Kallidromo

Map of Thermopylae in ancient times, in the south of the massif Kallidromo

Kallidromo (Greek Καλλίδρομο; katharevousa Kallidromon Καλλίδρομον, rarely Kallidromos ) is a maximum of 1,419 m high mountain range in the south and south-west of the regional district Fthiotida in the Greek region Central Greece. The name of the mountain means good way '.

Geography

The Kallidromo massif begins in the north at the lower reaches of the Sperchios, which lies in its valley on its southern boundary. From the north pull the hills of the Kallidromo to the southeast along the coast of the Malian Gulf and subsequently the northern Gulf of Evia. The longitudinal axis of Kallidromo massif runs from northwest to southeast and has a maximum extension of 38-40 km. The vertical transverse axis this from northeast to southwest has at its widest point, has a diameter of about 16 km, at the narrowest point of about 10 km. The eastern and southern boundary of the Kallidromo is carried by the river and its valley Kifisos or plane.

To the north, the height Kallidromo massif runs in the direction of the Sperchios level with the summit Elafovouni at just under 1,100 m. Elafovouni is located just north of the Kallidromo main summit in about 4 km away. In the middle of the longitudinal axis of the Kallidromo to spur extending to the southwest towards the north-eastern foothills of Parnassos. The connection between the two mountain ranges is interrupted by the along the west flank of Kallidromo running Kifisos with a narrow valley. This point marks the separation between the upper Kifisos Valley in the northwest and the lower Kifisos Valley in the southeast with the expanded level of the drained lake Kopais ( Kopais lake). At the point of passage between the Kallidromo in the north and the foothills of Parnassos is the town of Amfiklia. To the south of the Kallidromo massif runs on the mountain Varvas. To the north- east towards the sea the foothills ( 926 m) extends called Knimis or Knimidos to near the coast. To the southeast the foothills of the Kallidromo achieve even a height of 841 m near the Prophet Elias Monastery north of Elatia.

The south-eastern neighboring mountains or mountain is the Chlomo south of the small town Atalandi ( Atalanti ). Towards the south and southwest of Parnassos is the neighboring mountains of Kallidromo, of West southwest to west the Vardousia Massif, from the west to northwest, the Iti - solid.

History

In antiquity, the foothills of the Kallidromo were significantly closer to the sea. The northern part of the Kallidromo formed the landward boundary of Thermopylae between the valley of Sperchios and Böötien and Attica. Thanks to the considerable Sedimenteinschwemmungen the river Sperchios in the Malian Gulf, it has come over the years since ancient times to increasing siltation, so that the Thermopylae Pass today is several kilometers wide. Further south, between the towns of Kamena Vourla and Agios Kostadinos rich the foothills of the Kallidromo up to 500 m on the northern Gulf of Evvia approach and thus provide a traffic engineering bottleneck of the present ( and the past) dar.

This strategic position as a " barrier wall " of Thermopylae has made the Kallidromo massif to one in the history of multiple significant and notable mountain range. The repeated wars at Thermopylae always took place " at the feet " of the Kallidromo. In the first battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC as part of the Greece campaign of the Persian Empire dealt under Xerxes parts of the Persian army, the Greek defense positions under the Spartan King Leonidas on a path over the heights of Kallidromo massif to then the Greeks in to fall back. Also, the defensive battle of the Greeks against the Celts in 279 BC under their incidence in Greece as well as the so-called second battle of Thermopylae 191 BC and the defensive struggle of the Greek and Allied troops in World War II end April 1941 against the German Wehrmacht were fought at the foot of Kallidromo.

The strategic location of Kallidromo as well as the immediately adjacent fertile plains of Kifisos, the Sperchios and Kopais lake have made ​​the area in ancient times to the place of many human settlements. At the foot of Kallidromo massif in the lower Kifissos valley lay the ancient city Elateia ( Elatia ). In the upper Kifisos Valley, but compared to the Kallidromo lying at the foot of Parnassus, was located the ancient city Lilaea ( Lilea ).

The Kallidromo massif was in ancient times (see map), a separator between the four ancient landscapes. In the north- west and northern Mali, in western and southwestern Doris, Phocis in the south and south-east and south-east and east of Locris. The Phocians had a narrow passage to the coast to its port Alpeni and thus separated from the Locrians in the east of the Malians and Dorians in the West. Other settlements and cities in Kallidromos Massif or its immediate vicinity were Heraclea Trachinia, Anticyra, Heraklia, Anthela, Kolonas and Scarphia.

Population

In the present, the Kallidromo massif and its surroundings is fairly densely populated. To the north lie the villages of Ano and Kato Damasta. Along the eastern edge of the Kallidromo on the seafront villages Agia Triada, Skarfia, Agios Serafim, Kenourgio, Longos, Goulemi, Kalypso and Arkitsa. Cities are Molo, Kamena Vourla, Agios Kosta Dinos and at the southeast end of the Kallidromo Livanates and Atalandi ( Atalanti ). To the west, inland are the towns of Elatia, Kato Tithorea and Amfiklia and the localities Katalima, Lefkochori, Panagitsa, modes, Xyliki, Tithronio, Drymea, Paleochori, Bralos, Ano Bralos, Skamnos and Eleftherochori. In the heights of the Kallidromo massif itself, there is only the villages Kallidromo, Mendenitsa, Karavidia and Reginio.

Traffic

The traffic-technically outstanding position of Kallidromo and its surroundings in the ancient world has not changed in the present, despite the silting and thus expansion of the Thermopylae Pass. Along both inland on the west side and the sea on the east side run to the Kallidromo massif around the main roads from north to south Greece. On the west side of the mountain range runs from Lamia, take the National Road 3 (Greece) ( Europe Street 65 ) via the Bralos pass between Kallidromo and Oiti and Giona and Parnassos about Amfiklia to Livadia and Thebes ( Thebes). The course of the road leads after Bralos pass through the upper and lower valley of the Kifisos along the west side of the mountain Kallidromo. On the eastern side the sea along the national road runs 1 (Greece) ( Europe Road 75) from Thessaloniki via Lamia along the coasts of Thermopylae and the Knimidos Mountain By to Athens Following the expansion of the national highway 1 to Highway 1, the road sections to Livanates and Atalandi been developed already in the 1990s as a highway with two carriageways. The section from Atalandi about Agios Kostadinos, Kamena Vourla and Thermopylae to continue to Lamia are mostly a two-lane country road with oncoming traffic. An expansion without Ingineursbauwerke such as tunnels and bridges proved to be due to the narrow coastal plain between Agios Kosta Dinos and Kamena Vourla as not feasible because of the Knimidos " stood in the way. " In September 2007, the bottleneck has already been partially mitigated; Knimidos the tunnel over the highway 1 as well as the portion of Livanates by Kamena Vourla were opened to traffic. The expansion of the section to the north of Thermopylae Kamena Vourla along the Lamia is currently running. The traffic engineering importance will continue to increase because the under construction from October 2007 highway will lead 3 ( Odos Kendrikis Elladas ) of Panagia on the highway 2 over Kalambaka, Trikala and Karditsa in Lamia north of Kallidromo and south of Lamia west past after Anthili.

The railway line Thessaloniki -Larisa - Lamia -Athens is currently carrying out through the Bralos Pass of Lamia in the upper Kifisos Valley and then along the western flank of Kallidromo to Livadia and on to Athens. In the course of the development of this route for high -speed line to Central European standards ( two tracks, electrification) the path is, however, misplaced. The Brallos Pass will not happen, but the railroad is coming out along the coast of Lianokladi via Thermopylae to the southwest of Molo. In Molo, the line will head south to the Kallidromo Massif and disappears into a 9.2 km -long railway tunnel with two tubes. On the western edge of the Kallidromo it exits the tunnel and swings at Kato Tithorea again to the original route. The tunnel is currently under construction; its completion expected by 2012.