Paramythia

Paramythia (Greek: Παραμυθιά, Paramythiá) is a village and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Souli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Population 7,859 (2001).

Name

The name "Paramythia" derives from one of the Virgin Mary's names in Greek ("Paramythia" in Greeks means comforter). During the Byzantine era the town was also known as Agios Donatos (Greek: Άγιος Δονάτος), after Saint Donatus of Evorea, the town's patron saint. This is also the basis of the Albanian and the Turkish name of Paramythia, Ajdhonat, Ajdonat, Ajdonati and Aydonat.

Geography

The Paramythia municipal unit consists of 23 communities. The total population of the municipal unit is 7,859. The town of Paramythia itself has a population of 2,862 and lies in an amphitheatre at an altitude of 750 m, at the foot of Mount Koryla, between the Acheron and the Kalamas rivers. The Koryla range (altitude 1,658 m) lies on the eastern side of the city and the Chionistra (1,644 m) to the Northeast. At the city limits is the Kokytos (Cocytus) River, one of the rivers of the underworld in Greek mythology. Paramythia's valley is one of the largest in Thesprotia and is one of the major agricultural areas in Epirus.

Crested berrypecker

The crested berrypecker (Paramythia montium) is a species of bird in the Paramythiidae family. It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

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