Akraifnia
Encyclopedia
Akraifnia is a former municipality in Boeotia
, Greece
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Orchomenos, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 3,230 (2001). The seat of the municipality was in Akraifnio.
city (polis
) on the eastern shore of Lake Copais
. The ruins are about a mile from the modern village. There was a sanctuary there to Acraephian or Ptoan Apollo with an oracle
. When Alexander razed Thebes
those who were too weak or old to move to Attica settled at Acraphnium.
The modern village was previously called Karditsa.
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Orchomenos, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 3,230 (2001). The seat of the municipality was in Akraifnio.
History
Acraephnium was an ancient GreekAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
city (polis
Polis
Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...
) on the eastern shore of Lake Copais
Lake Copais
Lake Copais, Kopais, or Kopaida used to be in the centre of Boeotia, Greece, west of Thebes until the late 19th century. The area where it was located, though now a plain, is still known as Kopaida.- Drainage :...
. The ruins are about a mile from the modern village. There was a sanctuary there to Acraephian or Ptoan Apollo with an oracle
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
. When Alexander razed Thebes
Alexander's Balkan campaign
The Balkan campaign of Alexander the Great took place in 335 BC, against a number of rebellious vassals of the Macedonian kingdom. Alexander successfully pacified each in turn, leaving him free to begin the long planned invasion of Persia.-Background:...
those who were too weak or old to move to Attica settled at Acraphnium.
The modern village was previously called Karditsa.