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Oropos

Ωρωπός
Oropos Ωρωπός
Municipality
	Aerial view of Oropos
	Oropos Location within the region
	Coordinates: 38°18′N 23°45′E / 38.300°N 23.750°E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Attica
Regional unit	East Attica
Area
• Municipality	338.18 km2 (130.57 sq mi)
• Community	11.97 km2 (4.62 sq mi)
Elevation	40 m (130 ft)
Population (2021)
• Municipality	31,811
• Density	94/km2 (240/sq mi)
• Community	1,448
• Community density	120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	190 15
Area code(s)	22950
Vehicle registration	Z

Oropos (Greek: Ωρωπός) is a small town and a municipality in East Attica, Greece.

The village of Skala Oropou, within the bounds of the municipality, was the site an important ancient Greek city, Oropus, and the famous nearby sanctuary of Amphiaraos is still visible today.

Name

The town is known as Oropos in Greek and has been called Ropό in Arvantic.^[2]

Geography

The municipality Oropos stretches between the Parnitha mountains and the South Euboean Gulf, opposite Eretria (on the island Euboea). The town Oropos, the seat of the municipality, is situated on the lower course of the river Asopos, 4 km south of the coast. It lies 4 km southwest of Nea Palatia and 55 km north of Athens city center. The community Oropos consists of the town Oropos and the nearby villages Kampos and Platania. The municipality has an area of 338.183 km², the community 11.967 km².^[3]

Municipality

The present municipality Oropos was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 9 former municipalities, that became municipal units (constituent communities in brackets):^[4]

Afidnes
Avlonas
Kalamos
Kapandriti
Malakasa
Markopoulo Oropou
Oropioi (Nea Palatia, Skala Oropou and Oropos)
Polydendri
Sykamino

History

Oropos was founded by colonists from Eretria; it was either located in or identical with Graea.^[5] In ancient times, it was a border city between Boeotia and Attica, and its possession was a continual cause of dispute between the two states; but ultimately it came into possession of Athens, and was always an Attic town, even during the Roman Empire. The actual harbour, which was called Delphinium, was at the mouth of the Asopus, about a mile (1.6 km) north of the city.^[6]

The famous Sanctuary of Amphiaraos was situated in the territory of Oropus, 12 stadia from the city. The site has been excavated by the Greek Archaeological Society;^[7] it contained a temple, a sacred spring, into which coins were thrown by worshippers, altars and porticoes, and a small theatre, of which the proskenion is well preserved. Worshippers used to consult the oracle of Amphiaraos by sleeping on the skin of a slaughtered ram within the sacred building.^[6] The village of Oropos has historically also been settled by Arvanites.^[8]

During the Regime of the Colonels composer Mikis Theodorakis was interned in the concentration camp at Oropos^[9] before going into exile in Paris.

References

^ "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.
^ Sasse, H. (1991). Arvanitika: die albanischen Sprachreste in Griechenland. Deutschland: O. Harrassowitz, p. 19
^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece.
^ "ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
^ Robin Lane Fox, Travelling Heroes: In the Epic Age of Homer (Random House, 2008: ISBN 0-679-44431-9), p. 161.
^ ^a ^b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Oropus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 327.
^ A. Mazzarakis Ainian, "Oropos in the Early Iron Age", in M. Bats and d'Agostino, eds. Euboica: l'Eubea e la presenza euboica in Calcidia e in occidente 1998:197-215.
^ Hans-Jürgen Sasse (1991). Arvanitika: die albanischen Sprachreste in Griechenland. Vol. 1. p. 18. ISBN 9783447027588.
^ Mikis Theodorakis: Journal of Resistance, p. 263 seq.