Lamia is the capital of Fthiotida Prefecture. According to the tradition, the cityWas built by Lamos, who was the son of Hercules and Omphalia or by Lamia, who was the daughter of Poseidon and the Queen of Trachina.

According to Aristoteles, the word Lamia is a feminine adjective used to describe a region or a city that lays between two hills. The founder is said to have given his name to the city, but it is more probable that the word "Lamia" is the anagram of the word Malia ( = Lamia). In the Byzantine Period it was not called Lamia, but Zitouni and it was surrounded by protective walls.

Lamia is inhabited by approximately 80,000 people and it is important center of the geographical trading and industrial part of Central Greece. The industrial area of 1,500,000 sq. meters acres is about 8 km far from the city center. The Pan-Hellenic Exhibition of Lamia is of financial importance, as it is a meeting of businessmen and customers at the end of May every year.

There is an Archaelogical Museum ,a public Theatre, a public music school, cinemas, a public swimming pool and sport centers.