Ἱστιαιῶτις, Histiaiōtis) or ''Hestiaeotis'' (Ἑστιαιῶτις - Hestiaiōtis) was a northwest district of ancient Thessaly, part of the Thessalian tetrarchy, roughly corresponding to modern Trikala regiona ...

Ancient Thessaly Thessaly or Thessalia (Attic Greek: , ''Thessalía'' or , ''Thettalía'') was one of the traditional regions of Ancient Greece. During the Mycenaean period, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, a name that continued to be used for one of the major tribes ...

, situated upon a tributary of the

Peneius In Greek mythology, Peneus (; Ancient Greek: Πηνειός) was a Thessalian river god, one of the three thousand Rivers (Potamoi), a child of Oceanus and Tethys. Family The nymph Creusa bore him one son, Hypseus, who was King of the Lapi ...

, and near the frontiers of Athamania and

Dolopia Dolopia ( grc, Δολοπία) is a mountainous region of Greece, located north of Aetolia. Geography Dolopia was located between Epirus and Thessaly, eventually absorbed into the latter. It was a mountainous district in the southwestern corner of ...

. Its position made it a place of historical importance, since it guarded two of the chief passes into the Thessalian plains: "that of Musáki, distant two miles (three km), which was the exit from Dolopia, and the pass of Portes, at a distance of four miles (six km), which led into Athamania, and through that province to

Ambracia Ambracia (; grc-gre, Ἀμβρακία, occasionally , ''Ampracia'') was a city of ancient Greece on the site of modern Arta. It was captured by the Corinthians in 625 BC and was situated about from the Ambracian Gulf, on a bend of the navigabl ...

." In the war against

Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...

Amynander of Athamania Amynander ( grc-gre, Ἀμύνανδρος, ''Amynandros'', in Polybios also ''Amynas'') was king of the Athamanes in south Epirus, following his predecessor Theodorus of Athamania. He was a brother-in-law of the Illyrian king Scerdilaidas and fi ...

, king of the Athamanes, in co-operation with the Roman consul

Titus Quinctius Flamininus Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c. 228 – 174 BC) was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. Family background Flamininus belonged to the minor patrician '' gens'' Quinctia. The family had a glorious plac ...

, having descended from the latter pass, first took

Pheca Pheca or Phaika or Phaeca ( grc, Φαίκα) or Phecadum was a fortress and town lying between the pass of Portes and Gomphi in ancient Thessaly. In the war against Philip V of Macedon, Amynander of Athamania, king of the Athamanes, in co-operati ...

, a town lying between the pass and Gomphi, and then Gomphi itself, 198 BCE. The possession of this place was of great importance to Flamininus, since it secured him a communication with the

Ambracian Gulf The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf ( el, Αμβρακικός κόλπος, translit=Amvrakikos kolpos), is a gulf of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Gree ...

, from which he derived his supplies. The route from Gomphi to Ambracia is described by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

as very short but extremely difficult. The capture of Gomphi was followed by the surrender of the towns named Argenta, Pherinum, Thimarum, Lisinae, Stimo, and Lampsus, the position of which is quite uncertain. When Athamania revolted from Philip in 189 BCE, he marched into their country by the above-mentioned pass, but was obliged to retire with heavy loss. There can be no doubt that it was by the same route that the Roman consul Quintus Marcius Philippus marched from Ambracia into Thessaly in 169 BCE. In the campaign between

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

and

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

in 48 BCE, the inhabitants of Gomphi, having heard of Caesar's repulse at Dyrrhachium, shut their gates against him, when he arrived at the place from

Aeginium Aeginium or Aiginion ( grc, Αἰγίνιον) was a town of the Tymphaei in ancient Thessaly. It is described by Livy as a place of great strength and nearly impregnable. It is frequently mentioned in the Roman wars in Greece. It was given up ...

; but he took the place by assault in a few hours. Caesar, in his account of these events, describes Gomphi as the "first town in Thessaly to those coming from Epirus."Caes. B.C. 3.80;

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Ha ...

, ''Civil Wars'', 2.64; ''D. C.'' 41.51. Coins minted at Gomphi survive. The Byzantine author Hierocles notes that Gomphi was a bishopric in later times.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Gomfoi is subdivided into the following communities: * Drosero *Gomfoi *

* Mouria * Palaiomonastiro * Pigi After the start of Kallikratis programme, Municipality of Gomfoi was annexed by the Municipality of Pyli. In the 2014 municipal elections, two of the four vice mayors elected( Stavros Ziakas and Viron Katsivelos) come from and live in Gomfoi. They are thought to be the more active members of the local government, as Vice-Mayor of Cleaning Operations and Vice-Mayor of Culture respectively

Population

Economy

Most of the village's residents are either farmers or workers in the public sector. The area of Gomfoi is famous for its wine since the ancient years. The main agricultural products of the area are grapes and corn.

External links

Gomfi (municipality) on GTP Travel Pages

Gomfi (town) on GTP Travel Pages

References