One of the most mountainous districts of the country, Central Greece lies in the heart of the mainland, home to the Oracle of Delphi, Theves, Mount Elikon and Parnassos.
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It acquired its name - Sterea Ellada - (firm) after 1821
since it constituted the only clearly continental portion of
the newly liberated Greek state.
Its geographical position accounts for the great variety in
the region's climate, which is dry and mountainous inland
and mild on the coast. The contours of its landscape, too,
are very diverse: thickly wooded green slopes, hills with
pines, oaks, poplars and fast-moving streams separated
by flat lands, plateaus and lakes, alternating harmoniously
with the countless bays, intricate network of coves - some
peaceful, some sheer and rugged - and picturesque
islands that decorate the south west coast.
Inhabited since the distant past Central Greece is a place
with a rich and distinctive history.
Here one has the legendary city of Thebes, where the
agony of its heroes still lives on thanks to the works of
Greece's great tragic poets, Sophocles, Aeschylus
and Euripides, among the finest playwrights ever known;
Mt. Elikonas, home of the Muses; as well as Delphi,
antiquity's most important centre of worship and a pole of
attraction for thousands of tourists.
The region is also famous for the great battles fought here,
some of which affected the course of history (Plataiai,
Chaironia), some of unsurpassed symbolic singificance
(Thermopylae) as well as for such personalities as
Hesiodos, Pindar, Epaminondas, Pelopidas and Plutarch,
all sons of this Land.
Visitors today, whose main aim is a pilgrimage to
Delphi,
should nonetheless not restrict themselves to the
inexhaustible historical reference points. Contemporary
Central Greece also has much to offer: abundant natural
beauty, magnificently varied scenery, as well as highly
evolved tourism facilities, all of which provide infinite
opportunities for a most pleasant stay both winter and
summer.
