Vathy ( el, Βαθύ) is a town and a community in the municipal unit of
Avlida
Avlida ( el, Αυλίδα, ) or Aulis () a former municipality in Euboea regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chalcis, of which it is a municipal unit. The population was 9,300 inhabitants at ...
in the
Euboea regional unit,
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 ...
. It is situated on the Greek mainland, near the
South Euboean Gulf
The South Euboean Gulf ( el, Νότιος Ευβοϊκός Κόλπος, ''Notios Evvoïkos Kolpos'') is a gulf in Central Greece, between the island of Euboea and the Greek mainland (Boeotia and Attica). With a total length of approximately 50&n ...
, 6 km south of
Chalcis
Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...
. The
Greek National Road 44
National Road 44 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 44, abbreviated as EO44) is a single carriageway road in central Greece. It connects Thebes with Karystos on southern Euboea, via Chalcis and Eretria. The total length of the GR-44 is nearly 160 ...
(
Thebes - Chalcis - Karystos) passes west of the town. The community Vathy consists of the town Vathy and the villages Mikro Vathy, Paralia and Ritsona.
Population
Ritsona
The village Ritsona ( el, Ριτσώνα), population 535, is 7 km west of Vathy. The name Ritsona is believed to come from resin, referring to the pines that used to be abundant in the area. In recent years due to forest fires, a large part of the area's pine trees have disappeared. Today there are many vineyards.
Its history began during the
Homeric period with the ancient
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 ...
n city of
Mykalissos
Mycalessus or Mykalessos ( grc, Μυκαλησσός) was a town of ancient Boeotia, mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the ''Iliad''. It was said to have been so called, because the cow, which was guiding Cadmus and his comrades to ...
. The archaeological site was extensively excavated between 1909 and 1922 by
Ronald Burrows
Ronald Montagu Burrows (16 August 1867 – 14 May 1920) was a British archaeologist and academic, who served as Principal of King's College London from 1913 to 1920.
Biography
He was born on 16 August 1867 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, t ...
and
Percy and
Annie Ure
Annie Dunman Ure (née Hunt, January 3, 1893 - 13 July 1976) was an English archaeologist, who from 1922 to 1976 was the first Curator of the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology. She and her husband Percy Ure conducted important excavations at Rit ...
, under the aegis of the
American School of Classical Studies at Athens. In May 1944, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the occupying Germans executed 110 Greek soldiers here that had been wounded in the
Greco-Italian War
The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...
in retaliation for an assault by the Greek resistance.
The Ritsona Rally is one of the most famous car races in Greece, taking place every year in December since 1956.
Ritsona is the place, where – 13 years after legalization – the first
crematorium in Greece was opened at the end of September 2019.
See also
*
List of settlements in the Euboea regional unit
References
External links
Vathy at the GTP Travel Pages
{{Chalcis div
Populated places in Euboea (regional unit)