Boeotia

   Region of central Greece (q.v.) northwest of Athens (q.v.). It borders the Gulf of Corinth (q.v.) on its southwest, and the Strait of Europos on its east-northeast. Its metropolis was Thebes (qq.v.). The history of Byzantine Boeotia is closely related to its proximity to Athens (q.v.), which imported its grain and used it as a buffer against invasions from the north. Boeotia and Attica were part of one of the earliest themes of the Balkan Peninsula, the theme of Hellas (qq.v.), with its capital at Athens, first mentioned in 695. Among the Byzantine monuments of Boeotia is the church of the Panaghia (q.v.) at Skripou, near Orchomenos, dated to the late ninth century. Boeotia was part of the duchy of Athens and Thebes established by Othon de la Roche (q.v.) in 1205.