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Livadia

Livadia, the capital of the prefecture, is built between two hills on the sides of a canyon through which flow the springs of Erkina. On the top of one of the hills, Profitis llias, there is a well-preserved 14th century medieval castle. In ancient times Livadia was known under the name of Mideia and was the site of the famous Oracle of Zeus Trofonios.

Arahova lies 35 km. west of Livadia and is a usual stop for people heading for Delphi or the Parnassos ski centre. Most of the skiers, novices or experienced, spend their nights in Arahova.

If you happen to visit Arahova in the spring, try to attend the huge celebration that occurs on April 23rd. “St. George's day”. The entertainment lasts three days and includes a race for old men dressed up in local costume followed by feasting on roast lamb. Just 10 km. East, is Distomo, a town with important archaeological finds and an interesting museum, which played an important role in the Revolution of 1821, one comes to the Byzantine monastery of Ossios Loukas, whose 11th century mosaics and frescoes are among the finest in Greece.

Thebes (Thiva) (87 km. from Athens), built in a fertile, low-lying region, is archaeologically very interesting. It is said to have been founded by the Phoenician King, Kadmos.

Livadia's traditional Easter celebrations; in Thebes, the Clean Monday (beginning of Lent) presentation of the Vlach wedding is a costume farce. The festivities connected with St. George's day in Arachova. In Chalronla, a drama festival in honour of Plutarch in June. In Dlstomo the "beginning of summer" is celebrated traditionally on Clean Monday.
Excursions - the Fountain of Dirki at the Frankish aqueduct, the Byzantine church of Agia Fotini, the catacombs of the early Christian church of St. Catherine, the church of St. Luke the Evangelist in the town's first cemetery, which contains a 13th century sarcophagus supposed to have held the saint's body.

Also worth a visit are:- the superb archaeological museum, the Mycenaean tombs in the area, the ruins of the temple of Ismenios Apollo and the spring of Agia Theodori, known in ancient times as the Fountain of Oedipus.

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