Southern Pilion
Which marvellous thoughts and which splendid sentiments possess us in the hearing of these words.
Magic impressions.
Sentiments and representations that initially become wild in the hearing of the word Pilion, not only from the dense vegetation and the nature of the mountainous and snowed landscape, as well as from the deep and upset but amazing seas and its laced beaches, that however at the same time smooth and calm down, all these gently wild representations for Pilion, only when hearing the word South.
The secret southern Pilion constitutes an integral piece of the remainder mountain of Centaurs with its own contribution in the long-lasting more general presence of Pilion. From the deep mythology evidently the Olympian Twelve Gods selects Southern Pilion, and especially Sipias, as a place of their summer holidays, as a place that gives the chance to the mythological divine to hug erotically with the human and irrational nature and arise diachronically the Centaurs, Thetis - cuttlefish (sipia - Sipias), Pileas, Hercules and Achilles. Since then the importance and the contribution in the history of this region, "the shared charm of beauty and sweetness" compose and stamp continuously the icon of southern Pilion.
AS AN INTRODUCTION FOR SOUTHERN PELION
Very ancient are the origins of Southern Pilion that is stretched out north from the Municipality of Afetes and lead southernly to Trikeri and is wetted not only by Pagasitikos Gulf but by The Aegean Sea as well. Already since the ancient years an intense cultural presence is shaped and from those which we know it appears that mountainous volumes inhabited, but also the coastal localities. Thus in the wider region of Southern Pilio several constituted states are shaped like Sipias in 1150 BC, Olizon, and Spalathra in 6th century BC, which have left an important cultural deposit. They developed an appreciable culture, playing simultaneously , their important role in the human history in the sector of configuration of basic ways of life, like the invention and the exercize of agriculture, livestock-farming, ceramics commercial transactions and various architectural ways and styles.A large number of archaeological discoveries as vessels, coins, statues scattered in museums, and mainly in the museums, and mainly in the museum of Volos, they testify the economic and cultural growth of these ancient cities.
The growth of the region of Southern Pilion was influenced immediately by the historical course of the entire Hellenic area. Thus afterwards the advance of the classic years the Roman sovereignty followed, raids of Gothic tribes and the settlement of The Slavics around 577 AC. In the 10th -11th Century in the centre of Southern Pilion The Vlachic tride settled. The Byzantine Empire follows and afterwards the Ottoman domination, where the local populations developed impressive revolutionary action for their release from the Turkish ocupation. Finally during the Second World War, an intense resistance against the Nazis is presented. Today Southern Pilion, walks fortunately in the rythm of soft growth in infrastructures, in agriculture and tourism.
It in deed aspires in remaining an authentic tourist destination, for visitors that seek something different from the tourist industrialized models.
Administrative division
Today in southern Pilion extend four local self-governments. In the north part of southern Pilion the Municipality of Afetes unfolds with Neochori its capital.
Southernly the Municipality of Argalasti unfolds with Argalasti its capital, centrally the Municipality finds itself (with Lafkos its centre), that in extent is the biggest municipality of Pilion. The Municipality with 2000 roughly residents is constituted by three municipal departments of Lafkos, of Milina and of Promyri, to which belong Platanias, Katigiorgis, Kastri, Lyriand Mourtias etc.
The most southern piece of Southern Pilion occupies the Community of Trikeri.
