Listed 93 sub titles with search on: History for destination: "NORTH AEGEAN Region GREECE".
CHIOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The battle of Mycale, 479, freed Chios from the Persian yoke, and it became a member of the Athenian League, in which it was for a long time the closest and most favoured ally of Athens; but an unsuccessful attempt to revolt, in 412, led to its conquest and devastation.
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
After Spartian power in the Aegean was destroyed by Conon in 394 B.C., Iasos was rebuilt, possibly with the aid of Knidos, and it joined a league of Aegean states that included Ephesos, Rhodes, Samos, and Byzantium.
FANE (Ancient city) CHIOS
. . . Leon and Diomedon with the Athenian fleet from Lesbos issuing from the Oe(Lacedae)nussae, the isles off Chios, and from their forts of Sidussa and Pteleum in the Erythraeid, and from Lesbos, carried on the war against the Chians from the ships, having on board heavy infantry from the rolls pressed to serve as marines. Landing in Cardamyle and in Bolissus they defeated with heavy loss the Chians that took the field against them, and laying desolate the places in that neighbourhood, defeated the Chians again in another battle at Phanae, and in a third at Leuconium . . .
LEFKONION (Ancient city) CHIOS
. . . Leon and Diomedon with the Athenian fleet from Lesbos issuing from the Oe(Lacedae)nussae, the isles off Chios, and from their forts of Sidussa and Pteleum in the Erythraeid, and from Lesbos, carried on the war against the Chians from the ships, having on board heavy infantry from the rolls pressed to serve as marines. Landing in Cardamyle and in Bolissus they defeated with heavy loss the Chians that took the field against them, and laying desolate the places in that neighbourhood, defeated the Chians again in another battle at Phanae, and in a third at Leuconium . . .
MITHYMNA (Ancient city) LESVOS
Now after he (Thrasybulus) had accomplished these things and had won over the Calchedonians also as friends, he sailed back out of the Hellespont. And finding that all the cities in Lesbos except Mytilene were on the side of the Lacedaemonians, he went against none of them until he had marshalled in Mytilene the four hundred hoplites from his own ships and all the exiles from the Lesbian cities who had fled for refuge to Mytilene, and had also added to this force the stoutest of the Mytilenaeans themselves; nor, furthermore, until he had suggested hopes, firstly to the Mytilenaeans, that if he captured the cities they would be the leaders of all Lesbos, secondly to the exiles, that if they proceeded all together against each single one of the cities, they would be able, acting in unison, to accomplish their restoration to their native states, and again to his marines, that by making Lesbos likewise friendly to their state they would at once obtain a great abundance of money. Then, after giving them this encouragement and marshalling them in line of battle, he led them against Methymna. Therimachus, however, who chanced to be the Lacedaemonian governor, on hearing that Thrasybulus was coming against him, took the marines from his own ships, the Methymnaeans themselves, and all the Mytilenaean exiles who chanced to be there, and went to meet the enemy at the borders. A battle was fought in which Therimachus was killed on the spot and many of the others were killed as they fled.
This extract is from: Xenophon, Hellenica. Cited Sept 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlink
In this year (392 BC) the Athenians chose Thrasybulus general and sent him to sea with forty triremes. He sailed to Ionia, collected funds from the allies, and proceeded on his way; and while tarrying at the Chersonesus he made allies of Medocus and Seuthes, the kings of the Thracians. After some time he sailed from the Hellespont to Lesbos and anchored off the coast at Eresus. But strong winds arose and twenty-three triremes were lost. Getting off safe with the other ships he advanced against the cities of Lesbos, with the intention of winning them over; for they had all revolted with the exception of Mitylene. First he appeared before Methymna and joined battle with the men of the city, who were commanded by the Spartan Therimachus. In a brilliant fight he slew not only Therimachus himself but no small number of the Methymnaeans and shut up the rest of them within their walls; he also ravaged the territory of the Methymnaeans and received the surrender of Eresus and Antissa. After this he gathered ships from the Chian and Mitylenaean allies and sailed to Rhodes.
This extract is from: Diodorus Siculus, Library (ed. C. H. Oldfather, 1989). Cited Oct 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
He resettled the inhabitants of the island, who were exiled by Timotheus of Athens in 365 B.C.
ANTISSA (Ancient city) LESVOS
In 167 B.C. the Romans destroyed Antissa, and gave her territory to Methymna.
CHIOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The Persians had not molested Chios till after the battle of Lade B.C. 495, but at that time they burned and ravaged the country and carried off the beautiful girls as slaves.
The Persian fleet wintered at Miletus, and putting out to sea in the
next year easily subdued the islands that lie off the mainland, Chios and Lesbos
and Tenedos. Whenever they took an island, the foreigners would (net) the people.
This is the manner of their doing it: the men link hands and make a line reaching
from the northern sea to the southern, and then advance over the whole island
hunting the people down...
Then the Persian generals were not false to the threats they had made
against the Ionians when they were encamped opposite them. When they had gained
mastery over the cities, they chose out the most handsome boys and castrated them,
making them eunuchs instead of men, and they carried the fairest maidens away
to the king; they did all this, and they burnt the cities with their temples.
Thus three times had the Ionians been enslaved, first by the Lydians and now twice
in a row by the Persians.
... Leon and Diomedon with the Athenian fleet from Lesbos issuing from the OeLacedaenussae,
the isles off Chios, and from their forts of Sidussa and Pteleum in the Erythraeid,
and from Lesbos, carried on the war against the Chians from the ships, having
on board heavy infantry from the rolls pressed to serve as marines. Landing in
Cardamyle and in Bolissus they defeated with heavy loss the Chians that took the
field against them, and laying desolate the places in that neighbourhood, defeated
the Chians again in another battle at Phanae, and in a third at Leuconium. After
this the Chians ceased to meet them in the field, while the Athenians
devastated the country, which was beautifully stocked and had remained
uninjured ever since the Median wars. Indeed, after the Lacedaemonians, the Chians
are the only people that I have known who knew how to be wise in prosperity, and
who ordered their city the more securely the greater it grew. Nor was this revolt,
in which they might seem to have erred on the side of rashness, ventured upon
until they had numerous and gallant allies to share the danger with them, and
until they perceived the Athenians after the Sicilian disaster themselves no longer
denying the thoroughly desperate state of their affairs. And if they were thrown
out by one of the surprises which upset human calculations, they found out their
mistake in company with many others who believed, like them, in the speedy collapse
of the Athenian power. While they were thus blockaded from the sea and plundered
by land, some of the citizens undertook to bring the city over to the Athenians.
Appraised of this the authorities took no action themselves, but brought Astyochus,
the admiral, from Erythrae, with four ships that he had with him, and considered
how they could most quietly, either by taking hostages or by some other means,
put an end to the conspiracy.
LEMNOS (LIMNOS) (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
Miltiades (1) son of Cimon took possession of Lemnos in this way:
When the Pelasgians (2) were driven out of Attica by the Athenians, whether justly
or unjustly I cannot say, beyond what is told; namely, that Hecataeus the son
of Hegesandrus declares in his history that the act was unjust; for when the Athenians
saw the land under Hymettus, formerly theirs, which they had given to the Pelasgians
as a dwelling place in reward for the wall that had once been built around the
acropolis when the Athenians saw how well this place was tilled which previously
had been bad and worthless, they were envious and coveted the land, and so drove
the Pelasgians out on this and no other pretext. The Pelasgians departed and took
possession of Lemnos, besides other places. This is the Athenian story; the other
is told by Hecataeus.
These Pelasgians dwelt at that time in Lemnos and desired vengeance
on the Athenians. Since they well knew the time of the Athenian festivals, they
acquired fifty-oared ships and set an ambush for the Athenian women celebrating
the festival of Artemis at Brauron. They seized many of the women, then sailed
away with them and brought them to Lemnos to be their concubines . These women
bore more and more children, and they taught their sons the speech of Attica and
Athenian manners. These boys would not mix with the sons of the Pelasgian women;
if one of them was beaten by one of the others, they would all run to his aid
and help each other; these boys even claimed to rule the others, and were much
stronger. When the Pelasgians perceived this, they took counsel together; it troubled
them much in their deliberations to think what the boys would do when they grew
to manhood, if they were resolved to help each other against the sons of the lawful
wives and attempted to rule them already. Thereupon the Pelasgians resolved to
kill the sons of the Attic women; they did this, and then killed the boys' mothers
also. From this deed and the earlier one which was done by the women when they
killed their own husbands who were Thoas' companions, a "Lemnian crime"
has been a proverb in Hellas for any deed of cruelty.
But when the Pelasgians had murdered their own sons and women, their
land brought forth no fruit, nor did their wives and their flocks and herds bear
offspring as before. Crushed by hunger and childlessness, they sent to Delphi
to ask for some release from their present ills. The Pythian priestess ordered
them to pay the Athenians whatever penalty the Athenians themselves judged. The
Pelasgians went to Athens and offered to pay the penalty for all their wrongdoing.
The Athenians set in their town-hall a couch adorned as finely as possible, and
placed beside it a table covered with all manner of good things, then ordered
the Pelasgians to deliver their land to them in the same condition. The Pelasgians
answered, "We will deliver it when a ship with a north wind accomplishes
the voyage from your country to ours in one day"; they supposed that this
was impossible, since Attica is far to the south of Lemnos. (3)
At the time that was all. But a great many years later (4), when the
Chersonese on the Hellespont was made subject to Athens, Miltiades son of Cimon
accomplished the voyage from Elaeus on the Chersonese to Lemnos with the Etesian
winds (5) then constantly blowing; he proclaimed that the Pelasgians must leave
their island, reminding them of the oracle which the Pelasgians thought would
never be fulfilled. The Hephaestians obeyed, but the Myrinaeans would not agree
that the Chersonese was Attica and were besieged, until they too submitted. Thus
did Miltiades and the Athenians take possession of Lemnos.
Commentary
(1) Meyer suggest...that the conquest of Lemnos... was not the work of the great
Miltiades, but of his namesake and predecessor, the son of Cypselus, oekist of
the Chersonese. If so, he acted as the agent of Pisistratus in seizing Lemnos
and expelling the Pelasgi. This would fit in with the prediction, which regards
the conqueror of Lemnos as representing Athens. Meyer urges that there was no
time for the conquest and Hellenizing of the island during the troubled period
of the Ionic revolt, so that he would in any case date the settlement of Attic
cleruchs there, even if ascribed to Miltiades II, to the period of Pisistratid
rule, before the Persian conquest of the islands. But Herod. distinctly says that
up to that time the Pelasgi still dwelt there. It seems therefore better to accept
the solution of Busolt that the Pelasgi, already weakened by the Persian conquest,
were expelled by Miltiades after 500, who settled the island as tyrant of the
Chersonese, and that the Attic cleruchy in Lemnos (Thuc. vii. 57; C. I. A. i.
443, 444) is to be connected with the reduction of the tribute circ. 447 B. C.
Previously, as in the Chersonese, there had been settlers from Attica, not a formal
Attic colony.
(2) The Pelasgians were driven into Attica by the Boeotian immigration, about
sixty years after the Trojan war according to legend. On the Pelasgi cf. App.
XV. 5. E. Meyer holds that there was no old Attic tradition about the Pelasgi,
the story given here being a mere reply to Hecataeus.
(3) The legend invented to justify Athenian dominion over Lemnos treats these
Attic boys as its natural lords and masters.
(4) Five hundred years before the Ionian revolt.
(5) The Etesian winds: North-east winds, blowing in July, August, and September.
This extract is from: Herodotus. The Histories (ed. A. D. Godley, 1920), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Dec 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
MYTILINI (Ancient city) LESVOS
Lesbos joined the Greek revolt against Rome in the Mithridatic war and in 88 B.C. the Romans destroyed Mytilene and extended Roman domination over the whole island.
In 427, after a siege, the Athenians gained control of Mytilene, and divided a large section of the island among 2700 Athenians cleruchs, after harshly punishing the instigators of the revolt.
CHIOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The principal Greek colonies along the coast, beginning at the Strymon
and going eastwards, were Amphipolis, at the mouth of the Strymon; Abdera, a little
to the west of the Nestus; Dicaea or Dicaepolis, a settlement of Maronea;
Maronea itself, colonized by the Chians;
Amasis became a philhellene, and besides other services which he did
for some of the Greeks, he gave those who came to Egypt the city of Naucratis
to live in; and to those who travelled to the country without wanting to settle
there, he gave lands where they might set up altars and make holy places for their
gods. Of these the greatest and most famous and most visited precinct is that
which is called the Hellenion, founded jointly by the Ionian cities of <b>Chios</b>,
Teos, Phocaea, and Clazomenae, the Dorian cities of Rhodes, Cnidus, Halicarnassus,
and Phaselis, and one Aeolian city, Mytilene.
By birth I believe they belong to these parts, that is to say, Chios;
they went out as colonists to Thurii,
but have been exiled thence and have spent a good many years now in various parts
of this country. (Plato, Euthydemus 271c)
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
No trace of the ancient city (Ilium at Troad) survives; and naturally
so, for while the cities all round it were sacked, but not completely destroyed,
yet that city was so utterly demolished that all the stones were taken from it
to rebuild the others. At any rate, Archaeanax of Mitylene is said to have built
a wall round Sigeium with stones taken from there. Sigeium was seized by Athenians
under Phrynon the Olympian victor, although the Lesbians laid claim to almost
the whole of the Troad. Most of the settlements in the Troad belong, in fact,
to the Lesbians, and some endure to this day, while others have disappeared. Pittacus
of Mitylene, one of the Seven Wise Men, as they are called, sailed against Phrynon
the general and for a time carried on the war, but with poor management and ill
consequences. It was at this time that the poet Alcaeus says that he himself,
being sorely pressed in a certain battle, threw away his arms. He addresses his
account of it to a certain herald, whom he had bidden to report to the people
at home that "Alcaeus is safe, but his arms have been hung up as an offering to
Ares by the Attic army in the temple of Athena Glaucopis." But later, on being
challenged to single combat by Phrynon, he took up his fishing-tackle, ran to
meet him, entangled him in his fishing net, and stabbed and slew him with trident
and dagger. But since the war still went on, Periander was chosen by both sides
as arbiter and ended it.
This extract is from: The Geography of Strabo (ed. H. L. Jones, 1924), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Jan 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
Following the end of the Late Bronze Age there was a 400 year hiatus at the site (Troy) until it was resettled at ca. 700 B.C. by Greek colonists, possibly from Lesbos or Tenedos.
Sestus, a colony of the Lesbians, as is also Madytus, as the Geographer says, is a Chersonesian city thirty stadia distant from Abydus, from harbor to harbor (Strabo Fr.55b)
MITHYMNA (Ancient city) LESVOS
The acropolis of Assos was occupied in the Bronze Age, but first began to expand in the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. when Aeolian colonists from Methymna on Lesbos replaced the Carian inhabitants.
Myrsilus says that Assus was founded by the Methymnaeans (Stabo 13,1,58)
MYTILINI (Ancient city) LESVOS
Amasis became a philhellene, and besides other services which he did
for some of the Greeks, he gave those who came to Egypt the city of Naucratis
to live in; and to those who travelled to the country without wanting to settle
there, he gave lands where they might set up altars and make holy places for their
gods. Of these the greatest and most famous and most visited precinct is that
which is called the Hellenion, founded jointly by the Ionian cities of Chios,
Teos, Phocaea, and Clazomenae, the Dorian cities of Rhodes, Cnidus, Halicarnassus,
and Phaselis, and one Aeolian city, Mytilene.
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The Ephesians under Androclus made war on Leogorus, the son of Procles, who reigned in Samos after his father, and after conquering them in a battle drove the Samians out of their island, accusing them of conspiring with the Carians against the Ionians. The Samians fled and some of them made their home in an island near Thrace, and as a result of their settling there the name of the island was changed from Dardania to Samothrace. Others with Leogorus threw a wall round Anaea on the mainland opposite Samos, and ten years after crossed over, expelled the Ephesians and reoccupied the island.(Paus. 7.4.2)
Both Cephallenia and Samothrace were called Samos at the time of the Trojan War (for otherwise Hecabe would not be introduced as saying that he (Achilles) was for selling her children whom he might take captive "unto Samos and unto Imbros", Il 13.13), and since the Ionian Samos had not yet been colonized, it plainly got its name from one of the islands which earlier bore the same name. Whence that other fact is also clear, that those writers contradict ancient history who say that colonists came from Samos after the Ionian migration and the arrival of Tembrion and named Samothrace Samos, since this story was fabricated by the Samians to enhance the glory of their island.(Strabo 10.2.17)
The men of property among the Samians were displeased by the dealings of their generals with the Medes, so after the sea-fight they took counsel immediately and resolved that before Aeaces the tyrant came to their country they would sail to a colony, rather than remain and be slaves of the Medes and Aeaces. The people of Zancle in Sicily about this time sent messengers to Ionia inviting the Ionians to the Fair Coast, desiring there to found an Ionian city. This Fair Coast, as it is called, is in Sicily, in that part which looks towards Tyrrhenia. At this invitation, the Samians alone of the Ionians, with those Milesians who had escaped, set forth.(Herodt. 6.22)
MESTA (Village) CHIOS
Since the pre-hellenic times the area of Mesta has been manifesting
a certain activity. This proves that ever since the beginning of the East Aegean
history it has played a significant role in political and military events.
I. Pre-hellenic times
Remains of a pre-hellenic pelasgic wall have been found in Limenas
of Mesta. The inhabitants of the area (before the arrival of the Greeks) had built
their wall on arruged region on the hill over the port. That shows that Limenas
of Mesta as well as the wider expanse around it used to have a significant commercial
position in Aegean Sea.
II. Ancient times
In those times workshops of ceramics and pottery are made in Limenas
of Mesta. Even these days potsherds of that era can be traced down in several
spots of Limenas.
These works created a tradition that lasted until the beginning of
the twentieth century. The finds in questions may not be of archaeological interest
but they are identical of the dwellers' activity during the Ancient Greek times.
It seems that many products of the area reached very distant spots, since (according
to tradition) there was a colony in Thraki called Aenos established by the residents
of the later Mesta. Indeed Chios as it is related founded one and only colony
during the great Greek colonization; that was Maroneia in Thraki and perhaps tradition
is the mouthpiece of this event.
There is a witness about the commercial activity of the region that
mentions a second port named Nottion (=the south one). The port of Limenas was
the North one. According to weather conditions either one or the other was used.
All these remarks were made by Stravon the Observer. In accordance with his references
and with more recent sources this south port used to be apparently at the gulf
of Avlonia or that of Salagona in the south district of Mesta.
III. Roman times
During the Roman Age (86 B.C. - A.D. 327) it seems that the activity
of the area becomes more intense. A marble sign found on a property in Limenas
is related to Athletic Games the so called "Caessaria" that used to take place
there. "Caessaria" had started the times of Julius Caesar and took place in many
spots of the Roman Empire. Those who organized these games were protected by the
emperor. Most specifically the emperor Traianos ordered that whoever would annoy
the "Caessaria" organizers would be concerned as insidious enemies of himself.
That marble sign is about the organization of the games near the spring (perhaps
it is the spring near the small coastal church of Zoodochos Pighi, or another
one near the river which ends to Limenas. It also reads about a municipality and
officers, a group of youngsters (athletes), polemarchs, priestesses and of chief
of ships as well as about imperfections (tax exemptions) as far as the games organizers
were concerned. A mere allusion to such offices shows the residents' activity.
The reference to a municipality confirms that it was not just a commercial settlement
but an organized state which definitely used to include not only Limenas but the
entire expanse of Mesta.
IV. Byzantine times
In Byzantine Age (A.D. 327 - A.D. 1346) the region of Mesta follows
the historical evolution of the whole island. The different settlements of the
wider area now concentrated into a big village for security reasons. From now
on if we talk about Mesta we mean one village. Before that the residents used
to live in smaller villages - settlements.
The pirate raids that the district of Mesta as well as Chios in general
suffered started since the times of Justinianus (6th century A.D.). Between the
years 668 and 678 (when Constantinos Pogonatos was emperor) the region undergoes
one of the most disastrous raids of the Arabs. In order to be saved the dwellers
were obliged to work out defensive understatements. As such they installed at
the place known these days as Mesta and they attended to its fortification. Of
course it was not the way we see it nowadays, but it was definitely a kind of
fort.
Towards the end of the Byzantine Empire, Mesta together with the other
Mastichohoria becomes a matter of rivalry between Orient and Occident. That happened
because mastic which was on demand, reached very high prices.
In A.D. 1124 Chios is occupied by the Venetians. They are allotted
privileges by the Byzantine empire although in A.D. 1173 they leave Chios because
they judged that their presence in the Aegean islands was uneconomical, disadvantageous
and impossible. So Mesta together with entire Chios returned to the Byzantines.
In A.D. 1204 along with the occupation of Byzantium by the Westerns, Chios comes
to the authority of the Latin Emperor of Istanbul. As such Mesta are occupied
by the Westerns for a second time within a period of a hundred years. After the
regaining of Chios by the Byzantines there is a period of successive western raids
the most significant of which - as far as Mesta is concerned - is that of the
Catalans in A.D. 1303. By this raid all schini (= the trees that produce mastic)
were destroyed. Needless to mention how many years of hard work was needed in
order to produce mastic again. It is also easy to conceive the decline of the
region which suffered the loss of its primary financial factor.
In order to avoid the danger of being occupied by the Turks, Chios
is sub ceded to the Genoans by the Byzantine emperor in A.D. 1304. This lasted
for 10 years. The Genoans did not abide by their signature and kept Chios until
1329 when the island was regained by the Byzantine emperor Andronikos.
V. Genoan times
In 1346 Chios is re-occupied by the Genoans up to 1566. The pirate
raids that started from Smyrni and Ephessos multiplied. The natives in order to
be saved and the Genoans in order to maintain the military and consequently the
financial control of the island they co-operated in its fortification. That is
how the villages - castles of Chios were constructed. A typical and vivid example
of those is Mesta. Apart from the external change the Genoans achieved to control
the natives too through the villages - castles. The hardest control was that of
mastic; in cases of stealing mastic the penalties were exterminating. In spite
of the Genoans' severity the villages - castles dwellers used to live better than
those of other regions. The conquerors needed then since they knew everything
about mastic cultivation and production. We should underline that the Genoans
were the proprietors of schini and more specifically "Maona" was. "Maona" was
formed by the Genoans for the political and financial control of Chios. Thus the
residents of Mesta as well as those of the rest Masticochoria were simple workers
who used to offer their services to "Maona".
During the Genoan occupation Mesta played a special role because of
Limenas which was a natural gift to the village. It is a port in Chios that is
not in direct contact with the shore of Asia Minor, where the Turks - the Genoans'
main antagonists - used to lurk. As such Limenas was used by the Genoans many
times for commercial and military purposes. For instance, when they determined
to invigorate the economy of the island a decree was out that obliged all the
cargo vessels under the Genoan flag to stop at Chios. The ports where the ships
used to stop were that of the capital of Chios and that of Mesta (Limenas).
According to historical sources some military operations started at
Mesta. In A.D. 1432 when the Venetians besieged the capital of Chios in terms
of their general antagonism with the Genoans, Tomaso Giustiniani who had arrived
from Genoa set his troops ashore at Limenas of Mesta. Moreover during the days
of the Genoan occupation Limenas was named "Porto di St. Anastasio" (= port of
St Anastassios) because the chapel in Limenas which is nowadays dedicated to Zoodochos
Pighi was then dedicated to St. Anastassios.
VI. The period of Turkish occupation
In 1566 Chios was conquered by the Turks. The new conquerors allotted
many privileges to the residents of the island and especially to villages where
mastic was produced (Masticochoria). Mesta along with some other villages of the
area were dedicated to the sultan's mother. As such during the Turkish occupation
it was established that the villages which produced mastic should be dedicated
to a member of the sultan's court and that they should form a separate administrative
region. It was not depended on the capital of the island, but it was linked directly
with Istanbul.
Masticochoria belonged to the region of which Agha Sakiz Eminis was
in charge. This region during the Turkish occupation had a powerful local government.
The residents of Mesta used to elect the governors of their village (the Elders
of the village) and their churchwardens through a general meeting. Their office
lasted for a year. The churchwardens were responsible for the village problems;
they collected the taxes, they solved certain misunderstandings, or problems in
general between the Greeks and the Turks, they appointed teachers and field guards,
they also guarded the village wells and the village boundaries.
Furthermore, the Elders of the village took part in the second grade
of local government that Masticochoria had established. Along with the Elders
of the other villages they were responsible for the good operation of their common
hospital (leper-house) in Tholopotami, for their school in Armolia and they participated
in the elections for the ephor of Masticochoria in Istanbul.
One of their most important achievements was the providing of the
right to sell mastic in the free market. That happened in 1840 when, under the
pressure of the Elders, a firman was out by sultan Abdul Metzit. Since that year
every village was free to sell the precious product to whoever made him the best
offer.
Thus an improvement in the financial state of the villagers is noticed.
Even in 1866 when privileges in the entire Turkish empire were abolished by sultan
Abdul Aziz, Mesta as well as the rest of Masticochoria retained the right of electing
their own Elders and the right of free sale of Mastic.
The greater adventure of Mesta, though, during the Turkish occupation
is that of 1822. Lykourgos Logothetis from Samos arrived at Chios and set his
troops ashore in order to persuade Chios dwellers to rebel against the conquerors.
After the rebels' first successful attempts, the Turks managed to reassemble.
The rebels as well as the civilians headed west (toward Masticochoria) so as to
be rescued from the Turks' reprisals. Mesta dwellers sheltered many of them from
slaughter. In some cases they succeeded, while in some other ones they did not.
According to witnesses many of the residents of the capital and Kambos were slaughtered
by the Turks outside the castle of Mesta.
The villagers were saved because of one of the elders of the village,
Ilias Pipidis, who had been in contact with admiral Andreas Miaoulis from Hydra.
He guided the villagers to Merikounta (a coast on the north side of the village).
From there most of the villagers went to Psara or Cyclades by Miaoulis ship. Those
who did not leave, they hid in some caves or in the fields. Many people were arrested
and intended to be sold as slaves in Asia Minor. There is a remarkable case of
Nikolaos Tsokos who managed to escape from 100 armed Turks while they shooted
him; he ran to Limenas and swam to a French ship that anchored there.
The residents of Mesta were saved from slavery because of their knowledge
about the cultivation of mastic. When the Turks realized that they would lose
the highest income that they had from Chios, they granted amnesty to the cultivators
of mastic. Thus all villagers who had been arrested as hostages were set free
and many of those who had left their village returned back. The destruction of
the village was great anyway. According to a census conducted in 1802 it consisted
of 275 families, 1112 people whereas in accordance with a census conducted in
1831 it had 152 families, that is some 600 people.
VII. Mesta at liberty
In 1912 Chios is free and since then it has become again both geographically
and politically a part of Greece. When our country was in hard times the villagers
of Mesta as all Greek people defended their homeland. moreover, during peace they
worked hard and made progress. Many villagers sacrificed their lives in all wars
our country had to participate in (there is a monument for them in the entrance
of the village).
During peace many people from Mesta have excelled in literature, arts
and trade. Not only have they excelled in Greece but abroad too. Almost all of
them, no matter where they live, often visit their village and never forget their
roots. It is something they consider as their primary duty.
This text is cited October 2004 from the ChiosNET Tourist Guide URL below, which contains images
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
Throughout its long history, Lesvos has to show for a plethora of
intellectuals. The most famous among the ones who lived and worked on the island
are: Terpandros (700 B.C.), poet and musician the father of ancient lyrical poetry,
Pittakos (648 B.C.) politician and one of the seven wise men of Ancient Greece,
Arion (625 B.C.), a charismatic lyrical poet and mucisian, Alcaeus (600 B.C.),
one of the best known lyrical poets of ancient Greece, and finally Sappho (620
B.C.), the most famous ancient Greek poetesses whose poems, distinguished for
their stylistic elegance, passion and depth of feeling, won her the name the "tenth
Muse". Other significant personalities are Theophrastus (372 B.C.) philosopher
and botanist - known as the father of botany - and Theophanes (100 B.C.), a significant
historian who accompanied Pompey in his Asia Minor expeditions.
During the Roman and Byzantine periods the island’s intellectual
life is relatively stagnant. During the years of the Turkish occupation, the cultural
life declines but during the 15th century the Monastery of Lemonas becomes the
center of the island’s intellectual revival.
In the 18th century significant personalities appear: Ignatius of
Hungary - Wallachia and Benjamin the Lesvian, who is numbered among a group of
18th and 19th century scholars known as the "teachers of the race".
In the 19th century, the brothers Dimitrios and Gregorios Vernardakis,
Georgios Aristedis and Christoforos Leilios support Greek education and the intellectual
life of the island.
Later, during the 20th century, Argyris Eftaliotis blows new breath
into Greek Literature, while the great novelists Stratis Myrivilis and Elias Venezis
send pacifistic and humanistic messages to an international reading public. F.Kontoglou,
K.Makistos, S.Paraskevaedis, P.Samaras, A.Panselinos, M.Kountouras, V.Archontides
and the poet and Nobel laureate Odysseas Elytis, whose poetry along with that
of Sappho made the beauty of the island’s nature famous, contributed to
a flourishing of the letters that came to be known as the "Lesvian Spring".
Certainly, intellectual production could not be limited to literature
and poetry. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th F.Kontoglou,
Iakovides, Protopatsis, O.Kanellis, the famous folk painter Theophilos Chatzimichael
and the art critic and inspired editor of art-books Stratis Eleftheriadis - Teriad
each makes his own contribution to art.
To this day - at the dawn of the 21st century - cultural life on the
island is rich and many creative people as well as cultural societies still contribute
to the ongoing intellectual Spring of Lesvos.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Prefecture of Lesvos URL below, which contains images.
OINOUSSES (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
LEMNOS (LIMNOS) (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
At Dawn on 19 June 1807, off Lemnos, ten Russian ships attacked a
Turkish fleet of 14 ships. During the battle the Raphael became dismasted and
drifted towards the Turkish line. The Tverdoi came up in support but was soon
also unmanageable. Superior Russian gunnery gradually won the day, however, and
the Turks began to withdraw losing their flag ship, the Sedd-ul-Bakir, to the
Russians. The battle had lasted some hours when a calm set in, and the fleets
drifted apart. All night the Russians tried to close with the enemy but by next
morning the Turks fell off towards Thasos. In the insuing chase the Russians managed
to overtake and destroy a ship of the line and 2 frigates and the Turks abandoned
and burned another ship of the line and frigate. Turkish losses were 3 ships of
the line (Sedd-ul-Bakir captured and 2 more burned), and 3 frigates. The Turks
lost over 500 men on one ship alone while the Russians had 135 killed and 409
wounded. Lemnos was the major Russian naval engagement and victory for the Napoleonic
era.
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
Arginusae (Arginousai). Three small islands off the coast of Aeolis, opposite Mytilene in Lesbos, celebrated for the naval victory of the Athenians over the Lacedaemonians under Callicratidas, B.C. 406.
MOUDROS (Small town) LEMNOS (LIMNOS)
IKARIA (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The island of Icaria was inhabited as far back as the Stone Age, as
evidenced by archaeological data. Much later early Greek-speaking tribes like
the Carians, the Leleges and the Pelasgians made their appearance. There is evidence
of both Minoan and Phoenician sea masters of the early period. In the 8th c. BC.
Ionians came from Miletus,
a rich city of Asia Minor,
but it was their ill-luck to be enslaved by the Persians in 512 B.C.
With the eclipse of Persian power, Icaria became an ally of Athens
and a member of the Athenian Alliance. During this time the first cities were
established. Very close to present-day Therma
was the ancient settlement at Therma, though few ruins are to be seen today.
The remains of Drakanon,
another ancient city, are to be found on the eastern cape of the island. The acropolis,
crowned by a beautiful castle is believed to date from the Hellenistic period,
the time of Alexander.
On the northern side of the island are the ruins of Oinoe,
once the capital city, near the modern village of Kampos.
Ancient walls, an aqueduct and parts of a building called "the Palace",
are still preserved, and other finds have been collected at the local museum.
Finally, on the northwestern point, is the floor and a few broken
columns of a temple to the goddess Artemis. The village is still called "Nas",
a contraction of the Greek word "naos", a place of worship. At the time
that this floor was in use, Icaria was rich and prosperous.
In the years of Alexander the Great, and later when his successor
were engaging in ceaseless, wars, Icaria was plagued by the pirates who took advantage
of the confusion to raid and plunder the Aegean islands. The population dropped,
while others from Samos and
Leros came and settled. Finally,
Icaria became a part of the Kingdom of Pergamus,
in time to be swallowed up by the Roman Empire in 133 B.C.
The Roman general Pompey temporarily relieved Icaria from a new irruption
of pirates, but with the end of the Roman Empire, Icaria fell into decay.
Improvement came with the Byzantines, refugees from the invasions,
Maltese and Genoese sought safety here, and before long, 70,000 people were living
on Icaria.
After the fall of Constantinople
to the Franks in 1904 A.D. Venice took several islands, including Icaria. Until
1362 the island was owned by the Venetian Franks and later, by the Genoese. The
Ionian Knights of Rhodes
took over until the Turks captured the island in 1521. During the early years
of the Turkish occupation, the inhabitants took to hiding in caves and steep places.
In the 19th century local government brought great progress to Icaria,
organizing schools, a just taxation system and encouraging the development of
farming and navigation. During the Greek Revolution of 1821, many Icarians joined
the "Filiki Etairia" - the so-called "Friendly Society" which
nourished ideas of Greek independence - and they took an active part in the struggle.
In 1911, Italy went to war
with Turkey, and took over
the Dodecanese as far as
neighbouring Patmos.
Now the Icarians were ready to take their fate into their own hands.
With the support of the new Greek government, they rebelled and declared independence
on 17 July, 1912. They established a free state with its own army, police, stamps
and national anthem. On November 4, 1912, Icaria was united with Greece,
the mother country.
(text: MOUGIANNIS DIMITRIOS)
This text (extract) is cited July 2003 from the Municipality
of Agios Kirikos tourist pamphlet.
The Ikarian writer Eparchidis wrote the history of Ikaria but few
fragments have been found. The first reference to Ikaria is that of Strabo, according
to which people of Miletus
“cosettled” in Ikaria and also colonized the Black
Sea and the West Mediterranean.
Earlier on, the great divinity of the Ikarians was Dionysos who was
connected to the cultivation of the vine (Pramnian wine is mentioned in Homer’s
epics). The other divinity was Artemis in the area of Nas,
which today belongs to the Municipality
of Raches.
Many historical pieces from Classical, Hellenistic and Byzantine times
are exhibited in the Museum of Kampos.
Many samples of capitals in blue granite with bas-relief goat heads have also
been preserved in Ikaria: the goat being the dominant domestic animal of the island
and known as “ρασκό ριφάκι” (the wild, free-grazing goat). The
Ikarians were also members of the Athenian Alliance.
Ikarian seamen in the fleet of Alexander the Great persuaded him to
name “Ikaria” one of the seventeen islands in the Persian
Gulf.
This text (extract) is cited January 2004 from the Evdilos
Municipal Cultural Organization tourist pamphlet.
During the Byzantine period, Ikaria was placed under the Genoese Maona
of Chios. The resistance of
the Ikarians is referred as: “The wealthy left the island and went to Chios,
the Crimea and Africa (Egypt),
whereas the poor took to the hills”.
Following this, Ikarians resisted Turkish agha over a cliff in the
palanquin “with its bells ringing”, taking on full responsibility
for their act, and saying: “We all did it, master”.
During the liberation war of 1821, the Ikarians, initiated into the
Filiki Eteria, abolished Turkish rule and accepted refugees from Chios.
Again in 1912 Ikarians, on their own initiative, expelled the Turkish
guard and proclaimed the island’s independence and Ikaria administered itself
as a free state under its own constitution for five months by a Revolutionary
Committee, until it joined Greece.
In 1945 Ikaria, again under its own strength, freed itself from the
Italian domination.
This text (extract) is cited January 2004 from the Evdilos
Municipal Cultural Organization tourist pamphlet.
LEMNOS (LIMNOS) (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The pre-historical period
The first people who definitely lived in Lemnos were of the Middle
neolithic period during the 5th millenium BC. They most probably came from Asia
Minor and it seems that they colonized all the island because at many points were
found neolithic period communities, like in Axia, Ifestia,
Komi and others.
They were able to develop a remarkable civilization with duration
and continuation at Poliochni
where over 1500 years the community that started as a small neolithic period village,
ended-up as a prosperous city of the copper-governed period where it dominated
not only on the island but also other sea areas around it. Poliochni was suddenly
destroyed around 1300 BC probably by an earthquake.
After the destruction of Poliochni the capital and center of the island
became Mirina whose name
originated from the queen of the island Mirina the wife of king Thoas.
The era of Trojan war
During the era of the Trojan war (12th or 13th century BC) on Lemnos
governed the Minies with king Evino and capital city was Mirina. Homer specifically
mentions that the people of Lemnos had business dealing with the Achaians , and
also offered hospitality to the wounded Filoktiti.
During the 11th century BC the island was governed by the Pelasgians
and the Minies that abandoned the island went to live in Trifilia
close to Pylos.
The classical years
During the Persian wars went to war against Darius but around 512
BC they submitted to the persian general Otani. The first persian occupation lasted
until 510 BC when the island came under the government of Athens. The second persian
occupation during 493-479 BC ended up with the naval war of Mikali.
The people of the island mixed with the Athenian governors and around
the 4th century BC the island has a parliament, assembly and political activities
similar to those of the Athenians.
During this era Lemnos was called Dipolis (Double-City) which originated
from the existence of the two major cities Mirina and Ifestia.
The Roman era
Lemnos was conquered by the Romans in the 166 BC and the island met
a period of calm and peace and an upraise and maximum potential with the appearance
of the family of sophists, the Filostrati family.
Byzantium
There aren't many detailed information about the island during the
Byzantine period. In 325 the bishop of Lemnos Stratigios took place in the first
Universal Congress. The next bishop of Lemnos named Silouanos appeared in 680
at the sixth Universal Congress.
During the era of Constantine the Great, the island belonged to the
subject of eastern Illirium. From the 7th until 11th century the Byzantine used
the island to repair their ships and also as a naval base.
During the middle Byzantine years the island belonged to the subject
of Greece and later came under the subject of the Aegean. During 11th century
it went under the control of Thessaloniki.
The conquest of the Byzantine was interrupted many times by the Arabs,
the Venetian and the Genouates. The Turks never conquered the island. Whenever
they attempted they faced the heroic resistance of the island's people. Their
greatest victory was in the battle of Kotsinas in 1475 when Maroula of Lemnos
was distinguished.
To the Turks the island was handed over by the Venetian in 1456 initially
and later definitely in 1479.
Turkish occupation
The first appearance of the Turks on the island is mentioned around
1442 when they sieged it for 27 days. Among the sieged people were Constantine
Paleologos and his second wife Caterina Gatelouzou who died from the hardship
and a difficult pregnancy.
During the years that followed the island declined until the year
1700 when it passed into a period of calmness and reconstruction. Already the
capital city of the island is Castro (castle) today's Mirina. In 1770 after a
revolution under the leadership of the Russian general Orlof the island id destroyed
again by the Turks and begins a period of persecutions, disasters and rooting
out.
In 1821, Lemnos because of its position close to the Dardanelles didn't
join in with the revolution despite that many Lemnians joined and gave battle
inland and at sea.
In 1854 during the period of the Krimaican war an attempt for freedom
was made but it was impeded violently by the English navy.
Liberation
Lemnos was liberated on October 8th 1912 by the Greek navy just three
days after the initiation of the 1st Balkan war. Admiral Koundouriotis conquered
the island and developed a naval base which controlled the exit of the Dardanelles.
During the 1st World War and after 1925 during the expedition of Kallipolis,
Lemnos became an English military base and the bay of Moudros was used as a naval
base by the English.
In 1922, 4500 immigrants from Turkey entered Lemnos to whom land was
distributed from the Turkish estates and the inheritance of the monasteries.
During the 2nd World War the Germans occupied Lemnos on April 25th
1941 and remained on the island until October 16th 1944.
After the 2nd World War Lemnos became an exile island for many years.
During this period many people migrated to Australia, Canada, USA, South Africa
etc and the population started to decline. From the 24.018 people of the 1951
census only 15.721 registered in 1981.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Limnos Medical Association URL below.
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
MARATHOKAMBOS (Small town) SAMOS
The residential kernel of Marathokampos started in ancient Samos,
as it is indicated by the local traditions and toponyms. Due to the neighboring
with the Ionian Coast, the Samian Civilization flourished mostly on the Eastern
part of the Island, around the Temple
of Hera, while not many things are known for the Central and Western part
of the island.
What we do know is that there was an intense development on the South
West part of Samos, during the Byzantine and Post Byzantine years. This is confirmed
by the written elements and the ruins of big settlements with walls and Temples,
which have been found in the area.
Through the natural harbors of our Municipality, all trade dealings
were made, with the Western Islands of the Aegean Sea and the rest of Greece,
while the Byzantine fleet harbored in these natural harbors in order to control
the Central Aegean Sea.
The development of our Municipality appears to be significant during
the Post Byzantine years, when the Eastern part of Samos was depopulated by the
fear of the Turks and pirates who foraged the area. The morphology of the area,
the mentality of the people of Marathokampos, and the marine activity, interpret
the maintenance of the healthy social and economical life of the area, during
the years that are referred by the historians as the time of depopulation. At
the harbor of Ormos -
Spilia as it was called back then - the solid wood that came from Mount
Kerkis made strong ships. The trade ships of Marathokampos traveled through
the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, victoriously facing the pirates and the Turks.
These trade ships where the bridge between West Samos, Ionian Coast and Central
Greece. Brave hearted sailors from Marathokampos and their ships took part at
the campaign of Napoleon the Great in Egypt and many of them died at the battle
of the Pyramids.
Marathokampos is the home land of Kapetan Stamatis Georgiadis, Napoleon's
great fighter, member of the Karmanioli movement, and a hero of the Samian renaissance,
whose presence at the Kavo's Fonia battle gave the victory to the Samian Arms
in 1924. His family, his brothers, his sisters, his brothers in law gave everything
to the strangle and died in exile in Evia
when Samos turned to a hegemony. His house can be found in the village of Marathokampos
where many of his personal belongings are saved there.
In the church of St. Antonius, which was founded in 1904, one can
see the bell that sounded the Revelation on the 17th of April 1821, calling all
rebels to join against the tyranny of the Turks. In this church one can also find
the icon that was ordered by the captains that followed Kapetan Stamatis at the
beginning of the Revelation. During the years of the hegemony and between 1920-1940
Marathokampos town was a Municipality with Court of first instance, Country Court,
Town School and Girl's School. In these schools teachers were bright people who
had studied in Ionia and Europe. Among them were the fellow citizens Karatzas,
Sfinis and Konstas. The citizens of Marathokampos were active during the Liberation
fights in 1912-1913, the movement of Th. Sofoulis and the Near East campaign.
Right after the union of Samos with Greece, four brothers, the famous Giagiades,
feeling jostled, became outlaws. Finding refuge on the Mounts and being supported
by others of the same ideology, their mutiny lasted for many years. And this is
why the Giagiades mutiny has a big part of the Marathokampos History. Citizens
of Marathokampos also fought fiercely in Albania and Middle East.
The habitants of Marathokampos took great action during the years
of the Italian - German occupation, working hard for the resistance. They acted
on the mountains against the conquerors. Among the dead of Kastania, who were
brutally murdered by the Italians, were many citizens of Marathokampos.
Marathokampos is also the birthplace of the Patriarch of Jerusalem,
Damianos and the Metropolite Aleksandros Dilanas. One of the most important Greek
Archaeologists Manolis Andronikos spent his younger years in Marathokampos, while
from Marathokampos Gymnasium graduated the litterateur Giannis Chatzinis and the
historian Alexis Sevastakis.
This text is cited April 2005 from the Municipality of Marathokambos URL below, which contains images.
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
According to the Greek Mythology of the shores of the river Imvrassos
the goddess Hera was born and the goddess was bathing in the river's waters, that's
why the river was also called Parthenios. It was also in this place where Hera
fist made love with Zeus. The first settlers of Samos were Hisieis from the promontory
Hision of Asia Minor and Astipalaians. Kares, Leleges as well as Pelasgoi were
the first inhabitants of Samos as in most of the island of the Aegean
Sea. The Argonaut Agaios is considered to be the founder of the town of Samos
and the one who introduced the cult of Hera and the cultivation of the vine. According
to Apollonios of Rhodes, Agaios was not a settler but a Samian and son of the
god Poseidon.
The myth of Agaios
According to the myth, one of the many slaves working the vines, because
of the harsh conditions of working the land, cursed the Argonaut hero, ruler of
Samos, to not be able to drink that year's wine. When the wine was ready, Agaios
summoned the slave and showed him the glass from where he was ready to drink that
year's wine. Many things can happen until the glass reaches the lips? said the
slave and indeed he was right.
The sons of Agaios were Agapinor, who became king of the Arcadians
and fought on the Trojan War and Samos who ruler in Samos.
With the end of the Trojan War Ionians under the leadership of Proklis
and Temvrionas colonized Samos. Paphsanias makes references to another wave of
settlers coming from Phliouda
of Peloponnisos under the leadership of Ippasos, the mythical ancestor of the
Samian philosopher Pythagoras.
From scientific research and the excavations on the hill of Kastro
in Pythagorio, it is safe to say that Samos was inhabited as early as the Neolithic
era.
In the area of Iraion a settlement of the Procycladitic period was
discovered. This settlement was the prime town of the island during the early
Age of Bronze 3rd millennium BC.
The oldest trace of the cult of Hera belong to the 2nd half of the
2nd millennium BC And this is the reason why Samos was also called Partheneia
and Imvrassia in the honor of the river where the goddess was born. Thanks to
its rich vegetation the island was also called Anthemis, Fillas, Kiparissia, Melamphilos,
Drioussa, Dorissa, Stephani and Parthenoaroussa. The name Samos was given to the
island due to its mountainous terrain and it originates from a prehellenic or
Phoenician word that means high ground.
The city of Samos, today's Pythagorio becomes one of the most important
cities of Ionia along with Militos
and Ephessos.
Around 600 BC the Samian colonized Amorgos, Thrace, Cilicia and they had developed
important trade relation with Egypt. In the city of Naphkratin on the Nile's delta
the Samian had a whole quarter of the city. Before the end of the 7th century
BC Samian had reached the mythical Tartisso, beyond the Heraklian Columns, today's
Gibraltar. The 525 BC Samian mercenaries settle the oasis Baharigia between Egypt
and Libya
and the 531 BC Samians found Dikaiarhia,
today's Poutzoli on the gulf of Naples.
During the rule of Polikratis (538 or 532 - 522 BC) the development
of commerce and artisan trades along with the built of a war fleet rendered Samos
a sea power "first of all Greek and Barbarian cities" according to Herodotus.
Typical was the new type of ship Samaina, which combined the requirement for storage
space with revolutionary elements of a fast sea vessel.
Herodotus wrote that he admired Samos for three amazing construction
feats - marvels - that he visited during his visit to the island. These were:
Ephpalinos Tunnel a water reservoir with an underground tunnel of 1036 meters
in length. It was part of an extensive water distribution system for the ancient
city of Samos, which had a population of 150000 people and according to other
historical sources 300000 inhabitants. The "land within the sea", the ancient
port of Pythagorio,
which is considered the oldest manmade port in the world. Heraion, the temple
of Hera, "the richest and biggest temple of all Greek temples". From
the preclassical era we can also study and admire, finds from the palace of Polyctates
and the ancient city of Samos, the ancient walls etc. (...)
1st Persian War
In 479 BC in the straits of Mikali the Samian, Athenian and Spartan
fleet gave the final blow to the Persian fleet and crushed the Persian army in
land the 18th of September 479 BC.
The great influence and power of Samos was deem as dangerous to the
Athenian hegemony and using the conflict between Samos and Militos the Athenians
placed Samos under siege for nine months 440-439 BC. Amongst the Athenian general
who took part in the siege were Perikles, Sophokles and Thoukididis. The surrender
of Samos brought the demolition of its walls, the surrender of the fleet and huge
war compensations. Samos never really recovered after that.
The Peloponnesian Wars
During the Peloponnesian wars Samos allied with the Athenians, but
in 402 BC, the Spartans under the leadership of Lissandros conquered the island.
After the Adaklidia peace of 387 BC the Persians conquered the island. Samos was
assigned to the Satrap of Minor Asia and had to pay a yearly contribution of 400
talents.
This text is cited Febr 2004 from the Municipality of Pythagorio URL below, which contains images
During the Asian Campaign of Alexander the Great, Samos was an important army and naval base. After the death of Alexander his successors, realizing Samos's key geographical position for the control of the west and southwest coasts of Asia Minor, fought for the islands domination. With the victory of the Romans against the Macedonians in Kinos Kefalais, in 197 BC, Samos was declared independent as every other Greek city. In 131 BC Samos was assigned along with the other Ionian cities to the Roman province of Asia.
This text is cited Febr 2004 from the Municipality of Pythagorio URL below, which contains images
The roman occupation, although it was not strict during the first
years of the Pax Romana, it was always disliked by the Greeks. Samos had a leading
role in the revolution against the Romans, which was subsequently crushed the
88 BC. And Samos went through a period of suppression and pillage. In 82 BC Gaios
Lucilus Verris stole from Iraion and sent to Rome so many works of art that he
provoked the outrage of many important Romans. The case for Samos was presented
in the Roman Senate Cicerone and the Samians built in Iraion the altar of Cicerone.
In the 40 / 39 BC Samos was visited by Antony and Cleopatra along
with their armies and fleet. After their defeat in the sea battle of Aktio
the 31 BC the victorious Octabian Augustus enchanted by the island spent two winters
there the 30 and 19 / 18 BC and granted the Samians roman citizenship and returned
all statues taken by Antony from Iraion.
•Tiberius heir of Augustus granted back to Iraio the right of asylum, which
brought back to Iraio its old splendor.
•Caligula dreamt of rebuilding the palace of Polykrates.
•Nero granted Samos its independence and helped the island to recover after
it was hit by disastrous earthquakes.
•Claudius built the temple of Dionysus.
•Vespian, however, abolished the independence of the island and assigned
it to the roman province of the island with Rhodes
as its administrative center.
This text is cited Febr 2004 from the Municipality of Pythagorio URL below
Subsequent to the loss of its independence from the romans, Samos
entered in an era of decadence. This state of things continued throughout the
first period of the Byzantine Empire and even if the historical sources for this
period are scarce, it is believed that the population of the island diminished
dramatically. Samos was raided by pirates during the reign of Ioulianos (361-363
AD) by Goths, Alanans (5th century AD), Slavs (6th century AD) and Arab Saracens
the 7th century.
The 7th century AD the heirs of Heraklios took over the administrative
and military restructuring of the empire and created a mighty fleet. They introduced
the institution of Themata. These were military units permanently stationed to
different areas of the Empire responsible for its defense. Land was given to the
soldiers so they did not only defend the Empire but their homes and land too.
The 9th century AD the naval Thema of Samos was created, which controlled the
opposite coasts of Asia
Minor. The Thema of Samos took part in the campaigns against the Saracens
and especially at the liberation of Crete
from Nikiphoros Phokas the 961 AD.
In 1312 the Turks attack repeatedly the island and its inhabitants
find security in the mountainous castles of Lazaros and Loulouda. After the disastrous
earthquake of 1476 the inhabitants of the island flee from Samos.
In 1546 the French traveler Pier Belon passed through Samos and reported
in his journal that he did not come across any village in the island and that
there were only shepherds in the highlands.
This text is cited Febr 2004 from the Municipality of Pythagorio URL below, which contains images
The 1562 the sultan's admiral Kilidz Pashas due to a sea storm unbarks
in Samos. He was deeply impressed by the natural beauty of the island and after
the erg of his officer Nikolaos Sarakinis from Patmos, he asked from the sultan
to place the island under his control and to recolonize it.
With the sultans decree a lot of privileges were given to Christians
who would colonize Samos and it was strictly forbidden for a Turk to inhabit the
island or even stay there for a brief time. Greeks from all over Greece colonized
the island. The names of their place of origin can still be found in the names
of existing villages such as: Mitilinioi, Arvanites, Koumaioi from Kimi, Vourliotes
from Vourla
of Minor Asia, Pagondas from the village with the same name in Evoia,
Moraitohori
etc.
In 1673, according to the English traveler Randolph, the population
of Samos was 10000 people In 1800 the French Tournof reports that the exquisite
Samos wine was being exported to France and that there was an important production
of silk.
This text is cited Febr 2004 from the Municipality of Pythagorio URL below, which contains images
Despite its proximity to Asia
Minor, Samos throughout the Greek struggle for independence was a Greek stronghold
for the control of the southeast Aegean.
The leading figure of the Revolution was Likourgos Logothetis, members
of the secret organization, Philiki Etaireia. The 18th of April 1821 the Samians
under the command of Kostantinos Lahanas raised the flag of the revolution in
Pigadakia of Vathi.
Thanks to their good organization the revolutionaries successfully
defended the island from numerous Turkish attacks. One of the most important defense
structure used was the Castle of Likourgos in Pythagorio.
The 5th of July 1821 the Turks tried to invaded from the promontory
Georgis east of Pythagorio, where they encountered heroic resistance for few Samians
under the command of Kapetan Stamati. The Turks were annihilated and since that
day the promontory is called Phonias "killer". The 5th of
August 1824 in the straits of Mykali
the Turkish fleet, under the leadership of Hosref, was defeated by the Greek fleet
under the command of Georgios Sahtouris.
Kanaris with his incendiary vessel blew up the Turkish flagship in
the Eptastadios Porthmos. The next day, the 6th of August, the day of the Transfiguration
of Virgin Mary, the Greeks celebrated their victory and latter constructed the
church of the Transfiguration of Virgin Mary next to the castle of Licourgos in
memory of this great victory.
The 24th until the 29th August 1824 in the nearby gulf of Gerodas
the greatest sea battle of the Revolution took place. The Greek fleet with just
70 ships and under the leadership of Andreas Miaoulis, vanquished the Turkish-Egyptian
fleet numbering triple the amount of vessels. Despite its decisive
role in the Revolution, the great powers, England, France and Russia with the
treaty of London in 1830 did not contain Samos in the New Greek State. Samos was
declared a Hegemony under the protection of the Sultan, with a Christian ruler
chosen by the Sultan. Likourgos Logothetis along with 6000 other Samian not accepting
the new regime abandoned the island.
This text is cited Febr 2004 from the Municipality of Pythagorio URL below, which contains images
Thanks to the relative independence that the Hegemony assured, a new
period of development began in Samos. The road system was built, the sector of
public health and the education were organized and there was an important development
of arts and sports.
In 1849 with the publishing of the New Administrative Charta the common
law was redefined to a more liberal direction. The special political system of
Samos was the cause for the development of social and political institutions different
from those of other islands.
In 1837 the central school of Vathi
was founded, a high school in Mitilinioi
and other schools in the villages and in 1854 the central school of Vathi became
the 1st Pythagorio High School.
Between 1842 until 1862 the new port of Tigani (Pythagorio)
was built having as foundation the ancient port of Samos. In 1863 the first newspaper
"Samos" was printed. All official decrees of the Hegemony were published
by "Samos".
From 1881 until 1912 there were continuous struggles for independence
form the sultan. The 11th of November 1912 in the church of Agios Spiridonas the
representatives of the people of Samos unanimously voted the unification of the
island with Greece. The leading figure of the unification was Themistoklis Sophoulis.
After 1900 the systematic cultivation of tobacco and vine begun. The
exquisite Muscat wine of Samos was exported mainly in Germany, Holland and France
while the tobacco in the USA and Germany. The tobacco industry flourished until
the economic crisis of 1930. In 1932 there were public tobacco factories in the
port of Vathi,
in Tigani
(Pythagorio) and in Neo Karlovassi. In Karlovassi
40 small and large leather factories were operating, employing 300-400 workers.
Throughout the era of sail ships Samos had an important role in this
industry and with the arrival of the steamships the "Atmoploia Samou"
was founded by the commercial house of Iglessis in 1910. The construction of ships
had a notable development thanks to the Samian pinewood.
In 1932 small sail ships and mechanized, with internal combustion
engines, were being built in different locations of the island. The most important
were in Tigani (Pithagorio), in Marathokabos
and in Kalabaktassi. It is estimated that Samos built half of the Greek fleet.
The port of Pithagorio linked Greece with the Dodecanese,
which was under Italian occupation and all commerce with the coasts of Asia
Minor was conducted through Pythagorio.
During the 2nd world war the Greek and allied forces used Pythagorio
for their movement from and to Asia Minor. The people of Samos played a decisive
role in the resistance against the German and Italian invaders. With the surrender
of Italy the Italian commander of the Kouneo brigade placed his men under the
command of Bishop Eirinaios and Greek forces (Ieros Lohos) and latter English
forces come to the island from the Middle East.
1st-17th November 1943 elements of Ieros Lohos (The Sacred Band) parachuted
successfully while others landed by sea in Samos and organized the defense of
the island against the Germans.
The 17th of November 1943 bombarded Samos and especially Pythagorio
the port used by the Italians. A lot of people fled to the Monastery of Spiliani.
The germans conquered the island but the resistance continued on the mountains
until the final liberation of the island.
This text is cited Febr 2004 from the Municipality of Pythagorio URL below, which contains images
CHIOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The Ionians then came there with their ships manned, and with them
the Aeolians who dwell in Lesbos. This was their order of battle: The Milesians
themselves had the eastern wing, bringing eighty ships; next to them were the
Prieneans with twelve ships, and the Myesians with three; next to the Myesians
were the Teians with seventeen ships; next to these the Chians with a hundred;
near these in the line were the Erythraeans, bringing eight ships, and the Phocaeans
with three, and next to these the Lesbians with seventy; last of all in the line
were the Samians, holding the western wing with sixty ships. The total number
of all these together was three hundred and fifty-three triremes...(Herod. 6.8.1)
The most roughly handled of those that stood their ground in the sea-fight
were the Chians, since they refused to be cowards and achieved deeds of renown.
They brought a hundred ships to the fleet, as was mentioned above, and on each
ship were forty picked men of their citizens. Seeing themselves betrayed by the
greater part of their allies, they did not think it right to act like the worst
among them; with only a few allies to aid them they fought on and broke the enemy's
line, until they had taken many ships but lost most of their own. The Chians escaped
to their own country with their remaining ships, but the crews of the Chian ships
that were damaged and disabled were pursued and took refuge in Mykale. There the
men beached and left their ships, and made their way across the mainland. But
when the Chians entered the lands of Ephesus on their march, they came by night
while the women were celebrating the Thesmophoria; then the Ephesians, never having
heard the story of the Chians and seeing an army invading their country, were
fully persuaded that these were robbers come after their women; so they mustered
all their force and killed the Chians.So these men met with such a fate.(Herod.
6.15.1)
This extract is from: Herodotus. The Histories (ed. A. D. Godley, 1920), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Dec 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
LEMNOS (LIMNOS) (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
In that battle Antidorus of Lemnos, the only one of the Greeks siding with the Persian, deserted to the Greeks, and for that the Athenians gave him land in Salamis (Hdt. 8.11.1)
With this ship that deserted at Salamis and the Lemnian which deserted earlier at Artemisium, the Hellenic fleet reached its full number of three hundred and eighty ships, for it had fallen short of the number by two ships(Hdt. 8.82.1)
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
In 499 B.C. Lesbos joined the Ionian revolt against the Persians, and in 494 took part in the battle of Lade with 70 triremes.
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
On the same day when the Persians were so stricken at Plataea, it
so happened that they suffered a similar fate at Mykale in Ionia. When the Greeks
who had come in their ships with Leutychides the Lacedaemonian were encamped at
Delos, certain messengers came to them there from Samos, Lampon of Thrasycles,
Athenagoras son of Archestratides, and Hegesistratus son of Aristagoras. The
Samians had sent these, keeping their despatch secret from the Persians and the
tyrant Theomestor son of Androdamas, whom the Persians had made tyrant of Samos.
When they came before the generals, Hegesistratus spoke long and vehemently: 'If
the Ionians but see you', he said, 'they will revolt from the Persians, and the
barbarians will not remain; but if they do remain, you will have such a prey as
never again'. He begged them in the name of the gods of their common worship to
deliver Greeks from slavery and drive the barbarian away. That, he said, would
be an easy matter for them, 'for the Persian ships are unseaworthy and no match
for yours; and if you have any suspicion that we may be tempting you deceitfully,
we are ready to be taken in your ships as hostages'.
As the Samian stranger was pleading so earnestly, Leutychides asked
him (whether it was that he desired to know for the sake of a presage, or through
some happy chance of a god), 'Samian stranger, what is your name'? 'Hegesistratus',
he replied. Then Leutychides cut short whatever else Hegesistratus had begun to
say, and cried: 'I accept the omen of your name, Samian stranger; now see to it
that before you sail from here you and those who are with you pledge that the
Samians will be our zealous allies'.
He said this and added deed to word. For straightway the Samians
bound themselves by pledge and oath to alliance with the Greeks. This
done, the rest sailed away, but Leutychides bade Hegesistratus to sail with the
Greeks because of the good omen of his name...
... Having won favorable omens, the Greeks put out to sea from Delos for Samos.
When they were now near Calamisa in the Samian territory, they anchored there
near the temple of Hera which is in those parts, and prepared for a sea-fight.
The Persians, learning of their approach, also put out to sea and made for the
mainland with all their ships save the Phoenicians, whom they sent sailing away.
It was determined by them in council that they would not do battle by sea, for
they thought themselves overmatched; the reason of their making for the mainland
was that they might be under the shelter of their army at Mykale, which had been
left by Xerxes' command behind the rest of his host to hold Ionia. There were
sixty thousand men in it, and Tigranes, the noblest and tallest man in Persia,
was their general. It was the design of the Persian admirals to flee to the shelter
of that army, and there to beach their ships and build a fence round them which
should be a protection for the ship and a refuge for themselves.
With this design they put to sea. So when they came past the temple
of the Goddesses at Mykale to the Gaeson and Scolopois, where there is a temple
of Eleusinian Demeter (which was built by Philistus son of Pasicles when he went
with Nileus son of Codrus to the founding of Miletus), they beached their ships
and fenced them round with stones and the trunks of orchard trees which they cut
down; they drove in stakes around the fence and prepared for siege or victory,
making ready, after consideration, for either event.
When the Greeks learned that the barbarians had gone off to the mainland,
they were not all pleased that their enemy had escaped them, and did not know
whether to return back or set sail for the Hellespont. At last they resolved that
they would do neither, but sail to the mainland. Equipping themselves for this
with gangways and everything else necessary for a sea-fight, they held their course
for Mykale. When they approached the camp, no one put out to meet them. Seeing
the ships beached within the wall and a great host of men drawn up in array along
the strand, Leutychides first sailed along in his ship, keeping as near to the
shore as he could, and made this proclamation to the Ionians by the voice of a
herald: 'Men of Ionia, you who hear us, understand what I say, for by no means
will the Persians understand anything I charge you with when we join battle; first
of all it is right for each man to remember his freedom and next the battle-cry
"Hebe": and let him who hears me tell him who has not heard it'. The
purpose of this act was the same as Themsitocles' purpose at Artemisium; either
the message would be unknown to the barbarians and would prevail with the Ionians,
or if it were thereafter reported to the barbarians, it would cause them to mistrust
their Greek allies.
After this counsel of Leutychides, the Greeks brought their ships
to land and disembarked on the beach, where they formed a battle column. But the
Persians, seeing the Greeks prepare for battle and exhort the Ionians, first of
all took away the Samians' armor, suspecting that they would aid the Greeks; for
indeed when the barbarian's ships brought certain Athenian captives, who had been
left in Attica and taken by Xerxes' army, the Samians had set them all free and
sent them away to Athens with provisions for the journey; for this reason in particular
they were held suspect, as having set free five hundred souls of Xerxes' enemies.
Furthermore, they appointed the Milesians to guard the passes leading to the heights
of Mykale, alleging that they were best acquainted with the country. Their true
reason, however, for so doing was that the Milesians should be separate from the
rest of their army. In such a manner the Persians safeguarded themselves from
those Ionians who (they supposed) might turn against them if opportunity were
given for themselves: they set their shields close to make a barricade.
The Greeks, having made all their preparations advanced their line
against the barbarians. As they went, a rumor spread through the army, and a herald's
wand was seen lying by the water-line. The rumor that ran was to the effect that
the Greeks were victors over Mardonius' army at a battle in Boeotia. Now there
are many clear indications of the divine ordering of things, seeing that a message,
which greatly heartened the army and made it ready to face danger, arrived amongst
the Greeks the very day on which the Persians' disaster at Plataea and that other
which was to befall them at Mykale took place.
Moreover, there was the additional coincidence, that there were precincts
of Eleusinian Demeter on both battlefields; for at Plataea the fight was near
the temple of Demeter, as I have already said, and so it was to be at Mykale also.
It happened that the rumor of a victory won by the Greeks with Pausanias was true,
for the defeat at Plataea happened while it was yet early in the day, and the
defeat of Mykale in the afternoon. That the two fell on the same day of the same
month was proven to the Greeks when they examined the matter not long afterwards.
Now before this rumor came they had been faint-hearted, fearing less for themselves
than for the Greeks with Pausanias, that Hellas should stumble over Mardonius.
But when the report sped among them, they grew stronger and swifter in their onset.
So Greeks and barbarians alike were eager for battle, seeing that the islands
and the Hellespont were the prizes of victory.
As for the Athenians and those whose place was nearest them, that
is, for about half of the line, their way lay over the beach and level ground;
for the Lacedaemonians and those that were next to them, their way lay through
a ravine and among hills. While the Lacedaemonians were making a circuit, those
others on the other wing were already fighting. As long as the Persians' shields
stood upright, they defended themselves and held their own in the battle, but
when the Athenians and their neighbors in the line passed the word and went more
zealously to work, that they and not the Lacedaemonians might win the victory,
immediately the face of the fight changed. Breaking down the shields they charged
all together into the midst of the Persians, who received the onset and stood
their ground for a long time, but at last fled within their wall. The Athenians
and Corinthians and Sicyonians and Troezenians, who were next to each other in
the line, followed close after and rushed in together. But when the walled place
had been razed, the barbarians made no further defense, but took to flight, all
save the Persians, who gathered into bands of a few men and fought with whatever
Greeks came rushing within the walls. Of the Persian leaders two escaped by flight
and two were killed; Artayntes and Ithanitres, who were admirals of the fleet,
escaped; Mardontes and Tigranes, the general of the land army, were killed fighting.
While the Persians still fought, the Lacedaemonians and their comrades
came up and finished what was left of the business. The Greeks too lost many men
there, notably the men of Sicyon and their general Perilaus. As for the
Samians who served in the Median army and had been disarmed, they, seeing from
the first that victory hung in the balance, did what they could in their desire
to aid the Greeks. When the other Ionians saw the Samians set the example, they
also abandoned the Persians and attacked the foreigners.
The Persians had for their own safety appointed the Milesians to watch
the passes, so that if anything should happen to the Persian army such as did
happen to it, they might have guides to bring them safely to the heights of Mykale.
This was the task to which the Milesians were appointed for the reason mentioned
above and so that they might not be present with the army and so turn against
it. They acted wholly contrary to the charge laid upon them; they misguided the
fleeing Persians by ways that led them among their enemies, and at last they themselves
became their worst enemies and killed them. In this way Ionia revolted for the
second time from the Persians.
In that battle those of the Greeks who fought best were the
Athenians, and the Athenian who fought best was one who practised the pancratium,
Hermolycus son of Euthoenus. This Hermolycus on a later day met his death in a
battle at Cyrnus in Carystus during a war between the Athenians and Carystians,
and lay dead on Geraestus. Those who fought best after the Athenians were the
men of Corinth and Troezen and Sicyon.
When the Greeks had made an end of most of the barbarians, either
in battle or in flight, they brought out their booty onto the beach, and found
certain stores of wealth. Then after burning the ships and the whole of the wall,
they sailed away. When they had arrived at Samos, they debated in council over
the removal of all Greeks from Ionia, and in what Greek lands under their dominion
it would be best to plant the Ionians, leaving the country itself to the barbarians;
for it seemed impossible to stand on guard between the Ionians and their enemies
forever. If, however, they should not so stand, they had no hope that the Persians
would permit the Ionians to go unpunished. In this matter the Peloponnesians who
were in charge were for removing the people from the lands of those Greek nations
which had sided with the Persians and giving their land to the Ionians to dwell
in. The Athenians disliked the whole plan of removing the Greeks from Ionia, or
allowing the Peloponnesians to determine the lot of Athenian colonies, and as
they resisted vehemently, the Peloponnesians yielded. It accordingly came about
that they admitted to their alliance the Samians, Chians, Lesbians, and all other
islanders who had served with their forces, and bound them by pledge and oaths
to remain faithful and not desert their allies. When the oaths had been sworn,
the Greeks set sail to break the bridges, supposing that these still held fast.
So they laid their course for the Hellespont. (Herodotus 9.90.1 - 9.107.3)
This extract is from: Herodotus. The Histories (ed. A. D. Godley, 1920), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Jan 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
Holding the western wing with sixty ships. (see Lade )
Samian bravery against the Persians in the Cyprian revolt
Marathesium . . originally belonged to the people of Samos, but they gave it to the Ephesians in exchange for Neapolis, which was nearer to Samos. (Strabo 14.1.20)
At the present time, however, it (Icaria) has but few inhabitants left, and is used by Samians mostly for the grazing of cattle.
CHIOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
At Chios there was a law that all debts should be entered on a public register. (Aristotle, Economics, 1347b)
There were more slaves at Chios than in any one other city except Lacedaemon, and being also by reason of their numbers punished more rigorously when they offended.
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The samaena is a ship of war with a boar's head design for prow and ram, but more capacious than usual and paunchlike, so that it is a good deep-sea traveller and a swift sailor too. [4] It got this name because it made its first appearance in Samos, where Polycrates the tyrant had some built.
Periander (of Corinth) son of Cypselus sent to Alyattes at Sardis three hundred boys, sons of notable men in Corcyra, to be made eunuchs. The Corinthians who brought the boys put in at Samos; and when the Samians heard why the boys were brought, first they instructed them to take sanctuary in the temple of Artemis, then they would not allow the suppliants to be dragged from the temple; and when the Corinthians tried to starve the boys out, the Samians held a festival which they still celebrate in the same fashion; throughout the time that the boys were seeking asylum, they held nightly dances of young men and women to which it was made a custom to bring cakes of sesame and honey, so that the Corcyraean boys might snatch these and have food. This continued to be done until the Corinthian guards left their charge and departed; then the Samians took the boys back to Corcyra.
IKARIA (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
Anaximenes of Lampsacus says that the Milesians colonized the islands Icaros and Leros.
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The inhabitants of the island received the Ionians as settlers more of necessity than through good.will. The leader of the Ionians was Procles, the son of Pityreus, Epidaurian himself like the greater part of his followers, who had been expelled from Epidauria by Deiphontes and the Argives. This Procles was descended from Ion, son of Xuthus.
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
MYTILINI (Ancient city) LESVOS
Near the outlet of the Hebrus, which has two mouths, lies the city Aenus, on the Melas Gulf; it was founded by Mitylenaeans and Cumaeans, though in still earlier times by Alopeconnesians.
On the next stretch of coast one comes to the villages of the Mitylenaeans, I mean Coryphantis and Heracleia
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
(Samians) settled at Cydonia in Crete, though their voyage had been made with no such intent, but rather to drive Zacynthians out of the island. Here they stayed and prospered for five years; indeed, the temples now at Cydonia and the shrine of Dictyna are the Samians' work; but in the sixth year Aeginetans and Cretans came and defeated them in a sea-fight and made slaves of them; moreover they cut off the ships' prows, that were shaped like boars' heads, and dedicated them in the temple of Athena in Aegina. The Aeginetans did this out of a grudge against the Samians; for previously the Samians, in the days when Amphicrates was king of Samos, sailing in force against Aegina, had hurt the Aeginetans and been hurt by them. This was the cause.
ARISVI (Ancient city) LESVOS
The city of Arisba was independent before the time of Herodotos, but was soon taken over by Methymna.
CHIOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
The Persian fleet wintered at Miletus, and putting out to sea in the next year easily subdued the islands that lie off the mainland, Chios and Lesbos and Tenedos. Whenever they took an island, the foreigners would (net) the people. [2] This is the manner of their doing it: the men link hands and make a line reaching from the northern sea to the southern, and then advance over the whole island hunting the people down. They also captured the Ionian cities of the mainland in the same way, but not by netting the people; for that was not possible.
ERESSOS (Ancient city) LESVOS
He gathered a force of mercenaries, manned three hundred ships, and pursued the conflict vigorously. He secured Chios, and then coasting along to Lesbos easily mastered Antissa and Methymna and Pyrrha and Eressus.
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
From about 546 to 479 B.C. Lesbos was ruled by the Persians
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
King Darius conquered Samos, the greatest of all city states, Greek
or barbarian, the reason for his conquest being this: when Cambyses, son of Cyrus,
invaded Egypt, many Greeks came with the army, some to trade, as was natural,
and some to see the country itself; among them was Syloson, son of Aeaces, who
was Polycrates' brother and in exile from Samos. This Syloson had a stroke of
good luck. He was in the market at Memphis wearing a red cloak, when Darius, at
that time one of Cambyses' guard and as yet a man of no great importance, saw
him, and coveting the cloak came and tried to buy it. When Syloson saw Darius'
eagerness, by good luck he said, 'I will not sell this for any money, but I give
it to you free if you must have it so much'. Extolling this, Darius accepted the
garment.
Syloson supposed that he had lost his cloak out of foolish good nature.
But in time Cambyses died, the seven rebelled against the Magus, and Darius of
the seven came to the throne; Syloson then learned that the successor to the royal
power was the man to whom he had given the garment in Egypt; so he went up to
Susa and sat in the king's antechamber, saying that he was one of Darius' benefactors.
When the doorkeeper brought word of this to the king, Darius asked 'But to what
Greek benefactor can I owe thanks? In the little time since I have been king hardly
one of that nation has come to us, and I have, I may say, no use for any Greek.
Nevertheless bring him in, so that I may know what he means'. The doorkeeper brought
Syloson in and the interpreters asked him as he stood there who he was and what
he had done to call himself the king's benefactor. Then Syloson told the story
of the cloak, and said that it was he who had given it. 'Most generous man', said
Darius, 'it was you who gave me a present when I had as yet no power; and if it
was a small one, I was none the less grateful then than I am now when I get a
big one. In return, I give you gold and silver in abundance so you may never be
sorry that you did Darius son of Hystaspes good'. Syloson answered, 'Do not give
me gold, O king, or silver, but Samos, my country, which our slave has now that
my brother Polycrates has been killed by Oroetes; give me this without killing
or enslaving'.
Having heard this, Darius sent an army and Otanes, one of the seven,
to command it, instructing him to do whatever Syloson asked. So Otanes went down
to the coast and got his army ready.
Now Samos was ruled by Maeandrius, son of Maeandrius, who had authority
delegated by Polycrates. He wanted to be the justest of men, but that was impossible.
For when he learned of Polycrates' death, first he set up an altar to Zeus the
Liberator and marked out around it that sacred enclosure which is still to be
seen in the suburb of the city; when this had been done, he called an assembly
of all the citizens, and addressed them thus: "To me, as you know, have come
Polycrates' scepter and all of his power, and it is in my power now to rule you.
But I, so far as it lies in me, shall not do myself what I blame in my neighbor.
I always disliked it that Polycrates or any other man should lord it over men
like himself. Polycrates has fulfilled his destiny, and inviting you to share
his power I proclaim equality. Only I claim for my own privilege that six talents
of Polycrates' wealth be set apart for my use, and that I and my descendants keep
the priesthood of Zeus the Liberator, whose temple I have founded, and now I give
you freedom". Such was Maeandrius' promise to the Samians. But one of them
arose and answered: "But you are not even fit to rule us, low-born and vermin,
but you had better give an account of the monies that you have handled".
This was the speech of Telesarchus, a man of consequence among the
citizens. But Maeandrius, realizing that if he let go of the sovereignty someone
else would make himself sovereign instead, resolved not to let it go. Withdrawing
into the acropolis, he sent for the citizens individually as if he would give
an account of the money; then he seized and bound them. So they were imprisoned,
and afterwards Maeandrius fell sick. His brother Lycaretus thought him likely
to die, and, so that he might the more easily make himself master of Samos, he
put all the prisoners to death. They had, it would seem, no desire to be free.
So when the Persians brought Syloson back to Samos, no one raised
a hand against them, but Maeandrius and those of his faction offered to evacuate
the island under a flag of truce; Otanes agreed to this, and after the treaty
was made, the Persians of highest rank sat down on seats facing the acropolis.
Now Maeandrius the sovereign had a crazy brother named Charilaus,
who lay bound in the dungeon for some offense; this man heard what was going on,
and by peering through the dungeon window saw the Persians sitting there peaceably;
whereupon he cried with a loud voice that he wanted to talk to Maeandrius. His
brother, hearing him, had Charilaus loosed and brought before him. No sooner had
he been brought than he attempted with reviling and abuse to persuade Maeandrius
to attack the Persians. "Although I am your brother, you coward", he
said, "and did no wrong deserving of prison, you have bound and imprisoned
me; but when you see the Persians throwing you out of house and home, you have
no courage to avenge yourself, though you could so easily beat them? If you are
yourself afraid of them, give me your foreign guards, and I will punish them for
coming here; as for you, I will give you safe conduct out of the island".
This was what Charilaus said; and Maeandrius took his advice, to my
thinking not because he was so foolish as to suppose that he would be strong enough
to defeat the king, but because he did not want Syloson to recover Samos safe
and sound with no trouble. He wanted therefore by provoking the Persians to weaken
Samos as much as he could before surrendering it, for he was well aware that if
the Persians were hurt they would be furiously angry with the Samians. Besides,
he knew that he could get himself safely off the island whenever he liked, having
built a secret passage leading from the acropolis to the sea. Maeandrius then
set sail from Samos; but Charilaus armed all the guards, opened the acropolis'
gates, and attacked the Persians. These supposed that a full agreement had been
made, and were taken unawares; the guard fell upon them and killed the Persians
of highest rank, those who were carried in litters. They were engaged in this
when the rest of the Persian force came up in reinforcement, and, hard-pressed,
the guards retreated into the acropolis.
The Persian captain Otanes, seeing how big a loss the Persians had
suffered, deliberately forgot the command given him at his departure by Darius
not to kill or enslave any Samian but to deliver the island intact to Syloson;
and he commanded his army to kill everyone they took, men and boys alike. Then,
while some of the Persians laid siege to the acropolis, the rest killed everyone
they met, inside the temples and outside the temples alike.
Maeandrius sailed to Lacedaemon, escaping from Samos; and after he
arrived there and brought up the possessions with which he had left his country,
it became his habit to make a display of silver and gold drinking cups; while
his servants were cleaning these, he would converse with the king of Sparta, Cleomenes
son of Anaxandrides, and would bring him to his house. As Cleomenes marvelled
greatly at the cups whenever he saw them, Maeandrius would tell him to take as
many as he liked. Maeandrius made this offer two or three times; Cleomenes showed
his great integrity in that he would not accept; but realizing that there were
others in Lacedaemon from whom Maeandrius would get help by offering them the
cups, he went to the ephors and told them it would be best for Sparta if this
Samian stranger quit the country, lest he persuade Cleomenes himself or some other
Spartan to do evil. The ephors listened to his advice and banished Maeandrius
by proclamation.
As for Samos, the Persians swept it clear and turned it over uninhabited
to Syloson. But afterwards Otanes, the Persian general, helped to settle the land,
prompted by a dream and a disease that he contracted in his genitals.
This extract is from: Herodotus. The Histories (ed. A. D. Godley, 1920), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Jan 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
But the Ephesians under Androclus made war on Leogorus, the son of Procles, who reigned in Samos after his father, and after conquering them in a battle drove the Samians out of their island, accusing them of conspiring with the Carians against the Ionians.
He exiled most of the inhabitants and settled Athenians in the island.
CHIOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
Chios is an island where the historic past is still living in the
present. One can find traces of all different eras. There is evidence that the
island had inhabitants since the Stone Age.
c. 3000 BC: Neolithic findings in the Cave of Aghio Galas (a village located
in the northwest region of the island)
c. 2600-2000 BC: Early findings in the area of Emborios
(which lies in the southeast region of Chios). The first king of Chios was Amphiklos
or Amphialos, a man that came to the island following an oracle. Then, the Ionians
from Asia Minor inhabited
Samos and Chios, connecting
thus the island with the rest of the Ionian towns of that time. Around the 7th
century BC, Chios not only flourishes in the maritime sector, but in other sectors
as well. It is said that Homer passed by the island and that Chios inspired the
Homeric epics. Chios, unlike other places, had no colonies. The Chians were creating
what was called in Greek "emboria" (meaning trading posts) and they
were very famous for their wine and mastic, two of their most popular products
which contributed to the flourishment of the island flourish.
c.1600-1100 BC: An ancient
settlement found in the southern part of the island, in the area of Fana,
is probably a remnant of the Mycenaean period.
600 BC: Around 600 BC, the "Great Clause" (Megali Ritra) was
established on the island. The first democracy in the world was based on this
law. It is said that Solon, prior to establishing the democratic laws and institutions
in Athens, visited Chios
and used a great deal of the democratic principles of the Great Clause.
493 BC: Destruction of Chios by the Persians. Chios then became an ally
of the Athenians in the Athenian Alliance. The Chians enjoyed prosperity over
the next few years.
431 BC-146 BC: At the beginning of the Peloponnesian war, the Chians were
allied with the Athenians until the defeat of Sicily, when they joined forces
with the Spartans. When the Antalkidios Peace was signed, Chios was again allied
with the Athenians. At the time of Alexander the Great, there was a Macedonian
garrison in Chios. When Alexander passed away, his successors took over and for
Chios, the period of decline was just beginning.
146 BC: Imposition of Roman rule.
250 AD: Martyrdom of St Isidoros during the expulsion of Christians. It
is said that the mastic tree (called Schinos in the Chian dialect) started to
cry when it ‘saw’ the Saint’s body dragged under it.
c. 650 AD: Destruction of Chios by the Arabs.
1042-1055 AD: The Emperor Constantine Monomachos keeps his promise and
begins building the Nea
Moni Monastery. The Emperor had promise the two monks that found the Holy
Icon of the Virgin hanging from branch of myrtle, that should he regain his throne
(as they predicted), he would furnish the Monastery with a dowry.
1089 AD: Raid by Turkish pirates
1124-5 AD: Raid by the Venetians
1170-71 AD: Second raid by the Venetians
1204 AD: The Francs threaten Chios.
1261 AD: According to the Treaty of Nympheon Chios is given to the Genoese,
who are permitted by the emperor to maintain an establishment there, including
a palace, a church, gardens, public baths, dwelling places and their own consul.
1292 AD: Raid of Chios by the Sicilian, Roger de Loria.
1300 AD: Raid of Chios by the Turks
1303 AD: Raid by the Catalan, Roger da Flor.
1304-1329 AD: Chios comes under the temporary rule of the Genoese. A treaty
with the Emperor concedes to the Genoese a ten-year right to "protect"
the island provided it remains under Byzantine sovereignty.
1346 - 1566 AD: Genoese rule. Chios prospers during the Genoese period.
A commercial Genoese firm called Maona, maintains control of the island’s commerce.
Although they oppress the inhabitants, they manage to organize the commerce of
mastic and the rest of the products. They bring to the island the cultivation
of citrus trees and the raising of silkworms. Castle villages are created in the
South to protect mastic production and mansions are established in the area of
Kambos. The population increases
and the standard of living is very high. Although the Turks conquered the Byzantine
Empire and attacked Chios as well, the Genoese manage to keep them away.
1566 - 1821 AD: Turkish rule. The Chians are still oppressed, however,
they are granted privileges due to the production of mastic. The Turks imposed
taxes on the Chians and forced them to pay the taxes with mastic. When the Greek
Revolution against the Turks broke out in 1821, the Chians did not participate.
1822 AD: When Lykourgos Logothetis, a Greek rebel from Samos, came to Chios,
he tried to free the island with the help of Antonis Bournias. This effort failed
and Admiral Kapudan Pasha Kara Ali brought the Turkish fleet in the island and
had started to burn, destroy and massacre the Chians over a period of 15 days
in order to teach them a lesson for their disobedience and ungratefulness. Over
25,000 people lose their lives during the Massacre of Chios. Soon thereafter,
Constantine Kanaris, from the neighboring island of Psara, leads his fleet to
Chios and burns the Turkish flagship in the port of the island. Admiral Kapudan
Pasha Kara Ali, as well as other Turkish officials, lose their lives. They were
all buried in the Turkish cemetery that lies in the Castle of Chios town.
1823 - 1912 AD: The Chians that had managed to escape from the Turks come
back in the island in 1832 and begin to rebuild their lives. The harsh freeze
of 1852 destroyed the crop while the earthquake of 1881 destroyed everything that
had been left standing in addition to taking the lives of 3,500 people. Nevertheless,
the Chians did not give up and in 1912, the island was liberated and was united
with the Greek State.
1939 - 1945 AD: During the 2nd World War, the Chians fought against the
Germans and people escape to the Middle East. Chios achieved its liberation in
1944 along with the rest of the Greek State.
Just as in the past, Chians try to make the best out of everything
regardless of the suffering they have endured over the centuries. Chios is a very
rich island and currently maintains a high standard of living as well as a rich
culture.
This text is cited Febr 2004 from the Chios Prefecture Tourism Committee URL below, which contains images.
The war opened with the felled attack of Athenians on Chios and lasted three years. The Athenians chose Chares and Chabrias as generals and dispatched them with an army. The two generals on sailing into Chios found that allies had arrived to assist the Chians from Byzantium, Rhodes, and Cos, and also from Mausolus, the tyrant of Caria. They then drew up their forces and began to besiege the city both by land and by sea. Now Chares, who commanded the infantry force, advanced against the walls by land and began a struggle with the enemy who poured out on him from the city; but Chabrias, sailing up to the harbour, fought a severe naval engagement and was worsted when his ship was shattered by a ramming attack. While the men on the other ships withdrew in the nick of time and saved their lives, he, choosing death with glory instead of defeat, fought on for his ship and died of his wounds.
SAMOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
In the sixth year of the truce (for 30 years between Athenians and
Laceddemonians), war broke out between the Samians and Milesians about Priene.
Worsted in the war, the Milesians came to Athens with loud complaints against
the Samians. In this they were joined by certain private persons from Samos itself,
who wished to revolutionize the government. Accordingly the Athenians sailed to
Samos with forty ships and set up a democracy; took hostages from the Samians,
fifty boys and as many men, lodged them in Lemnos, and after leaving a garrison
in the island returned home. But some of the Samians had not remained in the island,
but had fled to the continent. Making an agreement with the most powerful of those
in the city, and an alliance with Pissuthnes, son of Hystaspes, the then satrap
of Sardis, they got together a force of seven hundred mercenaries, and under cover
of night crossed over to Samos. Their first step was to rise on the commons, most
of whom they secured, their next to steal their hostages from Lemnos; after which
they revolted, gave up the Athenian garrison left with them and its commanders
to Pissuthnes, and instantly prepared for an expedition against Miletus. The Byzantines
also revolted with them.
As soon as the Athenians heard the news, they sailed with sixty ships
against Samos. Sixteen of these went to Caria to look out for the Phoenician fleet,
and to Chios and Lesbos carrying round orders for reinforcements, and so never
engaged; but forty-four ships under the command of Pericles with nine colleagues
gave battle, off the island of Tragia, to seventy Samian vessels, of which twenty
were transports, as they were sailing from Miletus. Victory remained with the
Athenians. Reinforced afterwards by forty ships from Athens, and twenty-five Chian
and Lesbian vessels, the Athenians landed, and having the superiority by land
invested the city with three walls; it was also invested from the sea. Meanwhile
Pericles took sixty ships from the blockading squadron, and departed in haste
for Caunus and Caria, intelligence having been brought in of the approach of the
Phoenician fleet to the aid of the Samians; indeed Stesagoras and others had left
the island with five ships to bring them.
But in the meantime the Samians made a sudden sally, and fell on the
camp, which they found unfortified. Destroying the look-out vessels, and engaging
and defeating such as were being launched to meet them, they remained masters
of their own seas for fourteen days, and carried in and carried out what they
pleased. But on the arrival of Pericles, they were once more shut up. Fresh reinforcements
afterwards arrived--forty ships from Athens with Thucydides, Hagnon, and Phormio;
twenty with Tlepolemus and Anticles, and thirty vessels from Chios and Lesbos.
After a brief attempt at fighting, the Samians, unable to hold out, were reduced
after a nine months' siege, and surrendered on conditions; they razed their walls,
gave hostages, delivered up their ships, and arranged to pay the expenses of the
war by instalments. The Byzantines also agreed to be subject as before.(Herodotus
1.115.1-1.117.3)
This extract is from: Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War (ed. Richard Crawley, 1910). Cited Jan 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
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