Paramythia Παραμυθιά | |
|---|---|
 Central street of Paramythia | |
  Paramythia Location within the regional unit  | |
| Coordinates:39°28′N20°30′E / 39.467°N 20.500°E /39.467; 20.500 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Epirus |
| Regional unit | Thesprotia |
| Municipality | Souli |
| Area | |
| • Municipal unit | 342.2 km2 (132.1 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
| • Municipal unit | 6,463 |
| • Municipal unit density | 19/km2 (49/sq mi) |
| • Community | 2,608 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 462 00 |
| Area code(s) | 26660 |
| Vehicle registration | ΗΝ |
| Website | www.dimos-souliou.gr |
Paramythia (Greek:Παραμυθιά) is a town and a former municipality inThesprotia,Epirus,Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipalitySouli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit.[2] The municipal unit has an area of 342.197 km2.[3] The town's population is 2,608 as of the 2021 census.
Paramythia acts as a regional hub for several small villages in the Valley of Paramythia and features shops, schools, a gym, a stadium and a medical center. Primary aspects of the economy are agriculture and trade. The town is built on the slopes of Mount Gorilla and overlooks the valley, below. The Castle of Paramythia was built on a hill in one of the highest points of the town during theByzantine period and today is open to tourists.
TheA2 motorway (Egnatia Odos), which linksIgoumenitsa withIoannina, goes through the valley north of the town of Paramythia.
During the Byzantine and much of the Ottoman era the town was known in Greek asAgios Donatos (Greek:Άγιος Δονάτος),[4] after the town's patron saintSaint Donatus of Evorea.[5][6] This is the basis of the Albanian (Ajdonat orAjdhonat) and the Turkish name (Aydonat).[7] The name "Paramythia" derives from one of the Virgin Mary's names in Greek ("Paramythia" in Greeks means comforter).[8] One of the neighbourhoods of the town was named after its church which was dedicated to Virgin Mary (Paramythia) and the toponym replaced the previous name most likely in the 18th century, as in the 17th century in Ottoman official documents, the town and the correspondingkaza (district) still appear asAydonat.[9] In Aromanian, it is known asPãrmãthia orPãrmãthii.
The Paramythia municipal unit consists of 23 communities. The total population of the municipal unit is 7,459 (2011). The town of Paramythia itself has a population of 2,730 and lies in an amphitheatre at an altitude of 750 m, at the foot of Mount Gorilla, between theAcheron and theKalamas rivers. The Gorilla range (altitude 1,658 m) lies on the eastern side of the city and the Chionistra (1,644 m) to the Northeast. At the city limits is the Kokytos (Cocytus) River, one of the rivers of the underworld inGreek mythology. Paramythia's valley is one of the largest inThesprotia and is one of the major agricultural areas in Epirus.
The earliest known inhabitants of the area were the Greek tribe of theChaonians. Late bronze antiquities have been found in the "Tsardakia" area were a Mycenean settlement probably existed.[10][11]
Paramythia originated with the ancient Chaonian city ofPhotike (Ancient Greek:Φωτική), named after Photios, a leader of the Chaonians.[12] Afamous hoard of bronzes dating from the mid 2nd Century AD, nineteen bronze sculptures were discovered during the 1790s, near the village of Paramythia. Soon after their discovery, the hoard was dispatched toSt Petersburg, to become part ofCatherine the Great's collection. After her death, the original hoard was dispersed to variousEuropean collections. Eventually, fourteen of the statuettes reached theBritish Museum.[13]
Photike, as with the rest of Epirus, became part of theRoman and subsequentlyByzantine Empires. In the late Roman era it was the seat of aBishopric and was renamed afterSaint Donatus of Evorea.
Following the fall ofConstantinople to theFourth Crusade in 1204, Photike became part of theDespotate of Epirus. The Despotate remained independent for the next two centuries, maintaining the Greek Byzantine traditions. In 1359 the Greek notables of the region together with those of nearby Ioannina sent a delegation to theSerb rulerSymeon to support their independence against possible attacks by Albanian tribesmen. The town remained part of theDespotate of Epirus but during the reign of despotThomas II Preljubović the Greek commanders of Photike/Agios Donatos refused to accept them as their ruler. The town fell to theOttomans in 1449.[14] Paramythia was part of the OttomanSanjak of Ioannina.[15][16]
In 1572 Paramythia came under the short term control of aGreek rebellion. According to Venetian reports Greek revolutionary leaderPetros Lantzas killed the Ottoman commander of Paramythia.[17] Up to the late 16th century and early 17th century, most of the population of Paramythia was Christian. In the 1583 defter, many of the names of household heads are typical Christian Albanian names (Gjon, Lekë, Pal). Most inhabitants possibly spoke Albanian within their household, but there were also Greek-speakers and bilingualism between Albanian and Greek was likely in the area.[18] In the Ottoman period, much of the economic and political life of Paramythia was controlled by the feudal landholding families which emerged in the region. One of the most significant of these in Paramythia was theAlbanian Proniari (alternatively Pronjo or Pronios) family which had firmly established itself by the late 18th century.[19] Cham Albanian landlords of Paramythia andMargariti were in conflict withAli Pasha of Yannina during much of thePashalik of Yanina era.[20] These families by the end of the Ottoman era would hold almost 90% of the arable land of the plain of Paramythia. This economic division between mostly Muslim landlords and Christian peasants contributed strongly to a political shift of a part of the population towards theKingdom of Greece since the late 19th century.[21]
A Greek language school, had been attested since 1682. It declined and closed in the mid-18th century,[22] however, another Greek school was continuously operating from the late 17th century and at 1842 was expanded with additional classes.[23] In 1854 a majorrevolt took place in Epirus and the town came briefly under the control of guerillaSouliote forces that demanded the union of Epirus with Greece.[24]
During the early 20th century, although the majority of local Muslims were Albanian-speaking, there were considerable communities Greek-speaking and Romani Muslim communities, which had emigrated to the area from southern Greece after 1821. The Christian Orthodox community in the lowland area in Paramythia was mainly Albanian-speaking.[25] After the end of theBalkan Wars (1912–1913) the town became part of the Greek state, as with the rest ofEpirus region. In the interwar period, Paramythia was a centre of the Albanian speaking area ofChameria and mainly an Albanian speaking market town that after 1939 increasingly became Greek-speaking.[26] During theGreek-Italian War the town was burned byCham Albanian bands (October 28-November 14, 1940) and Greek notables were killed.[27] In the followingAxis occupation of Greece (1941-1944) the town had a population of 6,000 inhabitants; 3,000 Greeks and 3,000Cham Albanians.[28] In 1928, representatives from the Cham Albanian communities in Paramythia, Karvounari and Filiates, requested the opening of two Muslim schools which they would fund themselves. The Greek authorities officially rejected the request, fearing that these Muslim schools would serve Albanian state propaganda by promoting an anti-Greek sentiment among the Chams of Greece. Regardless, the Greek government allowed their operation unofficially because it could close them as illegal at any time, and could also claim that their function fulfilled demands for Albanian schools in Chameria.[29]
Paramythia first fell under Italian control and then under German rule after Italy's capitulation (September 1943). As Italy entered its phase of capitulation throughout 1943, EDES tried to approach the Cham community unsuccessfully in May 1943, but they reached a brief ceasefire in July 1943 in the area of Paramythia.[30] Italian collapse in the region was followed by the entry of the German army. In Paramythia, as the Italian units were disbanding, the Cham militia clashed with left wing ELAS which tried to disarm them. ELAS controlled part of the town briefly, but was quickly routed by the German advance. Members of theGeheime Feldpolizei were also sent to Paramythia to organize and use the Cham groups.[31] In an operation which followed by the1st Mountain Division with the assistance of the Cham militia during the week of September 20–29 up to 200 Greeks in and around Paramythia were killed and 19 municipalities were destroyed.[32] In one incident, on the night of 27 September 1943, Cham militias arrested 53 Greek civilians in Paramythia andexecuted 49 of them two days later. This action was orchestrated by the brothers Nuri and Mazar Dino (an officer of the Cham militia) in order to get rid of the town's Greek representatives and intellectuals. According to German reports, Cham militias were also part of thefiring squad.[33] On September 30, the Swiss representative of theInternational Red Cross, Hans-Jakob Bickel, visited the area and confirmed the attacks committed by the Cham militia in collaboration with the Axis forces.[34]
On June 26–27, 1944, under orders from the Allied headquarters the town was taken by theNational Republican Greek League (EDES).[35] There are competing timelines about the events of the surrender of the town. Some sources mention that EDES possibly negotiated their entry in Paramythia with the German army which was about to retreat together with the Cham units.[36] The Cham militia then tried unsuccessfully to capture the town. Others mention that EDES took the town after defeating the Nazi German-Cham defence. The Germans retreated without significant losses, while the remaining armed Albanian units were disarmed.[35] Cham militia and German Wehrmacht then tried unsuccessfully to recapture the town.[37] EDES issued a proclamation which guaranteed the safety of the Cham community and their property, but soon after it established itself in the town theexpulsion of Cham Albanians began.[36] According to an estimate, 600 Albanians were killed in Paramythia,[38] while other accounts limit this number to 300.[39] Almost all buildings inhabited by Muslim Albanians in the town were destroyed during World War II warfare.[40]
The municipal unit Paramythia is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):
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Sancaks Yanya (Kazas: Yanya, Aydonat (Paramythia), Filat (Philiates), Meçova (Metsovo), Leskovik (war kurzzeitig Sancak) und Koniçe (Konitsa)
Το 1572 ο Πέτρος Λάντζας, που είχε παίξει πρωτεύοντα ρόλο στην κατάλυση της τουρκικής εξουσιάς στα μέρη αυτά, ζήτησε από τη βενετική κυβέρνηση να του αναθύση τη διοίκηση όλης της περιοχής που είχε επαναστατήσει, δηλαδή από τη Σαγιάδα ως τα σύνορα της Πρέβεζας και σε βάθος που έφτανε στην Παραμυθιά... ...Alvive Zorzi αναφέρει ότι ο Λάντζας είχε επιτύχει σε μιαν από τις παράτολμες επιχειρήσεις του στην Ήπειρο να σκοτώση τον Τούρκο διοικητή της Παραμηθιάς
On the night of June 26/27, 1944, the EDES 10th division advanced towards the city of Paramithia. By some accounts they even negotiated with the German forces whose retreat was imminent. (..) The EDES issued a proclamation alleging that all Muslims would be free and that their properties would be secure. After Paramithia was captured, however, the signal for the ultimate expulsion of the Muslims was given.
On June 27, 1944, EDES units overran the town of Paramythia and killed about 600 Albanians. On the next day, another EDES battalion reached Parga and killed another 52.
in die griechische Stadt Paramithia ein... Allein hier verloren um die 300 Camen ihr Leben.
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