Chalkis is the chief town of the island of Euboea in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is derived from the Greek χαλκός (copper, bronze), though there is no trace of any mines in the area.
In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, colonists from Chalcis founded thirty townships on the peninsula of Chalcidice and several important cities in Magna Graecia, such as Naxos, Rhegion and Cumae. Its mineral produce, metal-work, purple and pottery not only found markets among these settlements, but were distributed over the Mediterranean in the ships of Corinth and Samos.
Under Roman rule, Chalcis retained a measure of commercial prosperity within the province of Achaea.
In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, colonists from Chalcis founded thirty townships on the peninsula of Chalcidice and several important cities in Magna Graecia, such as Naxos, Rhegion and Cumae. Its mineral produce, metal-work, purple and pottery not only found markets among these settlements, but were distributed over the Mediterranean in the ships of Corinth and Samos.
Under Roman rule, Chalcis retained a measure of commercial prosperity within the province of Achaea.
Modern location: Chalkis, Greece
