In the prefecture of Fthiotida the visitor encounters a magnificent mountainous nature (high mountains with fir forests, pinewoods, conifers, planes, national parks, gorges, waterfalls, Alpine lakes, plateaux), but also fertile plains, picturesque villages and archaeological sites. There are historical references on the region of Fthiotida in mythology. As indicated from the archaeological discoveries in a lot of settlements, the region has been inhabited since the neolithic period (6000-2800 BC). The location of the prefecture was of strategic importance, as it constituted the passage from Northern to Southern Greece and vice versa. In Fthiotida the first "Amfiktyonia" was founded, a kind of Union of ancient Greek states. Great cities were founded in the region along the centuries, like Lamia, Ipati, Thermopylae and historical battles took place there, such as: the battle of Thermopylae (480 BC), the battle of Spercheios during the Byzantine times (995 AD), the battle of Alamana (1821).