Ancient Euboea in the context of Euboea (regional unit)

Decelea (Ancient Greek: Δεκέλεια, Dekéleia), was a deme and ancient village in northern Attica serving as a trade route connecting Euboea with Athens, Greece. It was situated near the entrance of the eastern pass across Mount Parnes, which leads from the northeastern part of the Athenian plain to Oropus, and from thence both to Tanagra on the one hand, and to Delium and Chalcis on the other. It was situated about 120 stadia from Athens, and the same distance from the frontiers of Boeotia. It was visible from Athens and from its heights the ships entering the harbour of Piraeus were visible as well.

Delium (Ancient Greek: Δήλιον, Dḗlion) was a small town in ancient Boeotia with a celebrated temple of Apollo. It was located upon the sea-coast in the territory of Tanagra in Boeotia, and at the distance of about a mile (1.6 km) from the territory of Oropus. This temple, which like the town took its name from the island of Delos, is described by Livy as overhanging the sea, and distant 5 miles (8.0 km) from Tanagra, at the spot where the passage to the nearest parts of Euboea is less than 4 miles (6.4 km). Strabo speaks of Delium as a temple of Apollo and a small town (πολίχνιον) of the Tanagraei, distant 40 stadia from Aulis.

There were two important battles at Delium. In the first battle, called the Battle of Delium, the Athenians suffered a signal defeat at the hands of the Boeotians in the eighth year of the Peloponnesian War, in 424 BCE. This battle took place over several days. Hippocrates, the Athenian commander, had seized the temple at Delium, which he converted into a fortress by erecting some temporary works. Leaving a garrison there, he was on his march homewards and had already reached the territory of Oropus, 10 stadia distant from Delium, when he encountered the Boeotian army advancing to cut off his retreat. The Athenians numbered 15,000, while the Boeotians mustered 18,500. The Athenians were defeated in the ensuing battle, losing 1,200, including Hippocrates, while the Boeotians lost only 500.

Carystus (/kəˈrɪstəs/; Greek: Κάρυστος, near modern Karystos) was a polis (city-state) on ancient Euboea. It was situated on the south coast of the island, at the foot of Mount Oche. It is mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad, as controlled by the Abantes. The name also appears in the Linear B tablets as "ka-ru-to" (identified as Carystus). Thucydides writes that the town was founded by Dryopes. According to the legend, its name was derived from Carystus, the son of Cheiron.

Oreus or Oreos (Ancient Greek: Ὠρεός, romanized: Ōreos), prior to the 5th century BC called Histiaea or Histiaia (Ἱστίαια), also Hestiaea or Hestiaia (Ἑστίαια), was a town near the north coast of ancient Euboea, situated upon the river Callas, at the foot of Mount Telethrium, and opposite Antron on the Thessalian coast. From this town the whole northern extremity of Euboea was named Histiaeotis (Ἱστιαιῶτις, Ionic Greek: Ἱστιαιῆτις) According to some it was a colony from the Attic deme of Histiaea; according to others it was founded by the Thessalian Perrhaebi. Another foundation story had it that the name Histiaea is said to derive from the mythical figure Histiaea, the daughter of Hyrieus. It was one of the most ancient of the Euboean cities. It occurs in the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad, where Homer gives it the epithet of πολυστάφυλος (rich in grapes); and the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax mentions it as one of the four cities of Euboea. It was an important city in classical antiquity due to its strategic location at the entrance of the North Euboean Gulf, in the middle of a large and fertile plain.

After the Battle of Artemisium (480 BC), when the Grecian fleet sailed southwards, Histiaea was occupied by the Persians. Upon the expulsion of the Persians from Greece, Histiaea, with the other Euboean towns, became subject to Attica. In the revolt of Euboea from Athens in 446 BC, we may conclude that Histiaea took a prominent part, since Pericles, upon the reduction of the island, expelled the inhabitants from the city, and peopled it with 2000 Athenian colonists. The expelled Histiaeans were said by Theopompus to have withdrawn to Macedonia, or by Strabo to Thessaly thence they transferred the name Histiaeotis. From this time we find the name of the town changed to Oreus, which was originally a deme dependent upon Histiaea. It is true that Thucydides upon one occasion subsequently calls the town by its ancient name; but he speaks of it as Oreus, in relating the second revolt of Euboea in 411 BC, where he says that it was the only town in the island that remained faithful to Athens. Its territory was called Oria (Ὡρία).

Halae Araphenides or Halai Araphenides (Ancient Greek: Ἁλαὶ Ἀραφηνίδες, romanized: Halái Araphenídes) was a deme of ancient Attica, situated on its eastern coast between Brauron and Araphen, and was the harbour of Brauron, whence persons crossed over to Marmarium in Euboea.

Hestiaea or Hestiaia (Ancient Greek: Ἑστιαία), also known as Histiaea or Histiaia (Ἱστίαια), was a deme of ancient Attica located northeast of Athens, near the modern Tsako, near Cholargos.

Very little is known of Hestiaea. According to Strabo its citizens originally founded the homonymous city in the north of the island Euboea; this theory, however, could have arisen in the late period and therefore would be unfounded.

38°36′10″N 24°05′59″E / 38.602679°N 24.099827°E / 38.602679; 24.099827Oechalia or Oichalia (Ancient Greek: Οἰχαλία) was a town in ancient Euboea, in the district of Eretria. At the time of Strabo it was only a village and the geographer points out that it was a vestige of the city that was destroyed by Heracles.

According to Greek mythology, King Eurytus of Oechalia had promised the hand of his beautiful daughter Iole to whoever defeated him in an archery competition. Heracles beat him but Eurytus refused to keep his promise, so Heracles sacked the city, killed Eurytus and kidnapped Iole. However, there was great discussion in antiquity about whether this Oechalia referred to this city, or that of Thessaly, or another also located in Trachis, also in Thessaly, or even to others that were located in Arcadia or Messenia. The author of the epic poem Capture of Oechalia (usually attributed to Creophylus of Samos), Sophocles (in The Trachiniae) and Hecataeus of Miletus (who locates Oechalia near Eretria) were aligned with those who identified this Oechalia with the Euboean location. Homer, equivocally, and Apollodorus of Athens and Aristarchus of Samothrace placed it in Thessaly. Also, Demetrius of Scepsis placed it in Arcadia, and Homer also calls the Oechalia in Messenia the city of Eurytus in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and this identification was followed by Pherecydes of Athens and Pausanias. Strabo makes mention of all these possibilities but does not offer any additional data on the concrete location of the Oechalia of Thessaly.