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 units. They are divisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into municipa ...

. 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 The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isth ...

. 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 units of Greece, regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous ...

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

(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 border ...

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 lar ...

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 betw ...

, SW, Cen., SE * E65, SW, S, SE

Administration

Prefecture

The

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

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 with ...

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 Ionians) ...

, 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: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

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 Phocis Football Clubs Association ("Phocis or Fokida F.C.A.", Greek: Ένωση Ποδοσφαιρικών Σωματείων Φωκίδας ''Enosis Podosfairikon Somateion Fokidas'') is one of the newest Greek amateur football clubs associations ...

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

Attribution

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Prefectures of Greece 1899 establishments in Greece Regional units of Central Greece