---

Modern Description: The rich and fertile Lelantine Plain, recalled in the Hymn to Apollo for its lush vineyards, begins just beyond. In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, the area was the subject of a deadly territorial rivalry between Chalcis and Eretria. The area's value was also appreciated in later epochs and the landscape is punctuated with several Venetian towers and forts which combined to guard its agricultural activity and inhabitants, as well as protecting the southern approaches to Chalcis. At the centre of Vasilikó (6 km) is a well-preserved tower; there are two more between the villages of Mýtikas and Phýlla (8 km); and a conspicuous castle above the latter, built on an ancient enceinte. The tower at Vasilikó was occupied by the Turks in 1470 during their siege of Negroponte.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lelantine_Plain
Wikidata ID: Q165570

Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands

(From McGilchrist’s Greek Islands, © Nigel McGilchrist 2010, excerpted with his gracious permission. Click for the books)

---