Editing Euboea

{{Short description|Second-largest Greek island}}
{{about|the Greek island|other uses|Euboea (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Negropont|the city|Chalcis|other uses|Negroponte (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Evvia|other uses|Evia (disambiguation){{!}}Evia}}
{{Infobox islands
|name             = Euboea
|native_name      = Εύβοια
|native_name_lang = Greek
|image_name       = Euboea from space.jpg
|image_caption    = [[NASA]] picture of [[Central Greece (geographic region)|Central Greece]] with Euboea lying to the right
|coordinates      = {{coord|38|30|N|24|00|E|region:GR-04_type:isle_scale:1250000|display=title,inline}}
|map_image        = Euboea.png
|map_caption      = 
|location         = 
|archipelago      = [[Aegean Islands]]
|total_islands    = 
|area_km2         = 3684
|highest_mount    = [[Dirfi]]
|elevation_m      = 1743
|country          = {{Flag|Greece}}
|country_admin_divisions_title   = [[Modern regions of Greece|Region]]
|country_admin_divisions         = [[Central Greece (administrative region)|Central Greece]]
|country_admin_divisions_title_1 = [[Regional units of Greece|Regional unit]]
|country_admin_divisions_1       = [[Euboea (regional unit)|Euboea]]
|country_admin_divisions_title_2 = Municipality
|country_admin_divisions_2       = Εύβοια
|country_capital  = [[Chalcis]]
|population       = 191,206
|population_as_of = 2011
|density_km2      = 54
|postal_code      = 34x xx
|area_code        = 22x0
|registration_plate = XA
|website          = [http://www.naevias.gr www.naevias.gr]
}}

'''Euboea''' ({{IPAc-en|j|uː|ˈ|b|iː|ə}} {{respell|yoo|BEE|ə}}; {{langx|grc|[[wikt:Εὔβοια|Εὔβοια]]|Eúboia}}, {{IPA|grc|ěu̯boi̯a|IPA}}), also known by its modern spelling '''Evia''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|v|i|ə}} {{respell|EV|ee|ə}}; {{langx|el|Εύβοια|label=[[Modern Greek]]}}, {{IPA|el|ˈevi.a|IPA}}), is the second-largest [[List of islands of Greece|Greek island]] in area and population, after [[Crete]], and the [[List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area|sixth largest island]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. It is separated from [[Boeotia]] in mainland [[Greece]] by the narrow [[Euripus Strait]] (only {{Convert|40|metres|feet|abbr=on}} at its narrowest point).<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Euripus|title=Euripus {{!}} strait, Greece|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-08-20|language=en}}</ref> In general outline it is a long and narrow island; it is about {{convert|180|km||abbr=on}} long, and varies in breadth from {{convert|50|km||abbr=on}} to {{convert|6|km||abbr=on}}. Its geographic orientation is from northwest to southeast, and it is traversed throughout its length by a mountain range, which forms part of the chain that bounds [[Thessaly]] on the east, and is continued south of Euboia in the lofty islands of [[Andros]], [[Tinos]] and [[Mykonos]].{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=865}}

It forms most of the [[Euboea (regional unit)|regional unit of Euboea]], which also includes [[Skyros]] and a small area of the Greek mainland.

==Name==
{{further|Euboea (mythology)}}
Like most of the Greek islands, Euboea was known by other names in [[Ancient Greece|antiquity]], such as ''Macris'' (Μάκρις) and ''Doliche'' (Δολίχη) from its elongated shape, or ''Ellopia'' (after Ellops the son of [[Ion (mythology)|Ion]]), ''Aonia'' and ''Abantis'' from the tribes inhabiting it,{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=866}} or ''Ocha/Oche'' (Ὄχη), which is also the name of one of the highest mountains on the island.<ref name="Strabo">[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0198:book=10:chapter=1 Strabo, Geography, 10.1]</ref>
Its ancient and current name, Εὔβοια, derives from the words εὖ "good", and βοῦς "ox", meaning "(the land of) the well(-fed) oxen". [[Strabo]] writes that it took the name Euboea either by the heroine Euboea or because of a cave on the island at the Aegaean coast which was called [[Boösaule]] ({{lang|grc|βοὸς αὐλὴ}}, meaning {{gloss|cow's stall}}) and there [[Io (mythology)|Io]] was said to have given birth to [[Epaphus]].<ref name="Strabo"/>

In the [[Middle Ages]], the island was often referred to by [[Byzantine]] authors by the name of its capital, ''[[Chalcis]]'' (Χαλκίς) or [[Euripus Strait|''Euripos'']] (Εὔριπος,) the name of the strait that separates the island from the Greek mainland, although the ancient name Euboea remained in use by classicizing authors until the 16th century.

The phrase στὸν Εὔριπον 'to Evripos', [[rebracketing|rebracketed]] as στὸ Νεὔριπον 'to Nevripos', became ''Negroponte'' ("Black Bridge") in [[Italian language|Italian]] by [[folk etymology]], the ''ponte'' 'bridge' being interpreted as the bridge of Chalcis. This name was most relevant when the island was under [[Venetian Greece|Venetian rule]].<ref name="gibbon">Edward Gibbon, ''[[The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'', J.B. Bury, ed., Methuen, 1898 [https://books.google.com/books?id=FeU7AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA390 p. '''6''':390], footnote 69</ref> That name entered common use in the West in the 13th century,<ref name="ODB"/> with other variants being Egripons, Negripo, and Negropont.<ref name="gibbon"/>

Under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule, the island and its capital were known as ''Eğriboz'' or ''Ağriboz'', again after the Euripos strait.

==Geography and climate==
[[File:Euboea topo.png|thumb|left|upright=1.25|Topography of Euboea and parts of the Greek mainland.]]
[[File:Landscape Eretria Euboea Greece.jpg|thumb|Landscape near Eretria]]
[[File:20090510 Kanthli mountain Evia Greece 1.jpg|thumb|View of [[Kantili|Kantili mountain]].]]

Euboea was believed to have originally formed part of the mainland, and to have been separated from it by an [[earthquake]]. This is fairly probable, because it lies in the neighbourhood of a [[plate tectonics|fault line]], and both [[Thucydides]] and [[Strabo]] write that the northern part of the island had been shaken at different periods.{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=866}} In the neighbourhood of [[Chalcis]], both to the north and the south, the bays are so confined as to make plausible the story of [[Agamemnon]]'s fleet having been detained there by contrary winds. At Chalcis itself, where the strait is narrowest at only 40&nbsp;m, it is called the [[Euripus Strait]]. The extraordinary changes of tide that take place in this passage have been a subject of note since classical times, and it was so feared by sailors that the principal line of traffic from the north of the Aegean to Athens used to bypass Chalcis and the Euboic Sea.{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=866}} At one moment the current runs like a river in one direction, and shortly afterwards with equal velocity in the other. A bridge was first constructed here in the twenty-first year of the [[Peloponnesian War]] (410 BC).{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=866}}

Geography and nature divide the island itself into three distinct parts: the fertile and forested north (which suffered major damage in the August 2021 forest fires); the forested mountainous centre, with agriculture limited to the coastal valleys; and the barren south.<ref name="ODB">{{cite encyclopedia | last1 = Gregory | first1 = Timothy E. | last2 = Ševčenko | first2 = Nancy Patterson | title = Euboea | pages = 736–737 | editor-last=Kazhdan | editor-first=Alexander | editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan | year=1991 | encyclopedia = [[The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] | location = Oxford and New York | publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6 }}</ref>

The main mountains include [[Dirfi]] ({{convert|1743|m||abbr=on|disp=}}), [[Kantili]] ({{convert|1246|m||abbr=on|disp=}}), Pyxaria ({{convert|1341|m||abbr=on|disp=}}) in the northeast and [[Ochi Mountains|Ochi]] ({{convert|1394|m||abbr=on|disp=}}) in the south. The neighboring gulfs are the [[Pagasetic Gulf]] in the north, [[Malian Gulf]], [[North Euboean Gulf]] in the west, the [[Gulf of Euboea|Euboic Sea]] and the [[Petalion Gulf]]. The [[Petalioi]] archipelago lies to the southwest, while the [[Monilia (Greece)|Monilia]] islands lie to the west.

With a total land area of {{convert|3684|km²||abbr=on}}, the island had a population of 198,130 at the 2001 census.

Most of the island features a hot-summer [[Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Csa'') with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

==History==

===Antiquity===
[[File:Chalkis-Archaelogical-Museum.JPG|thumb|Exhibits in the archaeological museum of Chalcis.]]
[[File:Euboea drachma.jpg|thumb|Silver [[Ancient drachma|drachma]] of the [[Euboean League]]. Obverse: Head of the [[Euboea (mythology)|nymph Euboea]]. Reverse: [[Bull]]'s head, [[kantharos]] to right EY[ΒΟΙΕΩΝ] ''"of the Euboeans"''.]]

The history of the island of Euboea is largely that of its two principal cities, [[Chalcis]] and [[Eretria]], both mentioned in the [[Catalogue of Ships]]. Both cities were settled by [[Ionians|Ionian]] Greeks from [[Attica]], and would eventually settle numerous colonies in [[Magna Graecia]] and [[Sicily]], such as [[Cumae]] and [[Reggio Calabria|Rhegium]], and on the coast of [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]]. This opened new trade routes to the [[Greeks]], and extended the reach of Western Civilization.<ref>Lane Fox, Robin. ''Travelling Heroes'' (London: Penguin, 2008)  ''passim''</ref> The commercial influence of these city-states is evident in the fact that the Euboic scale of weights and measures was used among the Ionic cities generally, and in [[Athens]] until the end of the 7th century BC, during the time of [[Solon]].{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=866}} The classicist [[Barry B. Powell]] has proposed that Euboea may have been where the [[Greek alphabet]] was first employed, c. 775–750 BC, and that [[Homer]] may have spent part of his life on the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ElAnt/V1N2/powell|title=Did Homer Sing at Lefkandi?|first=Barry B.|last=Powell|website=Scholar.lib.vt.edu|access-date=23 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224101338/http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ElAnt/V1N2/powell|archive-date=24 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Euboia Histiaia 2 BMC61 1.xcf|alt=Silver tetrobol from Euboia, Histaia|thumb|Silver tetrobol from Euboia, Histaia. Wreathed head of the Nymph Histiaia right; [ΙΣΤΙ] – ΑΕΙΩΝ, Nymph Histiaia seated right on stern of galley, ornamented with wing, holding naval standard; AP monogram and labrys in exergue; BMC 61; BCD 391]]

Chalcis and Eretria were rival cities, and appear to have been equally powerful for a while. One of the earliest major military conflicts in Greek history took place between them, known as the [[Lelantine War]], in which many other Greek city-states also took part.<ref>Thucydides: [[History of the Peloponnesian War]]. I 15.</ref> In 490 BC, Eretria was utterly ruined by the Persian armies. Eretria, Athens, and other Ionian Greek states had previously burned the Persian city of Sardis and participated in the Ionian revolution. After Eretria was destroyed, its  inhabitants were transported as captives to [[Persian Empire|Persia]].{{clarify|date=April 2012}}<!-- How/why did this happen?--> Though it was restored nearby its original site after the [[Battle of Marathon]], the city never regained its former eminence.{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=867}} Following the battles of [[Battle of Thermopylae|Thermopylae]] and [[Battle of Artemisium|Artemisium]] in 480 BC, [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] forces occupied Euboea along with Attica and Boeotia.<ref name = L248>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mVRwQgAACAAJ&q=Lazenby+writer+greece+history|title=The Defence of Greece, 490-479 B.C.|first=John Francis|last=Lazenby|date=23 December 1993|publisher=Aris & Phillips|isbn=9780856685910|access-date=23 December 2017|via=Google Books}}</ref> Following their decisive defeat at the [[Battle of Plataea]] the following year, the Persians withdrew from all of their European possessions, including Euboea.

Both cities gradually lost influence to Athens, which saw Euboea as a strategic territory. Euboea was an important source of [[grain]] and [[cattle]], and controlling the island meant Athens could prevent invasion and better protect its trade routes from [[Piracy#Ancient origins|piracy]].
Athens invaded Chalcis in 506 BC and settled 4,000 Attic Greeks on their lands.  After this conflict, the whole of the island was gradually reduced to an Athenian dependency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=search&search=Anepigraphic|title=Forum Ancient Coins|website=Forum Ancient Coins|language=en|access-date=2018-01-11}}</ref> Another struggle between Euboea and Athens broke out in 446. Led by [[Pericles]], the Athenians subdued the revolt, and captured [[Istiaia|Histiaea]] in the north of the island for their own settlement.{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=867}}

By 410 BC, during the [[Peloponnesian War]], the island succeeded in regaining its independence. Euboea participated in Greek affairs until it fell under the control of [[Philip II of Macedon]] after the [[Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)|Battle of Chaeronea]] in 338 BC. It was incorporated into the [[Roman Republic]] in the second century BC.{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=867}} [[Aristotle]] died on the island in 322 BC soon after fleeing Athens for his mother's family estate in Chalcis. From the early [[Hellenistic period]] to well into the [[Roman Empire|Roman Imperial period]], the island was organized into the [[Euboean League]].

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Άγιος Δημήτριος Αυλωνάρι 8229.jpg|thumb|left|St Demetrius in [[Avlonari]] (10th)]]
[[File:Greece in 1210.svg|thumb|Negroponte and the other Greek and Latin states of southern Greece, c.&nbsp;1210.]]
[[File:Ναός Αγίας Παρασκευής, Χαλκίδα 1058.jpg|thumb|Medieval church of Agia Paraskevi, [[Chalcis]].]]
[[File:Castel tower Karystos, Euboea, Greece.jpg|thumb|Kokkinokastro (Castelrosso) of [[Karystos]]]]
[[File:Bourtzi castle Karystos Euboea Greece.jpg|thumb|Bourtzi castle, [[Karystos]]]]

Unlike much of [[Byzantine Greece]], Euboea was spared the bulk of the barbarian raids during [[late antiquity]] and the early medieval period, due to its relatively isolated location. The [[Vandals]] raided its shores in 466 and in 475, but the island seems to have been left alone by the [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]] and [[Slavs]], and it was not until a failed Arab attack on Chalcis in the 870s that the island again came under threat.<ref name="ODB"/> As a result, the island preserved a relative prosperity throughout the early medieval period, as attested by finds of mosaics, churches and sculpture throughout the 7th century, "even from remote areas of the island". In the 6th century, the ''[[Synecdemus]]'' listed four cities on the island, [[Aidipsos]], Chalcis, Porthmos (modern [[Aliveri]]) and [[Karystos]], and a number of other sites are known as bishoprics in the subsequent centuries ([[Oreoi]] and [[Avlon, Euboea|Avlon]]), although their urban character is unclear.<ref name="ODB"/> In the 8th century, Euboea formed a distinct fiscal district (''dioikesis''), and then formed part of the [[theme (Byzantine district)|theme]] of [[Hellas (theme)|Hellas]].<ref name="ODB"/>

In 1157 all the coastal towns of Euboea were destroyed by a [[Sicily|Sicilian]] force,<ref>Norwich, John Julius. ''Byzantium: The Decline and Fall'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996) p. 116</ref> while Chalcis was burned down by the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] in 1171.<ref name="ODB"/> During the 13th century, the Greek element of the island was strengthened by the Byzantine Emperor Michael Palaiologos.<ref name=":1">Γερογιάννη, Ευαγγελία. (2013). ''[https://olympias.lib.uoi.gr/jspui/bitstream/123456789/1171/1/%CE%9C.%20%CE%95.%20%CE%93%CE%95%CE%A1%CE%9F%CE%93%CE%99%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%9D%CE%97%20%CE%95%CE%A5%CE%91%CE%93%CE%93%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%91.pdf Οι Τοπικές Ενδυμασίες της Εύβοιας: Παρελθόν – Παρόν]''. University of Ioannina. p. 24.</ref>

Euboea came into prominence following the [[Fourth Crusade]]. In the partition of the Byzantine Empire by the crusaders after 1204, the island was occupied by a number of [[Lombardy|Lombard]] families, who divided it into three baronies, the [[Triarchy of Negroponte]]; each barony was split in 1216, giving six [[sestiere]]. The island's rulers came early on under the influence of the [[Venetian Republic]], which secured control of the island's commerce in the [[War of the Euboeote Succession]] (1256–1258) and gradually expanded its control, until they acquired full sovereignty by 1390.

On 12 July 1470, during the [[Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–1479)|Ottoman–Venetian War of 1463–1479]] and after a [[Siege of Negroponte (1470)|protracted and bloody siege]], the well-fortified city of Negroponte (Chalcis) was wrested from Venice by [[Mehmed II]] and the whole island fell into the hands of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The Doge [[Francesco Morosini]] besieged the city in 1688, but was forced to withdraw after three months.{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=867}}

[[Albanians]] started settling Euboea gradually, since 1402, encouraged by the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]]. In 1425, a total of 10,000 Albanians from various regions were settled in Euboea. A further indeterminate number of Albanians settled in the island in 1435. These Albanians intermingled with the local Greeks of the island.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Φάραντος |first=Χαράλαμπος Δ. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZI5NAAAAYAAJ |title=Δύο σταυρεπίστεγοι Ναοί στις περιοχές των χωριών: Μετόχι και Λενωσαίοι της Νότιας Εύβοιας |date=1984 |publisher=Εταιρεία Ευβοϊκών Σπουδών |language=el |quote=Τὸ ὀλιγάνθρωπο τῆς περιοχῆς ἀνάγκασε τοὺς Φράγκους δυνάστες τῆς Εὔβοιας νὰ ἐπιτρέψουν τὴν ἐγκατάσταση ̓Αλβανῶν ( Αρβανιτῶν ) στὴ Νότια Εὔβοια · ἀπὸ τὸ 1402. Αὐτοὶ οἱ νέοι κάτοικοι, οἱ ̓Αρβανίτες, ἀναμείχτηκαν μὲ τὸν ἑλληνικὸ (= ντόπιο) πληθυσμό, ποὺ κατοικοῦσε στὸν ἴδιο χῶρο, καὶ ρίζωσαν στὸν σκληρὸ αὐτὸν τόπο.}}</ref> A contemporary report (1687) notes that in 1471 Greeks had abandoned the island and by 1687 almost all of the island was inhabited by Albanians. This isn't corroborated in other reports so it likely presents a doubtful depiction of the demographic situation in the island.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nakratzas |first=Georgios |title=Hē stenē ethnologikē syngeneia tōn sēmerinōn Hellēnōn, Voulgarōn kai Tourkōn: Ēpeiros-Notia Hellada |date=1996 |publisher=Batavia |isbn=9789608580008 |pages=89–90 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o1BoAAAAMAAJ |quote=[...] για να ενισχύσει το 1425 με την εγκατάσταση 10.000 Αλβανών. Η εποίκηση αυτή συνεχίστηκε το 1435 με την εγκατάσταση στο νησία ενός άγνωστου αριθμού Αλβανών. Στη βιβλιογραφία αναφέρεται πως το 1471 ο ελληνικός πληθυσμός εγκατέλειψε την Εύβοια, με συνέπεια το 1687 σχεδόν ολόκληρος ο πληθυσμός του νησιού να αποτελείται από Αλβανούς. Η πληροφορία αυτή δε διασταυρώνεται και από άλλες βιβλιογραφικές πηγές, γεγονός που καθιστά την αξιοπιστία της αμφίβολη. Εκείνο που είναι γενικά παραδεκτό είναι η διαπίστωση του Hanh ότι τον 19ον αιώνα ολόκληρος ο πληθυσμός της νότιας Εύβοιας, με μοναδική εξαίρεση την Κάρυστο, αποτελούνταν από 25.000 Αλβανούς, οι οποίοι πέρασαν ολοκληρωτικά στην ελληνική κουλτούρα.}}</ref> According to [[Johann Georg von Hahn|Johann Georg Von Hahn]] (1854), Albanians were present in all of the cities of southern Euboea, excluding the town of [[Karystos]] which was inhabited solely by Greeks.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Hahn |first=Johann Georg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EhA5AQAAMAAJ |title=Albanesische Studien |date=1854 |publisher=Verlag von Friedrich Mauke |pages=32 |language=de}}</ref><ref name="Elsie">{{cite book | last=Elsie | first=Robert | title=Historical Dictionary of Albania | publisher=Scarecrow Press | series=Historical Dictionaries of Europe | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-8108-7380-3 | page=172}}</ref> According to Hahn, the Albanians numbered 25,000 in south Euboea, out of 72,368 total population of the island as a whole.<ref name=":2" />

The Greek inhabitants of south Euboea spoke a certain dialect related to [[Varieties of Modern Greek#Modern varieties|Old Athenian]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thumb |first=Albert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5uPfAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA119 |title=Αθηνά: Σύγγραμμα Περιοδικόν της εν Αθήναις Επιστημονικής Εταιρείας. |date=1891 |publisher=Εκ του Τυπογραφείου των Αδελφών Περρή |pages=119 |language=el |chapter=Μελέτη Περί της Σημερινής Εν Αιγινή Λαλούμενης Διαλέκτου |chapter-url=https://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/metadata/c/7/9/metadata-181-0000370.tkl}}</ref> This dialect was spoken in Kymi, Avlonari, Konistres, Aliveri, Karystos and other places.<ref>Παντελίδης, Νικόλαος (2016). ''[http://www.phil.uoa.gr/fileadmin/phil.uoa.gr/uploads/linguistics/Pdf/papers/Pantelidis_2016__To_palaioathinaiko_idioma.pdf Tο παλαιοαθηναϊκό ιδίωμα: Πηγές, μαρτυρίες, χαρακτηριστικά]''. ''Glossologia'': University of Athens. p. 24. "Η γλωσσική ποικιλία της Αθήνας (και της Αττικής γενικά) εντάσσεται, όπως
προαναφέρθηκε, σε μια ομάδα μαζί με τα ιδιώματα της Αίγινας, των Μεγάρων και της νοτιότερης Εύβοιας (Κύμη, Αυλωνάρι, Κονίστρες, Αλιβέρι, Κάρυστος κ.λπ.)</ref>

Although the name Negroponte remained current in European languages until the 19th century, the Turks themselves called the city and the island Eğriboz or Ağriboz after the Euripos Strait. Under Ottoman rule, Ağriboz was the seat of a [[Sanjak of Ağriboz|sanjak]] that also encompassed much of [[Central Greece (geographic region)|Continental Greece]].

At the conclusion of the [[Greek War of Independence]] in 1830, the island returned to Greece and constituted a part of the newly established independent [[Kingdom of Greece (Wittelsbach)|Greek kingdom]].{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=867}}

=== Modern period ===
[[File:Bridge of Chalcis, Euboea (3).JPG|thumb|The Chalcis' Bridge connecting the island with the mainland of [[Greece]].]]

In 1982, in the Greek-speaking village of Antia in southern Euboea, the entire population knew the local [[whistled language]] called ''sfyria'' (from the Greek word ''sfyrizo'' 'whistle'),<ref name="Stein2017">{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170731-greeces-disappearing-whistled-language |title=Greece's disappearing whistled language |last=Stein |first=Eliot |date=1 August 2017 |work=[[BBC Travel]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801161637/http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170731-greeces-disappearing-whistled-language |archive-date=1 August 2017}}</ref> but only a few whistlers remain in the 21st century.<ref name=Meyer2005>{{cite thesis |last1=Meyer |first1=Julien |title=Description typologique et intelligibilité des langues sifflées, approche linguistique et bioacoustique |trans-title=Typology and intelligibility of whistled languages: approach in linguistics and bioacoustics |language=fr |year=2005 |url=http://www.lemondesiffle.free.fr/projet/science/TheseMeyer.pdf}}</ref> ''Sfyria'' is "a whistled version of spoken Greek, in which letters and syllables correspond to distinct tones and frequencies."<ref name="Stein2017" />

Beginning in late 1943, 1,000 Greek Jews were smuggled from [[Salonika|Thessaloniki]] and Athens via the island by the [[Greek Resistance]] and British [[MI11]] to [[Çeşme]] in neutral [[Turkey]], thereby escaping [[the Holocaust in Greece]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Guttstadt |first1=Corry |last2=Mannoni |first2=Olivier |title=La politique de la Turquie pendant la Shoah |journal=Revue d'Histoire de la Shoah |date=2015 |issue=2 |page=195 |doi=10.3917/rhsho.203.0195 |url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-revue-d-histoire-de-la-shoah-2015-2-page-195.htm}}</ref>

Euboea is linked to the mainland by two bridges, one that runs through Chalcis and is also accessible from [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], and another which bypasses Chalcis and is accessed from Athens. All of Euboea's modern bridges are [[Suspension bridge|suspended]].

In the 1980s, the [[Dystos]] lake was filled with grass which was set on fire by farmers to make more farmland. This act caused devastation of much of the plants and the environment in that area.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} A part of the lake later regenerated. Also the municipalities of Anthidona and Avlida in the mid to late 20th century, which once were part of [[Boeotia]], reverted to Chalcis.{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} Since then, the postal codes have corresponded with the rest of Euboea, including Skyros. 

A week-long major [[2021 Greece wildfires|forest fire in 2021]] destroyed over 50,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land in the north of the island, one of the largest forest fires in modern Greek history.

==Mythology==
The promontory of Canaeum, which lies opposite the Malian Gulf, together with the neighbouring coast of [[Trachis]], was the scene of the events connected with the death of [[Heracles]], as described by [[Sophocles]] in the ''[[Trachiniae]]''.{{sfn|Tozer|1911|p=865}}

Based on the records of the 2nd century AD geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], it is suspected that the [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]] god [[Crius]] is an indigenous deity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanKrios.html|title=CRIUS (Krios) – Greek Titan God of the Constellations|website=Theoi.com|access-date=23 December 2017}}</ref>

==Demographics==

The population of the island, according to the census of 2001, was 198,130, making it the second most populous island of Greece. As a whole the Euboeans share a cultural identity similar to that of the people in the rest of [[Central Greece (geographic region)|Central Greece]] and speak a [[Varieties of Modern Greek|southern variety]] of [[Greek language|Greek]]. In the southern part of the island there are [[Arvanites|Arvanite]] communities. Until the 1970s there were still monolingual speakers of Arvanitika in southern Euboea. As of the late 20th century, in southern Euboea there were about 60 villages inhabited by Arvanites.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sasse |first1=Hans-Jürgen |title=Arvanitika: the long Hellenic centuries of an Albanian variety |journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language |date=1998 |issue=134 |page=54 |doi=10.1515/ijsl.1998.134.39 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijsl.1998.134.39/html }}</ref> [[Sarakatsani]] and [[Vlachs]] could be found mainly in the mountainous areas in central and northern Euboea respectively, but nowadays they have abandoned the nomadic way of life and live permanently in the towns and villages across the island.

==Economics==

The mining areas include [[magnesite]] in [[Mantoudi]] and [[Limni, Euboea|Limni]], [[lignite]] in [[Aliveri]] and [[iron]] and [[nickel]] from [[Dirfys]]. [[Marble]] is mined {{convert|3|km|0|abbr=on}} north of [[Eretria]] which include ''[[Marmor Chalcidicum]]'' and [[asbestos]] in the northeastern part of [[Carystus]] in the [[Okhi mountain]]. The trees include [[chestnuts]].

==Transport==
*[[Greek National Road 44]], Cen., S, SE
*[[Greek National Road 77]] NW, N, W, Cen.

==Local administration==

The island belongs to [[Euboea Prefecture]] which also includes two municipalities on the mainland, [[Anthidona]] and [[Avlida]], as well as the island municipality of [[Skyros]]. At the 2001 census the prefecture had a population of 215,136 inhabitants, whereas the island itself had a population of 198,130. The prefecture's land area is 4,{{convert|167.449|km²|0|abbr=on}}, whereas the total land area of the municipalities actually on the island is 3,{{convert|684.848|km²|0|abbr=on}}, which includes that of numerous small offshore islets ([[Petalioi]]) near Euboea's southeastern tip.

==Notable people==
* [[Sotiria Bellou]] (1921–1997), singer
* [[Mordechai Frizis]] (1893–1940), [[Romaniotes|Romaniote]] general who helped defeat [[Kingdom of Italy|fascist Italy's]] [[Julia Division]] in [[Northern Epirus|southern Albania]] during the [[Greco-Italian War]] 
* [[Konstantinos Kallias]] (9 July 1901{{snd}}7 April 2004), politician
* [[Nikolaos Kriezotis]] (1785–1853),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://eviaportal.gr/nikolaos-kriezotis-o-eyboiotis-oplarchigos-tis-epanastasis-toy-1821/|title = Νικόλαος Κριεζώτης, ο Ευβοιώτης οπλαρχηγός της επανάστασης του 1821 – Eviaportal.gr|date = 14 February 2014}}</ref> leader of the Greek Revolution on Euboea
* [[Demetrios Magiros]] (1912–1982), mathematician
* [[Orestis Makris]] (1898–1975), actor and tenor
* [[Georgios Papanikolaou]] (1883–1962), physician, pioneer in cytology and early cancer detection, creator of the [[Pap test]]
* [[Nikos Skalkottas]] (1901–1949), composer
* [[Giannis Skarimpas]] (1893–1984),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82070729.html|title = Skarimpas, Giannēs, 1893–1984 – LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies &#124; Library of Congress, from LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)}}</ref> writer
* [[Porphyrios (Bairaktaris) of Kafsokalivia|Porphyrios]] (1906–1991), saint of the Orthodox Church
* [[George M. Marcus|George Marcus]], (1941–present), Greek-American real estate pioneer

==Sporting teams==
* Football: [[Chalkida F.C.]], Chalkida, third division
* Basketball: [[Chalkida BC]], Chalkida, [[A2 Ethniki|Greek A2 League]], [[Kymis BC]], Kymi

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Eretria Upper Gymnasium.jpg|The upper gymnasion of ancient [[Eretria]]
File:Negroponte by Giacomo Franco.jpg|Depiction of Negroponte ([[Chalcis]]) by Giacomo Franco (1597)
File:Aliveri-church.jpg|Church in [[Aliveri]]
File:Avlonari tower Euboea Greece.jpg|Venetian tower in [[Avlonari]]
File:Kastro Trachili Euboea Greece.jpg|Venetian tower of Trachili
File:Ebbe in Chalkida.jpg|Beach of [[Chalcis]]
File:Dragon_house_oche.jpg| The [[Dragon houses|Dragon house]] on [[Ochi (mountain)|Mount Ochi]]
File:Dirfi river.JPG|A tiny river flowing by the Dirfi mountain
File:Κύμη 2145.jpg|[[Kymi, Greece|Kymi]]
File:Aidipsos.JPG|View of [[Aidipsos]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|List of settlements in the Euboea regional unit}}
* {{annotated link|List of Greek place names}}
* {{annotated link|1119 Euboea}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Euboea|volume=9|pages=865–867|first=Henry Fanshawe|last=Tozer|author-link=Henry Fanshawe Tozer}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Evvia}}
{{commons category|Euboea}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131226064728/http://www.naevias.gr/ Official site – English version]
* [https://www.flickr.com/groups/chalkis-evoia Photos from Euboea, Evoia]
* [https://www.vrisko.gr/en/ferry-routes-greece/rafina/evia-marmari/ Ferry Routes Rafina – Evia Marmari]
* [https://amazingevia.com/en/ Amazing Evia – Travel Guide]

{{Euboean Sea Islands}}
{{Aegean Sea}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Euboea| ]]
[[Category:Aegean islands]]
[[Category:Islands of Central Greece]]
[[Category:Landforms of Euboea (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Islands of Greece]]
[[Category:Territories of the Republic of Venice]]