Zetounion
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Lamia Λαμία |
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A panoramic view of Lamia, taken from the castle
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 Lamia
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Location within the region
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| Coordinates: 38°54′N 22°26′E / 38.900°N 22.433°ECoordinates: 38°54′N 22°26′E / 38.900°N 22.433°E | ||
| Country | Greece | |
| Administrative region | Central Greece | |
| Regional unit | Phthiotis | |
| Area | ||
| • Municipality | 947.0 km2 (365.6 sq mi) | |
| • Municipal unit | 413.5 km2 (159.7 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 50 m (160 ft) | |
| Population (2011) | ||
| • Municipality | 75,315 | |
| • Municipality density | 80/km2 (210/sq mi) | |
| • Municipal unit | 64,716 | |
| • Municipal unit density | 160/km2 (410/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
| Postal code | 351 00 | |
| Area code(s) | 22310 | |
| Vehicle registration | ΜΙ | |
| Website | www.lamia.gr | |
| {{{footnotes}}} | ||
Lamia (Greek: Λαμία, Lamía, pronounced [laˈmia]) is a city in central Greece. The city dates back to antiquity, and is today the capital of the regional unit of Phthiotis and of the Central Greece region (comprising five regional units).
One account says that the city was named after the mythological figure of Lamia, the daughter of Poseidon, and queen of the Trachineans. Another holds that it is named after the Malians, the inhabitants of the surrounding area. In the Middle Ages, Lamia was called Zetounion (Ζητούνιον), a name first encountered in the 8th Ecumenical Council in 869. It was known as Girton under Frankish rule following the Fourth Crusade and later El Cito when it was controlled by the Catalan Company of mercenaries. In Turkish, it was sometimes called Izdin or İzzeddin. The city was also known as Zeitoun.
Archaeological excavations have shown the site of Lamia to have been inhabited since at least the Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC).
In Antiquity, the city played an important role due to its strategic location, controlling the narrow coastal plain above Thermopylae that connected southern Greece with Thessaly and the rest of the Balkans. The city was therefore fortified in the 5th century BC, and was contested by the Macedonians, Thessalians and Aetolians until the Roman conquest in the early 2nd century BC. After Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC, the Athenians and other Greeks rebelled against Macedonian overlordship. Antipatros, the regent of Macedon, took refuge behind the substantial walls of the city (Lamian War, 323–322 BC). The war ended with the death of the Athenian general Leosthenes, and the arrival of a 20,000-strong Macedonian army. Lamia prospered afterwards, especially in the 3rd century BC under Aetolian hegemony, which came to an end when Manius Acilius Glabrio sacked the city in 190 BC.
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Wikipedia