Argos Orestiko

Argos Orestiko (Greek: Άργος Ορεστικό, lit. 'Orestean Argos', before 1926: Χρούπιστα - Chroupista;[2] Aromanian: Hrupishte) is a town and a former municipality in the Kastoria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Orestida, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit.[3] The municipal unit has an area of 206.396 km2.[4] The Kastoria National Airport (also known as Aristotelis Airport) is located in Argos Orestiko.

Argos Orestiko
Άργος Ορεστικό
Central square
Central square
Argos Orestiko is located in Greece
Argos Orestiko
Argos Orestiko
Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 40°27′N 21°15′E
CountryGreece
Geographic regionMacedonia
Administrative regionWestern Macedonia
Regional unitKastoria
MunicipalityOrestida
 • Municipal unit206.4 km2 (79.7 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Municipal unit
8,903
 • Municipal unit density43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Community
[1]
 • Population7,482 (2011)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Vehicle registrationKT
Websitehttps://www.argosorestiko.gr/

History

Antiquity

In antiquity, Argos Orestikon was the main town of the Orestae. It was said to have been founded by Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, who fled from Argos in the Peloponnese after the murder of his mother.[5][6]

The exact location of classical Argos Orestikon has not been found. Based on epigraphic evidence, the administrative centre of the Orestae lay near the centre of the present town Argos Orestiko, at a site named "Armenochori".[7] During the campaign of Alexander the Great to the East, settlers from the town founded another Argos Orestikon to distant Scythian steppes during the 4th century BCE.

Modern period

At least since the 16th century, Argos Orestiko has a notable annual trade fair.[8]

Towards the end of the 18th century, Aromanians from Moscopole settled in the town; later more followed from the villages of Gramosta and Samarina.[8] According to a statistical report by British Colonel Henry Synge, dated 12 June 1878, the kaza of Chroupista (Argos Orestiko) had 4,565 Greek and 4,220 Aromanian males who were Orthodox Christians and recognized the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (opposing the Bulgarian Exarchate); it also had 2,290 Muslim males.[9] At the turn of the 20th century, the town of Argos Orestiko was inhabited by Greeks, Aromanians, Bulgarians, and Turks.[10][11] In the late Ottoman period, the town was wealthy, had four mosques and many of its Muslim population were involved in agriculture and trade.[12] During the end of the 19th century, it had a number of Greek schools, but also a Bulgarian and Romanian one; at that time, the Greek language prevailed in the town, even among Aromanians and Bulgarians,[8] and particularly the former had a Greek national consciousness.[13]

The Greek census (1920) recorded 3,603 people in the town and in 1923 there were 1500 inhabitants (or 200 families) who were Muslim.[14] Following the Greek-Turkish population exchange, in 1926 within the town there were refugee families from East Thrace (10), Asia Minor (69), Pontus (132) and the Caucasus (1).[14] The Greek census (1928) recorded 3,605 town inhabitants.[14] There were 214 refugee families (852 people) in 1928.[14] After the population exchange, the main mosque of the town was replaced with a church built and dedicated to Saint Paraskevi; the other three mosques were destroyed.[15]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  2. "Name Changes of Settlements in Greece: Chroupista – Argos Orestiko". Pandektis. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  3. "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
  4. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
  5. Public Domain Smith, William, ed. (1854). "Argos Oresticum". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Vol. 1. London: John Murray.
  6. Strabo, "Geography", 7.7.8:"It is said that Orestes once took possession of Orestias—when is, exile on account of the murder of his mother—and left the country bearing his name; and that he also founded a city and called it Argos Oresticum."
  7. "Argos Orestikon Project". Archived from the original on 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  8. Veremis, Thanos; Koliopoulos, John S. (2006). Ελλάς. Η σύγχρονη συνέχεια: από το 1821 μέχρι σήμερα (in Greek). Kastaniotis Editions. p. 85. ISBN 978-960-03-4246-8.
  9. Destani, Bejtullah D. (2003). Ethnic Minorities in the Balkan States, 1860-1971. Vol. 1. Cambridge Archive Editions (published 2019). pp. 333–334. ISBN 978-1-78806-650-1.
  10. Dragoumis, Ion (2000). Petsivas, Giorgos (ed.). Τα τετράδια του Ίλιντεν (in Greek). Ekdoseis Petsiva. p. 221. ISBN 978-960-90010-3-8.
  11. Minov, Nikola (2012). "The war of numbers and its first victim: the Aromanians in Macedonia (end of 19th – beginning of 20th century)" (PDF). Macedonian Historical Review. Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje. 3: 153–192.
  12. Stavridopoulos 2015, p. 269.
  13. Cholevas, Ioannis K. (1999). Οι Έλληνες σλαβόφωνοι της Μακεδονίας (in Greek). Πελάσγος. p. 279. ISBN 978-960-522-020-4.
  14. Pelagidis, Efstathios (1992). Η αποκατάσταση των προσφύγων στη Δυτική Μακεδονία (1923-1930) [The rehabilitation of refugees in Western Macedonia: 1923-1930] (Ph.D.). Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. p. 76. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  15. Stavridopoulos, Ioannis (2015). Μνημεία του άλλου: η διαχείριση της οθωμανικής πολιτιστική κληρονομιάς της Μακεδονίας από το 1912 έως σήμερα [Monuments of the other: The management of the Ottoman cultural heritage of Macedonia from 1912 until present] (Ph.D.). University of Ioannina. pp. 269–270. Retrieved 28 March 2022.


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