Leontari (, before 1930: Κασκαβέλι - KaskaveliName changes of settlements in Greece, Arvanite / Albanian: indef. / def. Kackavel/i) is a town in the municipal unit of Thespies in Boeotia, Greece.
History The city of Leontari was founded at the end of the 14th or beginning of the 15th century by Albanian settlers, the so-called Arvanites, under the leadership of Zogra Kobili. Leontari was first attested as hamlet in the Ottoman census of 1466. Initially the village was named after its founder. Later, and until 1930, the town was named Kaskaveli or Kobili, variants of the name of the founder. In 1930 it was renamed to Leontari ("Lion" in Greek) after an ancient Greek artifact possibly related to the area.
Demographics
Year Population 1850 266 1928 961 1940 982 1951 1116 1971 1002 1981 1016 2001 1036 2011 904 2021 625
Notable people Aristeidis Kollias, Lawyer, Folklorist and Historian.
References