History of Evia

Evia has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Many scattered findings and settlements of this period have been found in, Chalkida, Amarynthos, Psahna, Karystos, Istiea etc. Also, finds from the Bronze Age were found in Lefkandi as well as a great early Greek city on the Manica.

Near the port of Chalkida, the town of Avlida is the place where the Greek fleet began its expedition to Troy, right after the sacrifice of Iphigenia,. The inhabitants of Evia, the Avantes, sent 40 ships to Troy.

During the second Greek colonization, the two powerful cities of the island, Chalkida and Eretria, established colonies in Mainland Greece (Halkidiki) and in southern Italy and Sicily.

In the 7th century BC, conflicts between Chalkida and Eretria began, and were known as the “Lilantio War.” During the Persian wars, a famous naval battle took place in Artemisio in the northern part of Evoia.

In 146 BC the Roman consul Momios destroyed Chalkida, because along with the Achaean League it had resisted the Romans.

During the Byzantine empire Evia played an important strategic role. In 1204 Boniface Montferrat took Evia and renamed it Negroponte. Most towers found on the island were built during this period.

In May 1821 the spark of the Greek Revolution against the Turkish conquerors was lit in Evia led by Angeli Govio and then Nicholas Kriezotis. Eventually Evia was “given” to Greece by the Turks in 1830.

The contribution of Evia in the two world wars and the National Resistance of 1940 -1945 was significant .