Tanagra Τανάγρα | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
  Tanagra | |
| Coordinates:38°19′40″N23°32′17″E / 38.32781°N 23.53798°E /38.32781; 23.53798 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Central Greece |
| Regional unit | Boeotia |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 461.02 km2 (178.00 sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 122.53 km2 (47.31 sq mi) |
| • Community | 27.814 km2 (10.739 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 214 m (702 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Municipality | 18,500 |
| • Density | 40.1/km2 (104/sq mi) |
| • Municipal unit | 3,212 |
| • Municipal unit density | 26.21/km2 (67.89/sq mi) |
| • Community | 929 |
| • Community density | 33.4/km2 (86.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 322 00, 320 09 |
| Area code | 22620 |
| Vehicle registration | ΒΙ |
Tanagra (Greek:Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north ofAthens inBoeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the townSchimatari.[2] It is not far fromThebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. TheTanagra figurines were a mass-produced, mold-cast and fired type ofGreek terracotta figurine produced from the later fourth century BC, primarily in Tanagra.
The municipality Tanagra was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:[2]
In 2014 the municipal unitDilesi was created from parts of the municipal units Oinofyta (the village Dilesi) and Schimatari (the village Plaka Dilesi).[3]
Tanagra (Ancient Greek:Τάναγρα), sometimes written Tanagraea, was a town ofancient Boeotia, situated upon the left bank of theAsopus, in a fertile plain, at the distance of 130stadia fromOropus and 200 fromPlataeae.[4] Several ancient writers identified Tanagra with the HomericGraea;[5] but others supposed them to be distinct places, andAristotle regarded Oropus as the ancient Graea.[6][7][8]Pausanias mentions in Tanagra's location the ancient city ofGraea, eponymous of theGraikoi, a Boeotian tribe whose name gave rise to the LatinGraecus "Greek" which later spread throughout the western world as the name of the Greeks and Greece.Homer, while reciting the Boeotian forces in theIliad'sCatalogue of Ships, provides the first known reference to the Boeotian city of Graea.[9]
Tanagra was also calledPoemandria orPoimandria (Ποιμανδρία), and its territory Poemandris, from the fertile meadows which surrounded the city, or after its founderPoimandros, who took part in the Trojan campaign.[6][7] The most ancient inhabitants of Tanagra are said to have been theGephyraei, who came fromPhoenicia withCadmus, and from thence emigrated toAthens.[10][7] From its vicinity toAttica the territory of Tanagra was the scene of more than one battle. In 457 BC theLacedaemonians on their return from an expedition toDoris, took up a position at Tanagra, near the borders of Attica, with the view of assisting the oligarchical party at Athens to overthrow the democracy. The Athenians, with a thousandArgeians and someThessalian horse, crossedMount Parnes and advanced, against the Lacedaemonians. In theFirst Battle of Tanagra, both sides fought with great bravery; but the Lacedaemonians gained the victory, chiefly through the treacherous desertion of the Thessalians in the very heat of the engagement.[11][12] At the beginning of the following year (456 BC), and only sixty-two days after their defeat at Tanagra, the Athenians underMyronides again invaded Boeotia, and gained atOenophyta, in the territory of Tanagra, a brilliant and decisive victory over theBoeotian League, which made them masters of the whole country (seeBattle of Oenophyta). The walls of Tanagra were now razed to the ground.[13][14] TheSecond Battle of Tanagra was fought in 426 BC. the Athenians made an incursion into the territory of Tanagra, and on their return defeated the Tanagraeans and Boeotians.[15]
Dicaearchus, who visited Tanagra in the time ofCassander, says that the city stood on a rugged and lofty height, and had a white chalky appearance. The houses are adorned with handsome porticoes and encaustic paintings. The surrounding country does not grow much corn, but produces the best wine in Boeotia. Dicaearchus adds that the inhabitants are wealthy but frugal, being for the most part landholders, not manufacturers; and he praises them for their justice, good faith, and hospitality.[16] In the time ofAugustus, Tanagra andThespiae were the two most prosperous cities in Boeotia.[17] Tanagra is called byPliny the Elder a free state;[18] it is mentioned byPtolemy;[19] and it continued to flourish in the sixth century.[20]
Its public buildings are described at some length byPausanias.[21] The principal temple was that ofDionysus, which contained a celebrated statue of Parian marble, byCalamis, and a remarkableTriton. Near it were temples ofThemis,Aphrodite andApollo, and two ofHermes, in one of which he was worshipped as Criophorus, and in the other as Promachus. Near the latter was the theatre, and probably at no great distance the gymnasium, which contained a picture ofCorinna, who was a native of Tanagra. There was also a monument of this poet in a conspicuous part of the city. Pausanias remarks as a peculiarity in Tanagra, that all their sacred buildings were placed by themselves, apart from the houses of the town.[22] He likewise notices that Tanagra was famous for its breed of fighting-cocks,[23] a circumstance which is mentioned by other writers.[24] Tanagra possessed a considerable territory; and Strabo mentions four villages belonging to it,Eleon or Heleon,Harma,Mycalessus, andPharae.[25][18]
The ruins of the ancient city are located at approximately:38°18′23″N23°35′09″E / 38.306389°N 23.585833°E /38.306389; 23.585833.
In the early 1870s, a spate oflooting at Tanagra'snecropolis saw the theft of artefacts, including figurines, from around 10,000 tombs. This episode raised the profile of the illegal excavation and export of antiquities among the Greek press and public,[26] and led to the excavation of the site byPanagiotis Stamatakis between 1871 and 1873.[27]
In the early 2000s, a military plane which was on a training flight crashed on the runway during bad weather. There were no survivors.[citation needed]
On Sunday 18 September 2005, the Archangelosair show, the largest ever organized in Greece, took place in Tanagra. It attracted a crowd of more than 200,000.
The municipality has an area of 461.023 km2, the municipal unit 122.527 km2, the community 27.814 km2.[28] Tanagra is located SE ofThiva and Arma, SW ofSchimatari and NW ofAgios Thomas. Farmlands surround the rest of Tanagra, and theAsopus River along with theParnitha mountains to the south.
| Climate data for Tanagra (1957-2010)HNMS | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 11.7 (53.1) | 12.6 (54.7) | 15.0 (59.0) | 19.3 (66.7) | 25.0 (77.0) | 30.1 (86.2) | 32.1 (89.8) | 31.8 (89.2) | 27.7 (81.9) | 22.4 (72.3) | 17.5 (63.5) | 13.4 (56.1) | 21.5 (70.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.5 (45.5) | 8.1 (46.6) | 10.4 (50.7) | 14.5 (58.1) | 20.1 (68.2) | 25.4 (77.7) | 27.6 (81.7) | 26.9 (80.4) | 22.4 (72.3) | 17.3 (63.1) | 12.8 (55.0) | 9.4 (48.9) | 16.9 (62.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) | 3.4 (38.1) | 4.8 (40.6) | 7.5 (45.5) | 11.6 (52.9) | 16.1 (61.0) | 18.6 (65.5) | 18.6 (65.5) | 15.3 (59.5) | 11.8 (53.2) | 8.2 (46.8) | 5.2 (41.4) | 10.4 (50.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 69.4 (2.73) | 48.0 (1.89) | 51.9 (2.04) | 27.3 (1.07) | 24.4 (0.96) | 11.2 (0.44) | 9.8 (0.39) | 9.8 (0.39) | 22.7 (0.89) | 48.1 (1.89) | 63.5 (2.50) | 78.4 (3.09) | 464.5 (18.28) |
| Average precipitation days | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.6 | 9.1 | 6.9 | 4.2 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 4.8 | 8.6 | 10.6 | 13.8 | 99.8 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 77.1 | 73.9 | 71.5 | 65.7 | 57.7 | 48.0 | 46.4 | 49.0 | 58.6 | 68.5 | 75.7 | 77.7 | 64.2 |
| Source: HNMS (1957-2010 averages)[29] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Community | Municipal unit | Municipality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1,097 | – | – |
| 1991 | 847 | – | – |
| 2001 | 871 | 4,134 | – |
| 2011 | 1,117 | 3,827 | 19,432 |
| 2021 | 929 | 3,212 | 18,500 |
Arvanites settled in Tanagra in the Middle Ages, but today they only make up a linguistic minority.
.jpg)
Since 1956, the 114th Combat Wing of theHellenic Air Force has been based inTanagra Air Base. The base is one of Greece's largest military airports and its runway is about 3 km in length.[citation needed]
TheHellenic Aerospace Industry production and maintenance facilities have been located in the town since 1975.
Tanagra can be accessed byGR-1 in the north and by a provincial road linking Thiva (Thebes) in the west.
Tanagra is served by two interchanges, a partial southbound exit, a northbound entrance to the northwest and an almost-full to the east, serving access to highways44 and77 to the island ofEuboea. Its service road lies to the south and is linked with the southeast bypass and to the military base.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Tanagra".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
Media related toTanagra at Wikimedia Commons
Administrative division of theCentral Greece Region | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regional unit ofBoeotia |  | |
| Regional unit ofEuboea | ||
| Regional unit ofEvrytania | ||
| Regional unit ofPhocis | ||
| Regional unit ofPhthiotis | ||
| ||