Antikyra or Anticyra (Greek: Αντίκυρα) is a port on the west coast of the Gulf of Antikyra named after it. That gulf is a north-coast bay of the Gulf of Corinth. The settlement was made basically on a floor and beach fringing the northeast side of the mountainous Desfina Peninsula. Inscriptional evidence in the region proves that it has been continuous under the same name since classical Greece. Pausanias, an ancient writer, believed that at the beginning of the classical period it had two names, Antikyra and an earlier, Homeric name. Considering that the archaeology from that specific location dates only from the Geometric period, Pausanias' belief about the earlier antiquity of the site is suspect.
However, tombs from Medeon across the gulf date to the Middle Helladic (Middle Bronze Age) period, and the Desfina Peninsula as well as the Pleistos river valley were populated during the Mycenaean Period (Late Bronze Age). Although Antikyra does not appear in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships, which is almost a sine qua non for protohistoric Bronze Age antiquity, the southwest fringe of the Desfina Peninsula is known to have been the Mycenaean port area for settlements of the peninsula. It is considered likely by some that Pausanias' earlier settlement, under whatever name, was located there.
Be that as it may, Antikyra has had a long and continuous history since then, not even being abandoned after total destruction and transportation of all its population, whereas Medeon across the gulf did not even get through the Hellenistic Period. Besides export and import, Antikyra's Its main product has been black and white hellebore, which grow naturally in the area. The ancients used compounds extracted from them widely as purgatives to treat several diseases, but the side effects are severe and toxic, sometimes inducing psychosis. In one historical incident it appears to have been weaponized as a poison. Antikyra's use of their own product gave them a certain reputation among the ancients as wild men. Currently the communities of the gulf have adopted the metals business, notably aluminum, after a plant was constructed beneath Medeon across the gulf.
Antikyra was destroyed and rebuilt during the 4th- and 3rd-century BC wars of Macedonia and Rome and following a 7th-century AD earthquake. During the 14th century, it was held by Catalan mercenaries. Politically it was a primary port of ancient Phocis. in modern times it became a municipality of Boeotia, along with Distomo and Arachova. During the Kallikrates reform of 2011, which sought to decrease governmental substructure by combining municipalities, it was made a unit of the new unified municipality of Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra.
^"Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
Antikyra or Anticyra (Greek: Αντίκυρα) is a port on the west coast of the Gulf of Antikyra named after it. That gulf is a north-coast bay of the Gulf of...
occasionally. Alkyonides Gulf, east Crissaean Gulf (Gulf of Crissa), north Bay of Antikyra, north Dombraina (Domvrena), north Strait of Rion, west Trizonia (the only...
Sculpture Grecque 2, La période classique (Paris 1999), p. 244. Sideris Α., "Antikyra: An ancient Phokian City", Emvolimo 43–44 (Spring–Summer 2001) pp. 123–124...
as in the map in the infobox): Aliartos-Thespies (2) Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra (3) Livadeia (1) Orchomenos (5) Tanagra (6) Thebes (Thiva, 4) Boeotia was...
his madness had been cured with hellebore by Antikyreus, the founder of Antikyra, he realized what he had done and fled to the Oracle of Delphi. Unbeknownst...
reform it is a municipal unit, part of the municipality Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra. It is a tourist destination due to its location in the mountains, its...
as Paralia Distomou, is a town in the municipal unit Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra, in Boeotia, Greece. In 2021, its population was 1,676. Aspra Spitia was...
the most famous place for the black hellebore was the Phokian city of Antikyra in Greece. Black hellebore was the dominant purgative of antiquity, frequently...
pottery collection from Medeon and Antikyra. It has a number of vases unearthed ancient Medeon. The vases from Antikyra date between the 8th and 2nd centuries...
Makedonia occupies Thermopylae and Antikyra, Nicaea is occupied by Thessaly 345 Makedonia withdraws from Thermopylae and Antikyra 345 Grabaei becomes a vassal...
local government reform it is part of the municipality Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an...
Artemis Laphria, indicated by the month Laphrios in the local calendar. Antikyra in Phocis.Cult of Artemis-Diktynaia, a popular goddess who was worshipped...
southeast of Lamia. In antiquity, the mouth of the river was the site of Antikyra, which was famed for its black and white hellebore. Several studies have...
of Hosios Loukas UNESCO World Heritage Site Location Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra Municipality, Boeotia, Central Greece, Greece Part of Monasteries of Daphni...
Cirphis may refer to: Mount Cirphis in Greece, between the Bay of Antikyra and the valley of the Pleistus Cirphis (Phocis), a town of ancient Phocis, Greece...
Bombed and sunk by American warplanes ? HS Sokratis Greece 22 April 1941 Antikyra, Greece Sunk by German warplanes ? HMHS St David British Empire 24 January...
61 Stadion Athenodoros Aigion Eusebius 211 § AD 65 Pankration Xenodamos Antikyra 211 § AD 65 Chariot racing for Foals Nero Rome Eusebius 211 § AD 65 Chariot...
Tactical Air Force Command. He has served as mayor of Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra from 2011 to 2014. He was born in 1954 in Arachova, Boeotia. In September...
Gregory of Nafplio, and Daniel of Tripoli. Then on March 11 he landed in Antikyra, returning to his diocese and from there to Livadia where he met the bishops...
eastern extension of the East Channel fault and the south dipping Western Antikyra fault. In adjunct with these active faults there are a few inactive faults...
Frankish Tower (Ano Tithorea) in Ano Tithorea, Phthiotis Frankish Tower at Antikyra, Boeotia, demolished in the 1960s Frankish Tower (Askri) in Askri, Boeotia...
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