The island is quite large and belongs to the Euboea Prefecture, which also encompasses two municipalities on mainland Greece and a third island municipality. The prefecture has a population of over 215,000 souls - but the island is home to 198,130 from the most recent census conducted in 2011. Evia is also called Evvia, or Euboea.
Evia is the second-largest island in Greece in both population and topographical surface area, after the most famous island, Crete. The island is separated from the Boetia province located on the mainland by the Euripus Strait, which is one of the most narrow straits in the world, with its thinnest point spanning only 40m. The outline of the island is long and narrow, much like the straight, and covers 180km in length and about 50km in breadth. The geography is well-known for its amazing mountain ranges which form a famous chain that connects Thessaly to the east and is found near the Islands of Mykonos, Tinos, and Andros.
The history of Evia is found between two main cities, Eretria and Chalcis, which are mentioned in the catalog of Ships - an Ionian recount of history. These cities were initially settled by Greeks from Attica and would go on to found many other colonies in the wider Greece region and Sicily, as well as settlements along the coast of Macedonia. The island had opened newly formed trade routes for the Greeks, who were considered the most extended and advanced civilizations of the recognized western nations. The influence of the city-states was largely commercial, which was evidenced by weight measurements among the cities. These were also found and replicated in Athens until the 7th century BC. For some, it is also considered to be the place where the Greek alphabet was first used on a wider scale.
In the Middle Ages, Evia was fortunate enough to be spared barbarian and nomadic raids beginning from the period of late antiquity. This had marked a dark time in history, as the fall of Rome and aggression towards the newly minted Byzantine empire had completely collapsed civilized nations in the west. This attracted further raids and opposition from the east and south, such as Islamic and Asian cultures.
On Evia, there is a best-kept secret. In 1982, the entire village was fluent in a unique "whistle" language which was called Syria. In modern times, there are only a few people that can still communicate fluently using this coded language. It is said to have been kept a tradition since extremely early on in history, where whistling was used as a way to coordinate war efforts and hunts and even as a code to warn others of danger.
Due to expanding economic conditions, the lake surrounding the area was filled with grass and then set on fire. This was an idea by the farmers to increase available arable space for farmland. Unfortunately, this devastated much of the local fauna and flora.