1. Location

Oenophyta are located in eastern Boeotia, on the borders with Attica. The area of Oenophyta includes the namesake settlement, as well as the settlements of Ayios Thomas, Kleidi and part of Dilesi. Nowadays, the city of Oenophyta is mainly known for its industrial zone, which was formed over the previous decades with the establishment or relocation of a large number of industrial plants.

2. Oenophyta

Historical information on Oenophyta is rather scarce; the city is mentioned in Thucydides in connection to the Battle of Oenophyta, fought between Athens and Thebes in August of 457 BC. This battle marked a turning point in Athens’ efforts to impose their rule over Boeotia.

Few finds, like fragments of yellow firestone, obsidian chips, and pottery sherds from Archaic and Classical period black-figured ware at the hill Dichalotos Pirgos testify to the existence of a small settlement in ancient times. A Frankish tower was built on the 13th century on that hill, which was demolished in 1944 by the German occupation forces; its architectural members were used to construct fortifications for their troops.

Oenophyta are also mentioned in recent history as Staniates. There are two probable explanations for the origins of this place name. According to the first, it is to be correlated with the sheep pens found in that area, built to shelter the herds of stock breeders from the nearby villages during the wintertime. According to another view, the word is of Arvanitan origin. The area was desolate during the period of Ottoman rule, as its inhabitants sought refuge to the nearby village of Dervenochoria, which enjoyed relative autonomy.

3. Ayios Thomas

Ayios Thomas, the second settlement in the municipality of Oenophyta, is built at an altitude of 240m. Between the settlements of Ayios Thomas and Kleidi the torrent Scamander flows, carrying rainwater from the surrounding mountains to River Asopus. In later years the village was called Liatani, but it was renamed to Ayios Thomas in c. 1929, as it was believed that Saint Thomas protected this small community from an epidemic of the plague that was sweeping through the region. North of the settlement a small Middle Byzantine chapel survives (12th century). It is dedicated to Saint Thomas and constructed using architectural members originating from the buildings of ancient Tanagra; some of the spolia remain visible in the chapel’s masonry. It is a cross in square church, columned type; it has undergone a number of interventions and modifications over the centuries. It features a flat roof, and the dome is regarded as a later addition.

In the period of Frankish rule it was converted into a tower, to house the local lord. Part of the chapel’s architectural decoration, like the parapet, has been moved to the cemetery church of Ayios Nikolaos. Until the early 1980s, opposite the chapel of Ayios Thomas stood an old three-arched bridge (18th century) which connected the two banks of River Asopus; it was demolished and replaced by a modern structure.

The village became the battlefield of several engagements in its history, while troops travelled through the area often. In July 1821 the forces of Omer Vrioni, who was heading for Athens to relieve the Turks besieged in the Acropolis, clashed in the area of Liatani with Greek rebels, and forced them to flee. In WWII, the resistance leader Aris Velouchiotis left at Liatani a group of partisans under Tzavelas and with the rest of his troops headed for Athens.

Liatani has suffered extensive destruction at various times. In October 1914 a powerful earthquake caused the collapse of many houses in the community, while in July 1944 the village was burned by German occupation forces. The third settlement in the area of Oenophyta, called Kleidi, features the monastery called ‘I Mitir tou Igapimenou’.

4. Environmental problems in the area

There has been a lot of talk, complaints and protests in recent years over environmental pollution in the area. The absence of the appropriate structures in the plants of the industrial zone has caused contamination of the waters of River Asopus, where most of the industrial and urban waste of the area end up, and has also polluted the atmosphere and the soil. Concerned citizens and NGOs and the awakening of the environmental consciousness of the locals has helped promote various laws regulating the proper operation of the industrial plants and providing for an integrated waste disposal process.