Gnomon's Guide

Chalkida is a city in Central Greece. It is on the island of Evia, at the narrowest point on the channel between the island and the mainland, and has been connected by a bridge to the mainland since 411 BC.

In Greek, Chalkida is called Χαλκιδα. Since there is no standard way of transliterating Greek letters into our alphabet, this can also be written as Chalkidha, Khalkida or Halkida.

The Evripos Strait

Evia, known in ancient times as Euboea, is a long, narrow island which is separated from the mainland by a long, narrow sea known as the Gulf of Evia. At its narrowest, this is known as the Strait of Evripos and the narrowest point of the strait is in Chalkida, where it is only 38m wide. That's about the length of four London buses. Although the Mediterranean Sea has a very little tide, there is enough to cause currents in the Strait of Evripos. For reasons which are still not fully understood, these currents change direction many times during the day, sometimes as many as 15 times, making navigation difficult for boats. The changing currents can be quite spectacular to watch. Various philosophers and writers in ancient times tried to explain the currents of the Evripos, without success, including Aeschylus, Livy, Cicero, Pliny and Strabo. The closest that anybody in modern times has got to explaining it is to say that it is a 'high-order tidal resonance' due to the shapes of the bays to the north and south - this is the scientific equivalent of saying 'it just does!'

Bridging the Strait

The strait was bridged at its narrowest point in 411 BC, with a wooden bridge. This bridge was replaced many times over the millennia, sometimes by movable bridges and sometimes by fixed ones. The present bridge is a 'sliding bridge', allowing the strait to be opened for boat traffic, although the hours at which this is done seem to be very erratic. There is a signal beside the strait showing the direction of the current at the moment.

There is also a modern suspension bridge to the south at a slightly wider point on the strait. This is high enough above the water to allow boats underneath.

The Town Itself

Chalkida is a lively town, being the capital of the nome¹, which includes the whole island of Evia. There is quite a lot of heavy industry around. The main road into the town passes all sorts of factories... but down at the seafront you will find a pleasant promenade and lots of restaurants. Here it feels more like a typical Greek town.

There are only a few 'sights' to see in and around the town - the Ottoman fortress of Karababa, dating from 1686, above the town on the west (mainland) side; the 'Red House' of the Mallios family, built in 1884 by the French architect Flegy; the 'House with the Statues'; and the Archaeological Museum with a number of finds from all over the island. However, you may want to just stroll down to the bridge and watch the water swirling around it.

History

Everything in Greece has a history attached. In ancient times, the city was called Χαλκις. This can be written as Chalcis, Chalkis, Khalkis or Halkis. In the 8th to 6th Centuries BC it was very prosperous due to the fertile agricultural land of the island of Evia. The city was so successful that it funded expeditions to colonise other parts of the Mediterranean, including Southern Italy, Sicily and the peninsula Chalkidiki which is now considered part of Greece.

Chalkis, as it was known, was defeated by Athens in 506 BC. The city, along with the rest of Greece, later became part of the Roman Empire, which gradually transformed into the Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople. Then in 1204, the Crusaders and Venetians conquered Constantinople. The city of Chalkida fell into the hands of the Venetians and became one of their biggest ports in the eastern Mediterranean. The Turks captured it in 1470 and retained it until the setting up of the state of Greece in 1830.

Ancient Greek as written by the people of Chalkida differed slightly from that written in other parts of Greece such as Athens. It was Athenian Greek letters which were adopted to form the modern Greek alphabet, but strangely, it was the writing of Chalkida that was adopted by the Etruscans and later the Romans, becoming the ancestor of our modern alphabet. So it is this obscure city that we can thank for the fact that we use the letters F and X rather than Φ and Ξ.