Greek Map

Amfisa



Prefecture of Fokidas

Amfisa, the capital as well as the commercial center of the prefecture, with a population of 6946 has got a history of many centuries. In the ancient times, it was the capital of the small nation of Ozoli Lokri. According to mythology the town took its name after Anphissa, the grandaughter of Aeolus. Aristotle refers, though, that Amfisa was named after its location among the mountains. Amfisa was known for its conflict with the Amphictyony of Delphi about the cultivation of the holy plain of Krissa, the violation of which, caused the Holy wars. During the Peloponnisian War it took the part of Spartans. In 338 B.C. Philip the second of Macedonia punished the inhabitants because they had cultivated a part of the holy ground of Delphi. The Romans failed in conquering the area and, as a result, they ceded them a tax exemption. During the Frankish domination, Amfisa became the capital of the Salona barony and the Franks built a powerful castle on the citadel. In 1394 it was conquered by the Turks. Amfisa actively participated in the War of Independence in 1821. The revolt of Sterea with the bishop Isaiah, Panourgias and Athanasios Diakos. In 1824 the representatives of Eastern Greece assembled there and Arios Pagos (the local administration of Eastern Sterea) was organised. In 1825 it was plundered by the Turks but it was set free in 1828, November. The town still keeps its traditional aspect, whereas the huge olive grove and the castle on the top give a peculial local colour. It has got a tannery and factories of olive processing.

The sights are:

  • The castle which, according to the tradition, is built of ancient material. Cyclops are said to have built it, but it kept being restored with accretions by the Romans, Byzantines and Franks.
  • The houses of the chieftains Panourgias and Diovouniotis. The building of the pashas.
  • The Folklore Museum of Fokida, that mostly includes tools for the traditional cultivation of land, house utensils, local costumes, handwoven materials and objects from the pastoral life.
  • Drosos Kravartogianno’s private collections that include coins, weapons of 1821, objects of popular art as well as the coins collection of V. Vlachou.
  • The cathedral dedicated to the Annunciation. It has got murals of Papalouka. Next to it, there is a Roman public bath.
  • The Saviour’s Byzantine church, built in the 11th century.
  • Lykotripa an ancient monument carved on a rock with primitive stone tools.
  • The Roman inscribed mosaic in the house of Geroulanou.
  • Fletgala’s cluster of buildings one of the oldest in the town. The Fletgala fountain, the first public fountain built during the Turkish occupation, is built in the dry wall of the building. The square, closely related to the history of the town, lies before the buildings and the fountain. The entire place has been characterised as a historical preservable monument.

 
 

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