Lesvos Island
Here you can read some brief historical informations about the island of Lesvos. You can also see browse some interesting pictures of the city of Mitilini taken at the begging of the prievious century.
According to mythology, Lesvos was the name of the son-in-law of Makara, the son of Helios. King Makara had five daughters, the names of them were given to the biggest cities of the island : Antissa, Arisve, Methymna, Issa and Mitilini. They were his descendants who first populated the island. A big county at the west of the island is known till today as Makara.
The name of the island, according to history, was taken from Lesvos, the leader of Pelasge, who seem to be the first habitants of the island. Later, at the eleventh century, an Aeolian colony was established on the island.The Aeolian were populated the island most than a half thousand years. In the middle of the 6th century B.C. the Persians conquered and captured the island for about 150 years.
Later, at 404 B.C. was captured by the Spartians, and some years later from the Athenians, until 334 B.C., when Alexander the Great liberate it. At the Middle Ages the island was conquered by the Saracens, the Venetians and at last by the Gattelusi.
At 1462 theTurks invade and capture the island, until the greek army liberate it at 1912. During second World War, was occupied by the Germans, for three years.
Here was born one of the seven wise men of the Ancient Greece, called Pittacus.He was the leader of the local army at the war with the Athenians, and was ruling the people of Mitilini for more than ten years...
Sappho is a poet who was born at the city of Eressos, lived for a long period of time at Sicily and came back at Eressos where she founded a school teaching music and poetry for the women of Lesvos. She is one of the most representative personalities of the ancient art of the ancient years, she was called the tenth muse.
Arion was a well known musician and poet who came from Methymna. Him, Orfeas and Alkaios are the top representative of the greek art.The three of them were the biggest establishers of the lyrical poetry and music.
At the North-West of the island, there is the Petrified Forest, a big rocky area where visitors can see a very rare geological phenomenon, that happened about 20 million years ago. The whole area was covered by lava during volcanic explosions.The trees were petrified and covered by ash. Millions of years later, because of the seismic activity, the petrified forest came to surface.Trunks of the trees of the forest have been saved until today, being a very attractive site for visitors. The hole area is preservable by the local authorities because of the possibility of stealing or destroying the remainings of the forest.
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 | Moria - One of the major constructions that were made at the island in ancient years is the roman aqueduct (also known as Kamares). Some of its columns have been saved till now. The aqueduct was feeded with water from an area which was about 15 kilometers away from it. |  | Pyrgoi Thermis - The name of the village was a result of the existence of the 150 towers at the area. Some of them are in good condition till today. Another big site of the area is the church of Panagia Trouloti which was built at the end of the 14th century and is the second older monument of the island. | |
 | Thermi - Known from the therapeutic springs, which are being visited by thousand visitors from all over Greece. A few kilometers outside the village, there is one of the most known monasteries in Greece, the monastery of Agios Raphael. which is the major religious site in Lesvos. It was built at the end of the 14th century from monks.One of them was called Raphael, from whom the name was given to the monastery. |  | Mantamados - The village of Mantamados, is famous for the church of Taxiarch, who is also the patron saint of the island. Inside the church, there is the miraculous icon of Taxiarch. According to the legend, at the Byzantine years, during a Saracen attack the pirates killed all the monks except one, who was saved by Agios Taxiarch.So, the monk made an icon of the saint, made of clay and the blood of the dead monks. | |
 | Sikaminea - Known from the famous greek author Strati Mirivili, Sikaminea is at the north-east part of the island, 48 kilometers from the city of Mitilini. Three kilometers north to the village, there is a smaller village called Skala Sikamineas. This village is known because of its small chapel, Panagia Gorgona(Mermaid), which took its name from the wall painting that there is inside of it. |  | Agiasos - At about five hundred meters altitude, at the centre of the south island, there is one of the most traditional villages in Lesvos.Known from the miraculous icon of Panagias Vrefokratousas, is the most visited part of the island during the August month because of the festival in honour of her. Thousands of people come to Agiasos from all over the country, and many of them by feet, as it is the custom. | |
 | Plomari - The biggest commercial centre of the island during the last century, with big infrastructure for the industry and the distillery .It is till now the most famous ouzo producer in Greece. In a small distance from the village, ther are also some amazing beaches such as Melinda and Agios Isidoros |  | Vatera - The most famous beach of the island and one of the best and cleaner beaches of Europe. With 6 kilometers of sand, it guests thousand of tourist from all over the world during summer. Because of the big number of visitors, it has a lot of modern hotels and accommodation buildings. | |
 | Kalloni - The biggest town after Mitilini, it evolves as its position at the centre of the island, makes it a big commercial centre. It has one of the biggest piscicultural installation of the country. Around the area there are a lot of the remains of the ancient island civilization.A few kilometers north of the city you can visit the monastery of Limonos which was built at the Byzantine ages. |  | Petra - The village of Petra was named by the big stone, which is at the center of it, and it is about 30 meters high. At the top of it, there is the church of Panagias Glykofilousas. A big site for visitors is also Anaxos, which is a few kilometers away from Petra, and it has a marvellous beach. | |
 | Molivos - The old name of the village is Mithimna and it is one of the most graphic village of the island. At its highest point, you can visit the Gattelusi castle, which was built at the Byzantine ages and is the second biggest of the island.The castle is the most famous attraction of the village. Molivos is known for its night life, during the months of summer. |  | Eresos - The homeland of Sappho, the famous ancient poet. Also known for its beach, at Skala Eresos, which is a big tourist site. The long beach of sand, with the small rocky island, a few hundred meters from it, attract thousands of visitors every year. Eresos and Molyvos have the most modern accommodation and entertainment buildings in the island. | |
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