Eretria

Eretria (Ερέτρια) and Malakonta (Μαλακώντα), Magoula (Μαγούλα) are in Evvia.

Understand
It was an important Greek polis in the 6th/5th century BC, mentioned by many famous writers and actively involved in significant historical events. The modern town of Eretria is now a popular beachside resort. The historic and archaeological finds from Eretria and Lefkandi are displayed in the Eretria Museum, established by the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece. It's an important station on the way to the south of the island. It has many taverns and a long beach promenade. The archaeological excavations are located on the northern edge of the modern town.

History
The oldest archaeological finds date the foundation of the city to the 9th century BC. It was probably founded as the harbour of Lefkandi, which is located 15 km to the west. In the 8th century BC, Eretria and her near neighbour and rival, Chalcis, were both powerful and prosperous trading cities. Eretria controlled the Aegean islands of Andros, Tenos and Ceos. They also held territory in Boeotia on the Greek mainland. Eretria was also involved in the Greek colonisation and founded the colonies of Pithekoussai and Cumae in Italy together with Chalcis. At the end of the 8th century BC, however, Eretria and Chalcis fought a prolonged war (known mainly from the account in Thucydides as the Lelantine War) for control of the fertile Lelantine plain. Little is known of the details of this war, but it is clear that Eretria was defeated. The city was destroyed and Eretria lost her lands in Boeotia and her Aegean dependencies. Neither Eretria nor Chalcis ever again counted for much in Greek politics. As a result of this defeat, Eretria turned to colonisation. She planted colonies in the northern Aegean, on the coast of Macedon, in Italy and Sicily. In 490 BC the city was sacked and burned by the Persians under the admiral Darius and the population was deported to Mesopotamia. The temple of Apollo, built around 510 BC, was destroyed by the Persians. Parts of a pediment were found in 1900, including the torso of an Athena statue. The Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, in which Philip II of Macedon defeated the combined armies of the Greeks, marked the end of the Greek cities as independent states and Eretria dwindled to become a provincial town. In 198 BC it was plundered by the Romans. In 87 BC it was finally destroyed in the Mithridatic Wars and abandoned.

Get in
The town can be reached from Skala Oropou, Attica by ferry or via Chalcis by road.