Argos Orestiko

Argos Orestiko (Greek: Άργος Ορεστικό), before 1926 Chroupista (Χρούπιστα)[2] is a town and a former municipality in the Kastoria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Orestida, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit.[3] The municipal unit has an area of 206.396 km2.[4]

Argos Orestiko

Άργος Ορεστικό
Central square
Argos Orestiko
Location within the regional unit
Coordinates: 40°27′N 21°15′E
CountryGreece
Administrative regionWest Macedonia
Regional unitKastoria
MunicipalityOrestida
 • Municipal unit206.4 km2 (79.7 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Municipal unit
8,903
 • Municipal unit density43/km2 (110/sq mi)
Community
 • Population7,482 (2011)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Vehicle registrationKT

History

Antiquity and legend

In antiquity, Argos Orestikon was the main town of the Orestae. It was said to have been founded by Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, who fled from Argos in the Peloponnese after the murder of his mother.[5][6]

The exact location of classical Argos Orestikon has not been found. Based on epigraphic evidence, the administrative centre of the Orestae lay near the centre of the present town Argos Orestiko, at a site named "Armenochori".[7] During the campaign of Alexander the Great to the East, settlers from the town founded another Argos Orestikon to distant Scythian steppes during the 4th century BCE.

21st century

The national airport of Kastoria, 'Aristotelis', is located in Argos Orestiko.

Notable residents
  • Toma Caragiu (1925–1977), Romanian actor, born into an Aromanian family in Chroupista

See also

References
  1. "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
  2. Name changes of settlements in Greece
  3. Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (in Greek)
  4. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
  5.  Smith, William, ed. (1854). "Argos Oresticum". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. 1. London: John Murray.
  6. Strabo, "Geography", 7.7.8:"It is said that Orestes once took possession of Orestias—when is, exile on account of the murder of his mother—and left the country bearing his name; and that he also founded a city and called it Argos Oresticum."
  7. Argos Orestikon Project


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