Livadeia Λιβαδειά | |
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 General view from the castle | |
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  Livadeia | |
| Coordinates:38°26′N22°52′E / 38.433°N 22.867°E /38.433; 22.867 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Central Greece |
| Regional unit | Boeotia |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 694.016 km2 (267.961 sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 166.691 km2 (64.360 sq mi) |
| • Community | 139.614 km2 (53.905 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 200 m (660 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Municipality | 29,379 |
| • Density | 42.332/km2 (109.64/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 22,547 |
| • Municipal unit density | 135.26/km2 (350.33/sq mi) |
| • Community | 22,113 |
| • Community density | 158.39/km2 (410.22/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 321 00 |
| Area code | 22610 |
| Vehicle registration | ΒΙ |
| Website | www.livadia.gr |
Livadeia (Greek:ΛιβαδειάLivadiá,pronounced[livaˈðja];Ancient Greek:Λεβάδεια,romanized: Lebadeia orΛεβαδία,Lebadia) is a town in centralGreece. It is the capital of theBoeotiaregional district. Livadeia lies 90 km (56 mi) north-west ofAthens, 64 km (40 mi) west ofChalkida, 63 km (39 mi) south-east ofLamia, 44 km (27 mi) east-south-east ofAmfissa, and 91 km (57 mi) east-north-east ofNafpaktos. The town lies some five kilometres (3.1 miles) west ofGreek National Road 3, to which it is linked byNational Road 48.
The area around Livadeia is mountainous, with farming activities mainly confined to the valleys. The area has traditionally been associated with the production and processing ofcotton andtobacco, as well as the cultivation of cereal crops and the raising oflivestock. The city also known for having participated in theTrojan War in allegiance withMycenae.
Livadeia is home toLevadiakos F.C., it currently plays in theGreek Superleague.
The municipality of Livadeia covers an area of 694.016 km2 (267.961 sq mi), the municipal unit of Livadeia 166.691 km2 (64.360 sq mi) and the community 139.614 km2 (53.905 sq mi).[2]
The municipality Livadeia was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 5 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[3]
| Year | Town | Municipal unit | Municipality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 23,295 | - | 28,110 |
| 2001 | 24,061 | 24,769 | 29,995 |
| 2011 | 26,193 | 26,779 | 31,315 |
| 2021 | 22,113 | 22,547 | 29,379 |
A notable portion of the inhabitants of Livadeia areArvanites.[4]
In antiquity, Lebadeia was a town near the western frontier ofancient Boeotia, described byStrabo as lying betweenMount Helicon andChaeroneia.[5] The ancient town was situated at the foot of a precipitous height, which is an abrupt northerly termination of Mt. Helicon.Pausanias relates that this height was originally occupied by the Homeric city ofMideia, from where the inhabitants, under the conduct ofLebadus, anAthenian, migrated into the plain, and founded there the city named after him.[6] On the other hand, Strabo maintains that the Homeric citiesArne and Mideia were both swallowed up byLake Copais.[7]
Lebadeia was originally an insignificant place, but it rose into importance in consequence of its possessing the celebratedoracle ofTrophonius. The oracle was consulted both byCroesus[8] and byMardonius,[9] and it continued to be consulted even in the time ofPlutarch, when all the other oracles in Boeotia had become dumb.[10] Pausanias himself consulted the oracle, and he speaks of the town in terms which show that it was in his time the most flourishing place in Boeotia. Notwithstanding the sanctity of the oracle, Lebadeia did not always escape the ravages of war. It was taken and plundered both byLysander and byArchelaus, the general ofMithridates VI of Pontus.[11] In the war againstPerseus of Macedon, it espoused the side of theRomans, whileThebes,Haliartus, andCoroneia declared in favour of the Macedonian king.[12]
When Pausanias visited Lebadeia in the 2nd century, he recorded numerous temples. The most remarkable object in the grove of Trophonius was the temple of the hero, containing his statue byPraxiteles, resembling a statue ofAsclepius; a temple ofDemeter, surnamed Europe; a statue ofZeus Hyetius (Pluvius) in the open air; and higher up, upon the mountain, the oracle (τὸ μαντεῖον). Still higher up was the hunting place ofPersephone; a large unfinished temple of Zeus Basileus, a temple ofApollo, and another temple, containing statues ofCronus, Zeus, andHera. Pausanias likewise mentions a chapel of the Good Daemon and of Good Fortune, where those who were going to consult the oracle first passed a certain number of days.
During theByzantine period, Livadeia entered a period of decline, except for the 9th century, when some economic growth occurred. During theFrankish period Livadeia came back on track, then in the 14th century it came under the control of theCatalan Company. TheOttoman domination began in 1458, when economic and administrative privileges granted to residents contribute to industry and trade. The city broke free of the Ottomans as a result of theGreek War of Independence in the 1820s.
Pausanias, writing in the 2nd century AD, reported that the original name of the city was Mideia, and that it took its name Lebadeia from Lebados of Athens, who moved the city from high to low ground,[13][14] to its current location on the banks of the Herkyna river. The sacred protector of the city was the hero/godTrophonios, whose oracle, involving a harrowing descent into an underground chamber, was famous beyond the borders of Greece. At the springs of the Herkyna river are shallow grottos with niches and marble remnants said to be the site of the oracle. On the hill above is a small medieval castle, mostly the work of theCatalan Company during the 14th century, accessible by foot. This is one of only four Catalan castles in Greece.[15]
Further west, commanding a dramatic view from the hill of Profitis Ilias, are the remains of a large temple ofZeusBasileus, perhaps begun in the 3rd century BC but never completed.[16] The cathedral church of St. George houses an important relic, a head of St. George, translated toVenice in the 15th century but restored to Livadeia as a gesture of interfaith cooperation in 1999.[17] In medieval times the river was lined by a series of water mills, one of which is preserved.
The closest railway station isLivadeia, about 5 km from the city center.
Livadeia hosts two sports club with presence in the higher national divisions, Levadiakos F.C. a football club and Livadeia B.C. (A.E. Livadeias) a basketball club.
| Sport clubs based in Livadeia | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Founded | Sports | Achievements |
| Levadiakos F.C. | 1961 | Football | Presence inSuper League |
| Livadeia B.C. | 1994 | Basketball | Presence inA2 Ethniki |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Lebadeia".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
Administrative division of theCentral Greece Region | ||
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| Regional unit ofBoeotia |  | |
| Regional unit ofEuboea | ||
| Regional unit ofEvrytania | ||
| Regional unit ofPhocis | ||
| Regional unit ofPhthiotis | ||
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