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Modern Description: Shortly beyond Agiokambos is the small port of Oreí (12 km) – one of the most interesting towns in Northern Euboea. The modern settlement occupies the site of ancient Histiaea – called ‘polystaphylos' (‘rich in vines') by Homer – which controlled the lucrative passage between the Euboean Gulf and the open sea. Its strategic location led Pericles to banish the Histiaeans and install 2,000 clerurchs here in 446 BC. The city became known thenceforth as Oreos, which appears to have been previously a deme of Histiaea, on a site very close by. After the banished Histiaeans were called back to their former city after the Peloponnesian War, the city was subsequently known by both names. Its importance grew considerably through the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, until it was destroyed by the Romans in 199 BC. Its coinage circulated widely in the Aegean. According to Livy, Oreos had two citadels separated by a valley, hence the modern plural ‘Oreoi': it possessed a maritime acropolis, which dominated the port – now the site of the castle – and an inland acropolis, Oreos Apanos. The city had fortification walls, a planned and prosperous public area, and extensive cemeteries. As a bishop's seat since as early as the 5th century, Oreí remained the centre of Northern Euboea through Byzantine times. A prosperous, small town existed under the Ottomans, which came under the rule of Ali Pasha, the “Lion of Ioannina”, in the late 18th century. After his assassination in 1822, the area was important as the scene of some of the first battles in the Greek War of Independence in 1821. Modern Istiaia (4 km inland) received numerous refugees from Asia Minor. The new settlement of Agios Georgios, 1 km south of the town, was built for them.
The attractively laid out town, planned in 1833 by the Bavarian architect, Georg Schumayer, probably follows the ancient street plan. In the harbour, the submerged line of the ancient mole can be made out. A little behind the Church of the Sotir by the shore, stands the *‘Bull of Orei' (late 3rd century BC) – a bold and remarkably preserved piece of Hellenistic funerary sculpture, found by the shore in 1965. The beautiful definition of the surface – of the tail, and especially around the neck and shoulders – is achieved by extensive and sensitive use of the claw chisel. The horns were fitted separately, and were possibly in a different material – bronze or ivory. Nearby is a small collection of column fragments and capitals from the ancient town: other vestiges can be seen in situ in the area between the shore and the acropolis.
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oreus
Wikidata ID: Q107586662
Trismegistos Geo: 856

Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands

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

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