Atalanti ( Atalantē) is the second largest town in Phthiotis, Greece. It is located southeast of Lamia, north of Livadeia and northwest of Chalcis. In 2011, it was incorporated into the municipality of Lokroi with an area of 614.7 km2 and a population of 19,623 (2011 census), of which it is the government seat and a municipal unit.
Geography The town can be accessed via the Greek National Road 1 (Athens – Lamia – Thessaloniki). It is situated in central Greece, surrounded by Mt. Knimida to the north, Mt. Chlomo to the south, Mt. Parnassus to the west, and the northern Eubean Gulf to the east. The area is characterized by high concentrations of magnesium and iron in the soil.
The municipal unit has an area of 304.141 km2.
Economy Atalanti is known as a market town and was the capital of the former Locris Province. The town's geography has garnered it a reputation in Greece as a notable wine-producing hub.
Subdivisions The municipal unit, Atalanti, is subdivided into the following communities (with constituent villages in parentheses): Atalanti (Atalanti, Agios Vlasios, Palirroia, Skala) Exarchos Kalapodi Kyparissi (Kyparissi, Efkalyptos) Kyrtoni Megaplatanos Tragana (Tragana, Mikrovivos)
Historical population Year Town population Municipal unit population 1940 4,042 – 1981 5,562 – 1991 6,189 10,240 2001 6,127 10,367 2011 5,199 8,267 2021 4,661 7,278
Mythology The capital of Locris province was the city of Opus. According to Hesiodus and Plutarch, the city was named Opus after the son of Locros and the great-grandson of Deucalion and Pyrrha. The Locrians from Opus participated in the Trojan War, providing 40 battle ships and four thousand warriors. The leader of the Locrians was Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus and grandson of Hodoedocus. Ajax excelled in the Trojan War, but while returning from Troy, he died in a storm. Another notable figure from Opus was Patroclus, son of Menoetius and best friend of Achilles. When he was still a child, Patroclus killed the nobleman Clysonymus, son of Amphidamas, during a game. Although he was a minor, Patroclus had to leave Opus in order to escape revenge. His father took him to Peleus, who raised him along with Achilles as his own child.
The name of the city is derived from the Greek mythology character Atalanta.
History
Neolithic Age
The first signs of organized human life in Atalanti's region can be traced back to the Neolithic era (7000 BC – 3200–3100 BC) when the first town in the valley of Skala Atalanti was developing. All human activities of Neolithic man can be traced in this area: agriculture, stockbreeding, hunting, and fishing.
Bronze Age The Early Helladic period (3200–2100 BC) saw the growth of trade (both land- and sea-borne) and the development of pottery. The area of Atalanti was influenced by other places in mainland Greece and the islands. This area, as well as others of this period, was characterized by a hierarchically organized society.
In the Middle Helladic period (2100–1600 BC), villages were destroyed (possibly due to the invasion of other Greek tribes). Because of this, retrogression, introversion and cultural isolation were noted.
Most possibly in the Late Helladic period (1600–1100 BC), the Mycenaean city, Opus, was built. Its inhabitants main occupations were fishing and agriculture (e.g., the cultivation of wheat, grain, legumes, olives, and grapes, as well as the production of wine).
During the 11th century BC (post-Mycenaean period), there was an economic and demographic decline. Old villages were abandoned and new villages were built in different locations. This period is mostly characterized by an adherence to tradition. Pottery making remained the main occupation.
Protogeometric Period Between the 10th and 8th century BC, the regime of Opus was aristocracy and oligarchy. Hierarchy was one of the key features of society in that time. It was a society where classes owed their existence primarily to the differentiation between the distinct occupations of its inhabitants. Trade and shipping were growing. Opus was heavily influenced by art from Athens, Corinth, Euboea, and Thessaly. A massive production of vases and the blooming of metallurgy (weapons and gold jewelry) are recorded. All these suggest the existence of a prosperous and wealthy society in the region of Locris.
Archaic Period
During the Archaic period (700 – 480 BC) the system of government in Opus remained an oligarchy with no political controversy. This can perhaps be termed a "conservative democracy" since there were no slaves in Locris. The main inhabitants' main occupations continued to be agriculture, livestock (mainly cattle), fishing, pottery and wine production.
Classical period
In the Classical Period (second quarter of 5th century BC – 323 BC), and more specifically during the Peloponnesian War (431 – 404 BC), the Locrians sided with Sparta (leader of the Peloponnesian League). The Athenians attacked and destroyed the coastal cities of Locris. In 431 BC they fortified the island of Atalanti (or Atalantonisi or Talantonisi) in order to curb the activities of Locrian pirates and to ensure the safety of the coast of Euboea. But an earthquake in 426 BC destroyed part of the walls and the fortress that were built in Atalantonisi.
Hellenistic and Roman Period
During the Hellenistic period (336 or 323 BC – middle of 1st century BC) an earthquake in 300 BC destroyed part of Opus. In 204 BC, the Roman general Gaius Flaminius seized Opus, but in 197 BC he restored independence to the Locrians. In 165 BC, the Common of Locris was founded. Another earthquake in 106 BC destroyed Opus, but it was rebuilt again. The end of the Hellenistic period was sealed by the raid of Sulla (Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix) around 87/86 BC. Throughout this period Opus remained a mainly rural economy. At the same time, Atalanti was the main center of pottery production in the district. The invasion of Sulla prompted many residents of the cities of Locris to abandon their villages during the Roman period (30 BC – 324 AD). The population mostly moved to the settlements of Opus and Kynos. In the area, large privately owned farms were created. In Atalanti, public baths and an aqueduct were built.
Early Christian Period During early Christian times, the Diocess of Opus was founded (Ecumenical Synod or Council in Ephesus in 431 and in Chalcedon in 451 under the Diocese of Corinth. In the years 376 and 395–397 Goths and Visigoths (under Alaric I) invaded the area which had a negative effect on the local economy. Regression and in some cases abandonment of coastal settlements occurred.
Byzantine and Frankish periods
In 565, during the reign years of Justinian I, the name Talanti was first mentioned.
In the 9th century the Saracens raided the area and in the 10th century, the Bulgarians under Simeon I also attacked Locris.
Following the Fourth Crusade, a Frankish barony was established at Atalanti, under the Catalan noble Pere de Puigpardines. The Koulia tower (which was demolished in 1957) and probably the paliopyrgos were built at this time.Christophorou, Manthos K. 2001. "Timeline for Opous and Atalanti. A Summary of 4000 years." Edition Municipality of Atalanti pg. 13 The barony (La Calandri -in Catalan sources- or Talantum in Western sources) was a part of the Aragonese Duchy of Athens and one of the four major ports of the Duchy, that was based in Talanti (La Calandri).
In 1311, the Duchy of Athens had fallen into the hands of Catalan mercenaries of the Catalan Company after the victorious Battle of Halmyros. In 1380, the Navarrese Company made raids against the Catalans of Atalanti. In 1385, the area of Phthiotis fell into the hands of the Serbs, except for Atalanti. In 1388, the region of Locris passed into the hands of the Florentine Acciaioli family, ending the Catalan domination.
In 1393, the Diocese of Talanti was established. The same year the Ottoman Turks began their raids. The Duchy of Athens was abolished by the Ottomans in 1458, and the period of Ottoman rule for Atalanti and Locris in general began.
Ottoman period
According to the census of 1466, Atalanti had 248 families all of whom were Christians. In the census of 1506, there were 449 Christian and 13 Ottoman homes. In 1521, 435 Christian and 30 Ottoman homes were recorded."In the town of Atalanti, 32 Christian families are recorded who worked in the salt-pans" Dakoronia F. Kotoulas D., Baltas E. Tolias B Sythiakakis B. "Locris – History & Culture." Publisher: Hatzimichalis Estate p.155 (in Greek) The residents of Atalanti did not pay any taxes as they were a waqf, while their children were free from the compulsory levy of children in the Ottoman army, in order to join the Janissaries (in Greek:Παιδομάζομα, in Turkish: devşirme). In return, the inhabitants of Atalanti had to protect the narrow sea and the coast when pirates attacked.Dakoronia F. Kotoulas D., Baltas E. Tolias B Sythiakakis B. "Locris – History & Culture." Publisher: Hatzimichalis Estate p.155, (In Greek) Ottoman Archives also verify this statement and Muslim landlords of Talanda prevented the levy of children. For example, in 1646 (Hijri 1056), the trustee of the waqf of Grand Vizier Kemankeş Kara Mustafa Pasha, requested from the authorities that the devshirme officers should not disrupt the locals of the villages in Talanda, since they belonged to the Mustafa Pasha waqf and were exempt from devshirme.
According to the census of 1571 there were 622 Christian and 77 Ottoman homes in Atalanti. This made it the largest settlement across Locris, with a population of about 3,000 people. This also explains the upgrading of Atalanti during the next century which included the surrounding villages. The main occupations of the inhabitants were agriculture (cereals, viticulture), cultivation of flax, cotton and vegetables, as well as apiaries and livestock.
In 1688, during the Ottoman–Venetian war, Kourmas and the Bishop of Amfissa Philotheos temporarily seized Atalanti. The same year, plague broke out in Atalanti. The Turks reclaimed the city in a short time. Fearing retaliation, several families"23 families of Atalanti and then another 111 from Livadeia and Atalantι moved in the Peloponnese after the invitation of the Venetians." – Christophorou K. Manthos 2001. "Timeline for Opous and Atalanti. A Summary of 4000 years." Edition City of Atalanti p.15 (in Greek) relocated to the Venetian Peloponnese between 1691 and 1697. Knowledge about the period of the 18th and early 19th century is limited and it is mostly based on reports by travellers.