Editing Chalcis (section)

===Ancient Greece===
[[File:Colonies of Chalcis.png|thumb|240px|Colonies of ancient Chalcis]]
[[File: Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Χαλκίδας 9826.jpg|thumb|Archaeological museum of Chalkida]]
[[File:Ydragogeiohalkidas.jpg|thumb|View of the ancient Roman aqueduct]]
The earliest recorded mention of Chalcis is in the [[Iliad]],<ref>[[Homer]], [[Iliad|''Il.'']], Bk. II, l. 537.</ref> where it is mentioned in the same line as its rival [[Eretria]]. It is also documented that the ships set for the [[Trojan War]] gathered at Aulis, the south bank of the strait near the city. Chamber tombs at Trypa and Vromousa dated to the [[Mycenaean period]] were excavated by Papavasiliou in 1910. In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, colonists from Chalcis founded thirty townships on the peninsula of [[Chalcidice]] and several important cities in [[Magna Graecia]] and [[Sicily]], such as [[Naxos (Sicily)|Naxos]], [[Reggio Calabria|Rhegion]], [[Messina|Zankle]] and [[Cumae]]. Its mineral produces, metal-work, [[purple]], and pottery not only found markets among these settlements but were distributed over the [[Mediterranean]] in the ships of [[Corinth]] and [[Samos Island|Samos]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The development of the city led consequently to the increase of the population and finally to the colonization with the establishment of many important cities in the West, but also in the Greek area. The first recorded settlement in the West, which paved the way for the 2nd Greek colonization, is Pithecusae on the island of Ischia, in front of Naples, from Chalcidians and Eretrians around 770 BC. The etymology of the toponym "Pithikousa" comes from the pithos (pitharia) that the first settlers had with them to transport their products. Because of the first Chalcidian settlers, the Romans initially called all Greeks "Chalcidians", as they were the first Greeks they came into contact with.A few years later, the Chalcidian Antimnestos founds Rigio in 730-720 BC. and Crataimenis' fellow-citizen Zagli (later Messina) in 730 BC, thus wanting to control the sea strait between Sicily and Italy, just as the Metropolis of Chalkida controlled the Euboean gulfs. In the 8th century BC the increase in trade between the Chalkidian colonies in lower Italy and Sicily with the local populations resulted in the spread of the Chalkidic alphabet among the most ancient inhabitants of the peninsula. The Etruscans took this alphabet and appropriated it so that they too could express themselves in writing. Over the centuries the Romans renamed it 'Latin'.So today, at least eight letters of all Latin-derived languages are the same as their ancient Euboic counterparts. They are C, D, F, P, R, S and X (pronounced ks). The transmission of the Chalkidic alphabet to the west is the most important cultural contribution of ancient Chalkida to the world culture.

The [[Lelantine War]] was a war fought in the late 8th century BC. between the two powerful ancient states of Evia, Chalkida and Eretria, which at that time were at the height of their prosperity. This war was one of the first known major wars between ancient Greek cities and took pan-Hellenic dimensions as the warring Chalcidians and Eretrians allied themselves with other Greek cities.
As Herodotus mentions, the Samians allied with the Chalcidians, while the Milesians allied with the Eretrians. The Thessalians also allied with the Chalcidians, a fact mentioned by Plutarch. The historical sources provide evidence for only one battle of the war, undoubtedly the last, with the reference point being the death of the Thessalian Amphidamandas, who was praised by Hesiod. In this battle the help from the Thessalian cavalry resulted in victory for Chalkida, by which it acquired the best agricultural district of Euboea and became the chief city of the island. Late in the 6th century BC, its prosperity was broken by a disastrous war with the [[Athens|Athenians]], who expelled the ruling aristocracy and settled a [[cleruchy]] on the site. Chalcis subsequently became a member of both the [[Delian League]]s.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Chalkis has had a [[Romaniote Jews|Greco-Jewish]] presence since antiquity, which is sometimes claimed to have been continuous and to thus form Europe's oldest Jewish community,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kis.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=39&Itemid=59|title=ΚΟΙΝΟΤΗΤΑ ΧΑΛΚΙΔΑΣ - ΙΣΤΟΡΙΚΟ|website=Kis.gr|access-date=13 January 2018}}</ref> although there is no evidence of it through the early Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite Jewish Encyclopedia |first=Gotthard |last=Deutsch |author-link=Gotthard Deutsch |first2=M. |last2=Caimi |title=Chalcis |url=https://archive.org/stream/jewishencyclopedia03sing#page/660/mode/2up |volume=3 |ref={{harvid|''JE''|1902}} |page=661}}</ref>

In the Hellenistic period, it gained importance as a fortress by which the [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonian]] rulers controlled central Greece. It was used by kings [[Antiochus III the Great|Antiochus III of Syria]] (192 BC) and [[Mithradates VI of Pontus]] (88 BC) as a base for invading Greece.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}  Characteristic is the fact that in 323 BC the Stagerite philosopher '''Aristotle''' comes to Chalkida to die the following year at his mother's house. Then during the Hellenistic era, settlers from Chalkida founded Chalkida in Syria, by order of Seleucus I, from which settlers founded another Chalkida in the Lebanon Valley, as well as another Chalkida in Arabia.

Under Roman rule, Chalcis retained a measure of commercial prosperity within the province of [[Achaea (Roman province)|Achaea]] (southern Greece).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}