Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc,
Φωκίς) is one of the
regional units of Greece
The 74 regional units of Greece ( el, περιφερειακές ενότητες, ; sing. , ) are the country's Seventy-four second-level Administrative divisions of Greece, administrative units. They are divisions of the country's 13 Modern reg ...
. It is part of the administrative region of
Central Greece
Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...
. It stretches from the western mountainsides of
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 ...
on the east to the mountain range of
Vardousia
Vardousia ( el, Βαρδούσια) is a mountain in northwestern Phocis and southwestern Phthiotis, Greece. Its highest peak, Korakas ( el, Κόρακας; also known as Korax) reaches above sea level, making it the second-tallest summit in C ...
on the west, upon the
Gulf of Corinth. It is named after the
ancient region of Phocis, but the modern regional unit also includes parts of ancient
Aetolia
Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania.
Geography
The Achelous River separates Aetolia ...
,
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), ...
and
Doris.
Geography
Modern Phocis has an area of 2120 km² (819 mi²), of which 560 km² (216 mi²) are forested, 36 km² (14 mi²) are plains, and the remainder is mountainous.
The massive ridge of
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 ...
(2,459 m/8,068 ft), which traverses the heart of the country, divides it into two distinct portions. The neighbouring prefectures are
Aetolia-Acarnania
Aetolia-Acarnania ( el, Αιτωλοακαρνανία, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic region of Central Greece and the administrative region of West Greece. A combination of the histor ...
to the west,
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 borde ...
to the north and
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...
to the east. It also shares a tiny border with
Evrytania
Evrytania ( el, Ευρυτανία, ; Latin: ''Eurytania'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi (approx. 8,000 inhabitants).
Geography
Evrytania is almost entirely formed ...
. Much of the south and east are deforested and rocky and mountainous while the valley runs from Itea up to Amfissa. Forests and green spaces are to the west, the central part and the north.
Its reservoir is the
Mornos Dam
The Mornos ( el, Μόρνος) is a river in Phocis and Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece. It is long. Its source is in the southwestern part of the Oiti mountains, near the village Mavrolithari, Phocis. It flows towards the south, and enters the Morno ...
on the
Mornos
The Mornos ( el, Μόρνος) is a river in Phocis and Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece. It is long. Its source is in the southwestern part of the Oiti mountains, near the village Mavrolithari, Phocis. It flows towards the south, and enters the Morno ...
river. It covers nearly 1 km to 3 km². It was completed in the 1960s, and GR-48 was extended to pass through the dam.
The roads of Phocis are:
*
Greek National Road 3
Greek National Road 3 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 3, abbreviated as EO3) is a single carriageway road in Greece. It connects Elefsina near Athens with the border of North Macedonia at Niki. It passes through Larissa and Florina. At Niki, it conn ...
, NE
*
Greek National Road 27
National Road 27 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 27, abbreviated as EO27) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects the Greek National Road 3 at Bralos, south of Lamia, with the GR-48 near Itea, passing through Amfissa. It is pa ...
, Cen., N
*
Greek National Road 48
National Road 48 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 48, abbreviated as EO48) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects the Greek National Road 5 at Antirrio with the town Livadeia, passing through Naupactus and Delphi. The section be ...
, SW, Cen., SE
*
E65, SW, S, SE
Administration
Prefecture
The
prefecture of Phocis was formed in 1947 from the previous
Phthiotis and Phocis Prefecture
Phthiotis and Phocis Prefecture ( el, Νομός Φθιώτιδος και Φωκίδος) was a prefecture of Greece. It was first established in 1833 as the Phocis and Locris Prefecture (Νομός Φθιώτιδος και Λοκρίδος) but ...
. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, a new regional unit Phocis was formed from the 1947 prefecture Phocis ( el, Νομός Φωκίδας) without a change of territory.
Municipalities
In 2011 the regional unit Phocis was subdivided into 2 municipalities according to the table below.
Former provinces
The pre-2011 municipalities had been organized into two provinces:
*Province of Dorida - Lidoriki
*Province of Parnassida - Amfissa
These were abolished. Provinces no longer hold any legal status in
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 ...
.
Demographics
Modern Phocis was inhabited by several
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
tribes since antiquity, mainly by Phocians,
Locrians The Locrians ( el, Λοκροί, ''Locri'') were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Locris in Central Greece, around Parnassus. They spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, and were closely related to their neighbour ...
and
Dorians
The Dorians (; el, Δωριεῖς, ''Dōrieîs'', singular , ''Dōrieús'') were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans, and Ionian ...
, which were intermingled and formed the present-day Phocian population, with a unique linguistic and cultural heritage, frequently mentioned as Roumeliotes.
Population statistics
With a population of 40,343 (2001), it is one of Greece's least populous regional units, and has a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
of 19 persons per km² (49/mi²).
[Detailed census results 2011]
In the summer months, the population nearly doubles due to the influx of tourists.
Most of the villages are in the south, the southeast and the east, especially in the areas between Amfissa and Itea. The north and the west are the least populated.
Notable people
*
Alexander of Phocis
*
Giannis Skarimpas Giannis Skarimpas, Giannis Skarimbas or Yiannis Skarimbas ( el, Γιάννης Σκαρίμπας; September 28, 1893 – January 21, 1984), was a Greek writer, dramatist, and poet.
Biography
He was born in Agia Efthymia near Amfissa (now part of ...
(September 28, 1893 in
Agia Efthymia Parnassidos – January 21, 1984)
*
Nikolaos Makarezos
Nikolaos Makarezos ( el, Νικόλαος Μακαρέζος; 1919 – 3 August 2009) was a Greek Army officer and one of the masterminds of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974.
Early life and career
He was born in 1919 in the village of ...
(1919 – August 3, 2009)
*
Eleni Karaindrou
Eleni Karaindrou ( el, Ελένη Καραΐνδρου, born 25 November 1941) is a Greek composer. She is best known for scoring the films of the Greek director Theo Angelopoulos.
Biography
Karaindrou moved with her family to Athens when she wa ...
Sporting teams
Here are the most popular sporting teams in the prefecture. All of the teams are under the
Phocis Football Clubs Association in which it existed since 1985 after the separation and dissolution of the Phocis-Phtiotis Football Guild Union.
*
Androutsos Gravia
A.S. Androutsos Gravia (Greek: Α.Σ. Ανδρούτσος Γραβιάς ''A.S. Androutsos Gravias'') was an athletic club based in the village of Gravia in Phocis, Greece. The club had been founded in 1959. Its logo and jerseys were red and wh ...
- Gravia
*
Asteras Iteas - Itea
*
Doxa Desfina
Doxa (; from verb ) Liddell, Henry George, and Robert Scott. 1940.δοκέω" In ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', edited by H. S. Jones and R. McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. – via Perseus Project. is a common belief or popular opinion. In cla ...
- Desfina
*
Isaia Desfina
Isaia is an Italian menswear brand founded in Naples in 1920.
The brand is recognized by its tiny red coral logo, which is a good-luck charm in Naples.
Gianluca Isaia is the chief executive officer. Its brother brand is Eidos (είδος meani ...
- Desfina
*
Diagoras Polydrosos Diagoras may refer to:
*Diagoras of Melos – an Atheist philosopher and poet (5th century BC)
*Diagoras of Rhodes – a boxer (5th century BC)
*Diagoras – a Greek physician quoted in ''Natural History'' of Pliny
* Diagoras F.C. – football cl ...
- Polydrosos
*
Dorikos Nea Dorida - Nea Dorida
*
Fokikos - Amfissa
*
A.O. Malesina - Malesina
History
See also
*
List of settlements in Phocis
This is a list of settlements in Phocis, Greece
A
* Agia Efthymia
* Agioi Pantes
* Agios Georgios
* Agios Konstantinos
* Alpochori
* Amfissa
* Amygdalia
* Ano Polydrosos
* Apostolias
* Artotina
* Athanasios Diakos
* Avoros
C
* Chris ...
Attribution
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Prefectures of Greece
1899 establishments in Greece
Regional units of Central Greece