Listed 93 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "LESVOS Island NORTH AEGEAN" .
AGIA PARASKEVI (Small town) LESVOS
ERESSOS-ANTISSA (Municipality) LESVOS
ERESSOS (Ancient city) LESVOS
The name Eresos has its roots in mythology. Macar or Macareus, the
mythical leader of the Pelasgian people, was the first founder and king of Lesbos.
Perhaps this is why Homer called Lesbos "Makaria". According to mythology,
Makar had five daughters: Mytilene, Issa, Antissa, Methymna and Arisbe after whom
the five cities were named. The King also had four sons: Kydrolaus, Neandros,
Leuchippus and Eresus. Eresos was named after the latter who was the city's first
king.
Historical Overview
The first settlers of Eresus in the pre-hellenic times were probably
the Pelasgians, while major population shifts of the hellenic, Aeolian, Ionian
and Dorian tribes took place during the 11th and 9th century Β.C. The city of
Eresus was built on the present-day coastal location of Skala Eresos by the Achaean
or seafaring Aeolian settlers.
A multitude of scattered ruins all over the ancient city indicate
the brilliant and majestic constructions that once existed: the Agora, the Stadium,
the Theatre and the Prytaneum. The city was an important centre of trade and its
fine products reached as far as Egypt. Apart from trade and shipping the city's
population also took to the cultivation of the land. Eresus barley and sesame
seed were amongt the finest, and this accounts for the ear of barley, the emblem
which appears on the first coins of Eresus.
In 540 Β.C. Eresus was forced under Persian vassalage. The Persians
turned the naval force of Eresus to their advantage during their expeditions.
Thoughout the long struggle between the two great powers, Athens and
Sparta, Eresus repeatedly ranged itself on one side of the battlefield or the
other and finally acceded to the 2nd Athenian Alliance in 377 B.C. In the years
that followed, the town experienced political instability and the tyrants began
to play an important role.
Duing the Roman Times, Eresus knows particular prosperity, however
during the Byzantium it suffers the consequences of the Piracy of the Saracens,
the Venetians etc, who plunder Lesbos. In 1462 Lesbos falls into the hands of
the Turks and during the 17th century Eresos relocates to the midlands, to the
north-east of the old city and at a distance of 4 kilometres from the coastline.
In 1821, the first year of the Greek war of Independence, Eresos becomes
associated with a major naval tour de force, the first of the war for freedom.
Liberation arrives in 1912 and the beautiful town follows the fate of the rest
of the island and is at last incorporated in the national body (Modern Greece).
Coins of the city
It seems that Eresus minted its own coins which bore the inscription
OF ERESUS. However there is another coin as well, portraying the whole body or
just the head of Sappho. This is ample evidence that confirms Sappho did indeed
originate from Eresus. Yet, the representative coin of the city was a coin which
depicted a spike of wheat on one side, a symbol of cereal productivity, and the
head of Hermes or Apollo on the other side, which once again clearly indicates
the worship of Hermes and Apollo.
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EVERGETOULA (Municipality) MYTILINI
MANTAMADOS (Municipality) MYTILINI
MANTAMADOS (Small town) MYTILINI
MESSOTOPOS (Village) LESVOS
PANAGIOUDA (Village) MYTILINI
POLICHNITOS (Municipality) MYTILINI
POLICHNITOS (Small town) MYTILINI
MITHYMNA (Small town) LESVOS
The architectural character of Mithymna is living testimony to a tempestuous
and much-troubled historical continuity. The town, rooted on the rock which is
dominated by the medieval Castle and spreading down to the sea, still retains
its own individual character as that was shaped in the last two centuries of Turkish
rule, particularly in the nineteenth century. It is a traditional type of settlement
which climbs upwards and is flanked by steep cliffs. The medieval Castle is its
point of reference, and it is around this that its fabric is deployed. The castle
itself is not large; it has a perimeter of 310 metres. The development of the
town in a confined space, originally for reasons of defence and also because of
the sharply sloping rock, enforced an exceptional utilisation of the space. Thus,
Molyvos has preserved a complex of paved and cobbled mule paths (kalderimia},
along which the older buildings, often contiguous, make up a dense and cohesive
whole. The amount of open space in the historic nucleus of the town is limited.
The Market lines two streets which converge in a small square. This is the vital
space of the town' s social and economic life. The streets of the market are shaded
with salkimia (foliage) at the dividing line between the ground-floor shops and
the living quarters on the first floor. Most of the traditional buildings are
two-storeyed, with stone and wood as their building materials. Usually the stone
walls have remained unplastered and are pointed with mortar. Often, when the upper
floor is of wood, the walls project beyond the outline of the ground floor and
form sachnisia (oriels). Carved wooden beams support the sachnisia, which serve
to enlarge the central space of the living quarters. In Molyvos, many mansions
dating from the late eighteenth century have survived; examples are the Yannakos
mansion and the building housing the School of Fine Arts (formerly the Krallis
mansion), with elaborate wail-paintings. Many of the town' s buildings have a
neo-Classical morphology. The harmonisation of differing architectural types into
a single organised whole makes Molyvos a place of rare beauty. On the edge of
the town, the picturesque harbour completes the unique picture of Mithymna. The
parish churches are also buildings characteristic of the place. The Basilica of
the Archangel (Taxiarches), which was built in 1795, is one of the most important
architectural monuments of Molyvos. St Panteleimon - built in 1844 - has a number
of neo-classical features. Also a noteworthy example of church architecture is
St Cyriace. In Molyvos, a large number of public fountains, from the time of Ottoman
rule with relief inscriptions and decorations, have been preserved. The Old Baths
building is another architectural monument of the last century. The Mithymna Municipal
Gallery, with an impressive collection of works of art, was set up in 1961. The
Archaeological Collection is housed in the Town Hall, while the Municipal Library
enriches the town's cultural life. Molyvos by providing many limitless sources
of inspiration has always been a point of attraction for many artists, local and
foreign. Many cultural manifestations are organized every year in Mithymna, such
as conventions, lectures, exhibitions of paintings and popular art, theatrical
and folkloric performances.
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ANTISSA (Ancient city) LESVOS
Eth. Antissaios. A city of the island Lesbos, near to Cape Sigrium,
the western point of Lesbos (Steph. B. s. v. Antissa, following Strabo, p. 618).
The place had a harbour. The ruins found by Pococke at Calas Limneonas, a little
NE. of cape Sigri, may be those of Antissa. This place was the birth-place of
Terpander, who is said to be the inventor of the seven-stringed lyre. Antissa
joined the Mytilenaeans in their revolt from Athens in the Peloponnesian war B.C.
428, and successfully defended itself against the Methymnaeans who attacked it;
but after Mytilene had been compelled to surrender to the Athenians, Antissa was
recovered by them also (Thuc. iii. 18, 28). Antissa was destroyed by the Romans
after the conquest of Perseus, king of Macedonia (B.C. 168), because the Antissaeans
had received in their port and given supplies to Antenor, the admiral of Perseus.
The people were removed to Methymna. (Liv. xlv. 31; Plin. v. 31.)
Myrsilus (quoted by Strabo, p. 60) says, that Antissa was once an
island, and at that time Lesbos was called Issa; so that Antissa was named like
many other places, Antiparos, Antiphellus, and others, with reference to the name
of an opposite place. Pliny (ii. 89) places Antissa among the lands rescued from
the sea, and joined to the mainland; and Ovid (Met. xv. 287), where he is speaking
of the changes which the earth's surface has undergone, tells the same story.
In another passage (v. 31), where he enumerates the ancient names of Lesbos, Pliny
mentions Lasia, but not Issa. Lasia, however, may be a corrupt word. Stephanus
makes Issa a city of Lesbos. It is possible, then, that Antissa, when it was an
island, may have had its name from a place on the mainland of Lesbos opposite
to it, and called Issa.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
EGIROS (Ancient small town) MYTILINI
Aegiroessa (Aigirhoedda), a city which Herodotus (i. 149) enumerates among the 11 cities of Aeolis; but nothing is known of it. Forbiger conjectures that the historian may mean Aegeirus (Aigeiros), in the island of Lesbos.
ERESSOS (Ancient city) LESVOS
Eresos: Eth. Eresios, Eresieus. So called from Eresus the son of Macar.
(Steph. B. s. v.) Eressus, as it is in the text of Strabo (p. 618), was a city
of Lesbos, situated on a hill, and reaching down to the sea. From Eressus to Cape
Sigrium is 28 stadia, as the MSS. have it, which Casaubon (ed. Strab.) has changed
to 18. It was on the west side of the island, and its ruins are said to be at
some little distance from a place now called Eresso, which is situated on a hill.
Eressus joined Mytilene and other towns in Lesbos in the revolt from the Athenians
during the Peloponnesian War (B.C. 428); but it was compelled to surrender to
Paches, the Athenian commander, shortly after. (Thuc. iii. 25, 35.) There was
a fresh revolt from Athens (B.C. 412), and a fresh subjugation. (Thuc. viii. 23.)
It revolted a third time shortly after (Thuc. viii. 100), and was besieged by
Thrasybulus with an Athenian force, but he was obliged to give up the siege to
follow the Peloponnesians to the Hellespont. In B.C. 392 Thrasybulus lost many
ships in a storm off Eresus, but he recovered the town, with other places in Lesbos,
for the Athenians. (Diod. xiv. 94.)
Eresus is mentioned by Pliny (v. 31) as one of the existing cities
of Lesbos. Eresus was the birthplace of Tyrtamus, to whom his master Aristotle
gave the name of Theophrastus. Phanias, another of Aristotle's pupils, was also
a native of Eresus. According to the poet Archestratus, in his Gastronomia, quoted
by Athenaeus (iii. p. 111), if ever the gods eat flour, they send Hermes to buy
it at Eresus.
The name of the town on the coins is said to be always EPESION, with
one S.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
LEPETYMNOS (Mountain) MYTILINI
Lepetymnus (Lepetumnos, called Lepethymnus or Lepethymus by Pliny,
v. 31. s. 39; the MSS. vary), a mountain in the northern part of Lesbos, near
Methymna. Plehn states (Lesbiac. Lib. p. 9) that it is the highest mountain in
the island: but this does not appear to be consistent with modern surveys. Its
present name is said to be Mont S. Theodore. The sepulchre and tomb of the hero
Palamedes are alleged to have been here. (Tzetzes, Lycophr. Cassandr. 1095; Philostr.
Heroic. p. 716, Vit. Apollon. Tyan. iv. 13. 150, also 16. 154.) In Antigonus of
Carystus (c. 17) there is a story given, on the authority of Myrsilus the Lesbian,
concerning a temple of Apollo and a shrine of the hero Lepetymnus, connected with
the same mountain. Here, also, according to Theophrastus (De Sign. Pluv. et Vent.
p. 783, ed. Schneid.), an astronomer called Matricetas made his observations.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
Lesbos (Lesbos: Eth. and Adj. Lesbios, Lesbikos, Lesbiakos, Lesbius,
Lesbicus, Lesbiacus: fem. Lesbis, Lesbias, Lesbis, Lesbias: in the middle ages
it was named Mitylene, from its principal city: Geog. Rav. v. 21; Suidas. s. v.;
Hierocl. p. 686; Eustath. ad Il. ix. 129, Od. iii. 170 : hence it is called by
the modern Greeks Mitylen or Metelino, and by the Turks Medilli or Medellu-Adassi.)
Like several other islands of the Aegean, Lesbos is said by Strabo, Pliny and
others to have had various other names, Issa, Himerte, Lasia, Pelasgia, Aegira,
Aethiope, and Macaria. (Strab. i. p. 160, v. p. 128; Plin. v. 31 (39); Diod. iii.
55, v. 81.)
Lesbos is situated off the coast of Mysia, exactly opposite the opening
of the gulf of Adramyttium. Its northern part is separated from the mainland near
Assos by a channel about 7 miles broad; and the distance between the south-eastern
extremity and the islands of Arginusae is about the same. Strabo reckons the breadth
of the former strait at 60 stadia, and Pliny at 7 miles: for the latter strait
see Strab. xiii. pp. 616, 617, and Xen. Hell. i. 6. 15 - 28. The island lies between
the parallels of 38° 58' and 39° 24'. Pliny states the circumference as 168 miles,
Strabo as 1100 stadia. According to Choiseul-Gouffier, the latter estimate is
rather too great. Scylax (p. 56) assigns to Lesbos the seventh rank in size among
the islands of the Mediterranean sea.
In shape Lesbos may be roughly described as a triangle, the sides of which
face respectively the NW., the NE., and the SW. The northern point is the promontory
of Argennum, the western is that of Sigrium (still called Cape Sigri), the south-eastern
is that of Malea (now called Zeitoun Bouroun or Cape St. Mary). But though this
description of the island as triangular is generally correct, it must be noticed
that it is penetrated far into the interior by two gulfs, or sea-lochs as they
may properly be called, on the south-western side. One of these is Port Hiero
or Port Olivier, one of the best harbours of the Archipelago, opening from the
sea about 4 miles to the westward of Cape Malea, and extending about 8 miles inland
among the mountains. It may be reasonably conjectured that its ancient name was
Portus Hieraeus; since Pliny mentions a Lesbian city called Hiera, which was extinct
before his time. The other arm of the sea, to which we have alluded, is about
half-way between the former and Cape Sigrium. It is the beautiful and extensive
basin, named Port Caloni, and anciently called Euripus Pyrrhaeus. From the extreme
narrowness of the entrance, it is less adapted for the purposes of a harbour.
Its ichthyology is repeatedly mentioned by Aristotle as remarkable. (Hist. Animal.
v. 10. § 2, v. 13. § 10, viii. 20. § 15, ix. 25. § 8.)
The surface of the island is mountainous. The principal mountains
were Ordymnus in the W., Olympus in the S., and Lepethymnus in the N. Their elevations,
as marked in the English Admiralty Charts, are respectively, 1780, 3080, and 2750
feet. The excellent climate and fine air of Lesbos are celebrated by Diodorus.
Siculus (v. 82), and it is still reputed to be the most healthy island in the
Archipelago. (Purdy's Sailing Directory, p. 154.) Tacitus (Ann. vi. 3) calls it
insula nobilis et amoena. Agates were found there (Plin. xxxvii. 54), and its
quarries produced variegated marble (xxxvi. 5). The wholesome Lesbian wines (
innocentis pocula Lesbii, Hor. Carm. i. 17, 21) were famous in the ancient world.
The trade of the island was active and considerable; but here again we must refer
to what is said concerning its chief city Mytilene. At the present day the figs
of Lesbos are celebrated; but its chief exports are oil and gall-nuts. The population
was estimated, in 1816, at 25,000 Greeks and 5000 Turks.
Tradition says that the first inhabitants of Lesbos were Pelasgians:
and Xanthus was their legendary leader. Next came Ionians and others, under Macareus,
who is said by Diodorus (v. 80) to have introduced written laws two generations
before the Trojan war. Last were the Aeolian settlers, under the leadership of
Lesbus, who appears in Strabo under the name Graus, and who is said to have married
Methymna, the daughter of Macareus. Mytilene was the elder daughter. This is certain,
that the early history of Lesbos is identical with that of the Aeolians. Strabo
regards it as their central seat (schedon metropolis, xiii. pp. 616, 622). In
mercantile enterprise, in resistance to the Persians, and in intellectual eminence,
the insular Aeolians seem to have been favourably contrasted with their brethren
on the continent. That which Horace calls Aeolium carmen and Aeoliae fides (Carm.
ii. 13. 24, iii. 30. 13) wass due to the genius of Lesbos: and Niebuhr's expression
regarding this island is, that it was the pearl of the Aeolian race. (Lectures
on Ancient Ethnology and Geography, vol. i. p. 218.)
Lesbos was not, like several other islands of the Archipelago, such
as Cos, Chios and Samos, the territory of one city. We read of six Aeolian cities
in Lesbos, each of which had originally separate possessions and an independent
government, and which were situated in the following geographical order. Methymna
(now Molivo) was on the north, almost immediately opposite Assos, from which it
was separated by one of the previously mentioned straits. Somewhere in its neighbourhood
was Arisba which, however, was incorporated in the Methymnaean territory before
the time of Herodotus (i. 151). Near the western extremity of the island were
Antissa and Eressus. The former was a little to the north of Cape Sigrium, and
was situated on a small island, which in Pliny's time (ii. 91) was connected with
Lesbos itself. The latter was on the south of the promontory, and is still known
under the name of Erissi, a modern village, near which ruins have been found.
At the head of Port Caloni was Pyrirha, which in Strabo's time had been swallowed
up by the sea, with the exception of a suburb. (Strab. xiii. p. 618; see Plin.
v. 31.) The name of Pera is still attached to this district according to Pococke.
On the eastern shore, facing the mainland, was Mytilene Besides these places,
we must mention the following: - Hiera doubtless at the head of Port Olivier,
said by Pliny to have been destroyed before his day; Agamede, a village in the
neighbourhood of Pyrrha; Nape, in the plain of Methymna; Aegirus, between Methymna
and Mytilene; and Polium, a site mentioned by Stephanus B. Most of these places
are noticed more particularly under their respective names. All of them decayed,
and became unimportant, in comparison with Methymna and Mytilene,. which were
situated on good harbours opposite the mainland, and convenient for the coasting-trade.
The annals of Lesbos are so entirely made up of events affecting those two cities,
especially the latter, that we must refer to them for what does not bear upon
the general history of the island.
From the manner in which Lesbos is mentioned both in the Iliad and
Odyssey (Il. xxiv. 544, Od. iv. 342), it is evident that its cities were populous
and flourishing at a very early period. They had also very large possessions on
the opposite coast. Lesbos was not included in the conquests of Croesus. (Herod.
i. 27.) The severe defeat of the Lesbians by the Samians under Polycrates (iii.
39) seems only to have been a temporary disaster. It is said by Herodotus (i.
151.) that at first they had nothing to fear, when Cyrus conquered the territories
of Croesus on the mainland: but afterwards, with other islanders, they seem to
have submitted voluntarily to Harpagus (i. 169). The situation of this island
on the very confines of the great struggle between the Persians and the Greeks
was so critical, that its fortunes were seriously affected in. every phase of
the long conflict, from this period down to the peace of Antalcidas and the campaigns
of Alexander.
The Lesbians joined the revolt of Aristagoras (Herod. vi. 5, 8), and
one of the most memorable incidents in this part of its history is the consequent
hunting down of its inhabitants, as well as those of Chios and Tenedos, by the
Persians (Herod. vi. 31; Aesch. Pers. 881). After the battles of Salamis and Mycale
they boldly identified themselves with the Greek cause. At first they attached
themselves to the Lacedaemonian interest: but before long they came under the
overpowering influence of the naval supremacy of Athens. In the early part of
the Peloponnesian War, the position of Lesbos was more favourable than that of
the other islands: for, like Corcyra and Chios, it was not required to furnish
a money-tribute, but only a naval contingent (Thuc. ii. 9). But in the course
of the war, Mytilene was induced to intrigue with the Lacedaemonians, and to take
the lead in a great revolt from. Athens. The events which fill so large a portion
of the third book of Thucydides - the speech of Cleon, the change of mind on the
part of the Athenians, and the narrow escape of the Lesbians from entire massacre
by the sending of a second ship to overtake the first - are perhaps the most memorable
circumstances connected with the history of this island. The lands of Lesbos were
divided among Athenian citizens (klerouchoi), many of whom, however, according
to Boeckh, returned to Athens, the rest remaining as a garrison. Methymna had
taken no part in the revolt, and was exempted from the punishment After the Sicilian
expedition, the Lesbians again wavered in their allegiance to Athens; but the
result was unimportant (Thucyd. viii. 5, 22, 23, 32, 100). It was near the coast
of this island that the last great naval victory of the Athenians during the war
was won, that of Conon over Callicratidas at Arginusae. On the destruction of
the Athenian force by Lysander at Aegospotami, it fell under the power of Sparta;
but it was recovered for a time by Thrasybulus (Xen. Hell. iv. 8. 28 - 30). At
the peace of Antalcidas it was declared independent. From this time to the establishment
of the Macedonian empire it is extremely difficult to fix the fluctuations of
the history of Lesbos in the midst of the varying influences of Athens, Sparta,
and Persia.
After the battle of the Granicus, Alexander made a treaty with the
Lesbians. Memnon the Rhodian took Mytilene and fortified it, and died there. Afterwards
Hegelochus reduced the various cities of the island under the Macedonian power.
(For the history of these transactions see Arrian, Exped. Alex. iii. 2; Curt.
Hist. Alex. iv. 5.) In the war of the Romans with Perseus, Labeo destroyed Antissa
for aiding the Macedonians, and incorporated its inhabitants with those of Methymna
(Liv. xlv. 31. Hence perhaps the true explanation of Pliny's remark, l. c.). In
the course of the Mithridatic War, Mytilene incurred the displeasure of the Romans
by delivering up M‘. Aquillius (Vell. Pat. ii 18; Appian, Mithr. 21). It was also
the last city which held out after the close of the war, and was reduced by M.
Minucius Thermus, - an occasion on which Julius Caesar distinguished himself,
and earned a civic crown by saving the life of a soldier (Liv. Epit. 89; Suet.
Caes. 2; see Cic. contra Rull. ii. 1. 6). Pompey, however, was induced by Theophanes
to make Mytilene a free city (Vell. Pat. l. c.; Strab. xiii. p. 617), and he left
there his wife and son during the campaign which ended at Pharsalia. (Appian,
B.C. ii. 83; Plut. Pomp. 74, 75.) From this time we are to regard Lesbos as a
part of the Roman province of Asia, with Mytilene distinguished as its chief city,
and in the enjoyment of privileges more particularly described elsewhere. We may
mention here that a few imperial coins of Lesbos, as distinguished from those
of the cities, are extant, of the reigns of M. Aurelius and Commodus, and with
the legend KOINON LEXBION (Eckhel, vol.ii. p. 501; Mionnet, vol. iii. pp. 34,
35).
In the new division of provinces under Constantine, Lesbos was placed
in the Provincia Insularum (Hierocl. p. 686, ed. Wesseling). A few detached, notices
of its fortunes during the middle ages are all that can be given here. On the
15th of August, A.D. 802, the empress Irene ended her extraordinary life here
in exile. (See Le Beau, Hist. du Bas Empire, vol. xii. p. 400.) In the thirteenth
century, contemporaneously with the first crusade, Lesbos began to be affected
by the Turkish conquests: Tzachas, Emir of Smyrna, succeeded in taking Mytilene,
but failed in his attempt on Methymna. (Anna Comn. Alex. lib. vii. p. 362, ed.
Bonn.) Alexis, however, sent an expedition to retake Mytilene, and was successful
(Ib. ix. p. 425). In the thirteenth century Lesbos was in the power of the Latin
emperors of Constantinople, but it was recovered to the Greeks by Joannes Ducas
Vatatzes, emperor of Nicaea. In the fourteenth century Joannes Palaeologus gave
his sister in marriage to Francisco Gateluzzio, and the island of Lesbos as a
dowry; and it continued in the possession of this family till its final absorption
in the Turkish empire (Ducas, Hist. Byzant. p. 46, ed. Bonn). It appears, however,
that these princes were tributary. to the Turks (Ib. p. 328). In 1457, Mahomet
II. made an unsuccessful assault on Methymna, in consequence of a suspicion that
the Lesbians had aided the Catalan buccaneers (Ib. p. 338; see also Vertot, Hist.
de l'Ordre de Malte, ii. 258). He did not actually take the island till 1462.
The history of the annalist Ducas himself is closely connected with Lesbos: he
resided there after the fall of Constantinople; he conveyed the tribute from the
reigning Gateluzzio to the sultan at Adrianople; and the last paragraph of his
history is an unfinished account of the final catastrophe of the island.
This notice of Lesbos would be very incomplete, unless something were
said of its intellectual eminence. In reference to poetry, and especially poetry
in connection with music, no island of the Greeks is so celebrated as Lesbos.
Whatever other explanation we may give of the legend concerning the head and lyre
of Orpheus being carried by the waves to its shores, we may take it as an expression
of the fact that here was the primitive seat of the music of the lyre. Lesches,
the cyclic minstrel, a native of Pyrrha, was the first of its series of poets.
Terpander, though his later life was chiefly connected with the Peloponnesus,
was almost certainly a native of Lesbos, and probably of Antissa: Arion, of Methymna,
appears to have belonged to his school; and no two men were so closely connected
with the early history of Greek music. The names of Alcaeus and Sappho are the
most imperishable elements in the renown of Mytilene. The latter was sometimes
called the tenth Muse (as in Plato's epigram, Sappho Lesbothen he dekate); and
a school of poetesses (Lesbiadum turba, Ovid, Her. xv.) seems to have been formed
by her. Here, without entering into the discussions, by Welcker and others, concerning
the character of Sappho herself, we must state that the women of Lesbos were as
famous for their profligacy as their beauty. Their beauty is celebrated by Homer
(Il. ix. 129, 271), and, as regards their profligacy, the proverbial expression
lesbiazein affixes a worse stain to their island than kretizein does to Crete.
Lesbos seems never to have produced any distinguished painter or sculptor,
but Hellanicus and Theophanes the friend of Pompey are worthy of being mentioned
among historians; and Pittacus, Theophrastus, and Cratippus are known in the annals
of philosophy and science. Pittacus was famous also as a legislator. These eminent
men were all natives of Mytilene, with the exception of Theophrastus, who was
born at Eresus.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
MITHYMNA (Ancient city) LESVOS
Methumna, and on coins Methumna, Mathumna: Eth. Methumnaios. A town
in Lesbos, the most important next after Mytilene. It was situated on the northern
shore of the island, where a channel of 60 stadia (Strab. xiii. p. 618) intervened
between it and the coast of the mainland near Assos.
One of the earliest notices of the Methymnaeans is the mention of
their conquest of Arisba, another town of Lesbos, and their enslaving of its citizens.
(Herod. i. 151.) The territory of Methymna seems to have been contiguous to that
of Mytilene, and this may have been one cause of the jealousy between the two
cities. The power and fame of Mytilene was on the whole far greater; but in one
period of the history of Lesbos, Methymna enjoyed greater prosperity. She did
not join the revolt of the other Lesbians from Athens in the Peloponnesian War
(Thuc. iii. 2, 18), and she was therefore exempted from the severe punishment
which fell on Mytilene. (Thuc. iii. 50.) Hence she retained the old privilege
of furnishing a naval contingent instead of a tribute in money. (Thuc. vi. 85,
vii. 57.) Shortly before the battle of Arginusae, Methymna fell into the power
of the Lacedaemonians, and it was on this occasion that the magnanimous conduct
of Callicratidas presented so remarkable a contrast to that of the Athenians in
reference to Mytilene. (Xen. Hellen. i. 6. § 14.) After this time Methymna seems
to have become less and less important. It comes into notice, however, in every
subsequent period of history. It is mentioned in the treaty forced by the Romans
(B.C. 154) between Attalus II. and Prusias II. (Polyb. xxxiii. 11.) It is stated
by Livy (xlv. 31) and by Pliny (v. 31) to have incorporated the inhabitants of
Antissa with its own. Its coins, both autonomous and imperial, are numerous. It
was honourably distinguished for its resistance to the Mahomedans, both in the
12th and 15th centuries; and it exists on the same spot at the present day, under
the name of Molivo.
We have no information concerning the buildings and appearance of
ancient Methymna. It evidently possessed a good harbour. Its chief fame was connected
with the excellent wine produced in its neighbourhood. (Virg. Georg. ii. 90; Ovid,
Art. Am. i. 57; Hor. Sat. ii. 8. 50.) Horace (Od. i. 117. 21) calls Lesbian wine
innocens; and Athenaeus (ii. p. 45) applies the epithet eustomachos to a sweet
Lesbian wine. In another place (i. p. 32) he describes the medicinal effect of
the wine of this island. Pliny says (xiv. 9) that it had a salt taste, and apparently
mentions this as a merit. Pausanias, in his account of Delphi (x. 19), tells a
story of some fishermen of Methymna dragging in their nets out of the sea a rude
image of Bacchus, which was afterwards worshipped. Methymna was the birthplace
of the poet and musician Arion. Myrsilus also, who is said to have written a history
of Lesbos, is supposed to have been born here.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
MYTILINI (Ancient city) LESVOS
or Mitylene (Mutilene or Mitulene: Eth. Mutilenaios or Mitulenaios).
The most important city in the island of Lesbos. There is some uncertainty about
the orthography of the name. Coins are unanimous in favour of Mutilene. Inscriptions
vary. Greek manuscripts have generally, but not universally, Mitulene. Latin manuscripts
have generally Mitylene; but Velleius Paterculus, Pomponius Mela, and sometimes
Pliny, have Mytilene. In some cases we find the Latin plural form Mitylenae. (Suet.
Caes. 2, Tib. 10; Liv. Epit. 89.) Tacitus has the adjective Mytilenensis (Ann.
xiv. 53). It is generally agreed now that the word ought to be written Mytilene;
but it does not seem necessary to alter those passages where the evidence of MSS.
preponderates the other way. A full discussion of this subject may be seen in
Plehn (Lesbiacorum Liber). The modern city is called Mitylen, and sometimes Castro.
The chief interest of the history of Lesbos is concentrated in Mytilene.
Its eminence is evident from its long series of coins, not only in the autonomous
period, when they often bore the legend PROTE AEXBOU MUTIAENE, but in the imperial
period down to the reign of Gallienus. Lesbos, from the earliest to the latest
times, has been the most distinguished city of the island, whether we consider
the history of poetry or politics, or the annals of naval warfare and commercial
enterprise.
One reason of the continued pre-eminence of Mytilene is to be found
in its situation, which (in common with that of Methymna) was favourable to the
coasting trade. Its harbours, too, appear to have been excellent. Originally it
was built upon a small island; and thus (whether the small island were united
to the main island by a causeway or not) two harbours were formed, one on the
north and the other on the south. The former of these was the harbour for ships
of war, and was capable of being closed, and of containing fifty triremes, the
latter was the mercantile harbour, and was larger and deeper, and defended by
a mole. (Strab. xiii. p. 617; Paus. viii. 30.) The best elucidation of its situation
in reference to the sea will be found in the narratives contained in the 3rd book
of Thucydides and the 1st book of Xenophon's Hellenics. The northern harbour seems
to have been called Maloeis [Malea]. This harmonises with what we find in Thucydides,
and with what Aristotle says concerning the action of the NE. wind (kaikias) on
Mytilene. The statements of Xenophon are far from clear, unless, with Mr. Grote
(Hist. of Greece, vol. viii. p. 230), we suppose the Euripus of Mytilene to be
that arm of the sea which we have mentioned, in the article Lesbos under the name
of Portus Hieraeus, and which runs up into the interior of the island, to the
very neighbourhood of Mytilene. A rude plan is given by Tournefort; but for accurate
information the English Admiralty charts must be consulted. The beauty of the
ancient city, and the strength of its fortifications, are celebrated both by Greek
and Roman writers. (See especially Cic. c. Rull. ii. 1. 6) Plutarch mentions a
theatre (Pomp. 42), and Athenaeus a Prytaneium (x. p. 425). Vitruvius says (i.
6) that the winds were very troublesome in the harbour and in the streets, and
that the changes of weather were injurious to health. The products of the soil
near Mytilene do not seem to have been distinguished by any very remarkable peculiarities.
Theophrastus and Pliny make mention of its mushrooms: Galen says that its wine
was inferior to that of Methymna. In illustration of the appearance of Mytilene,
as seen from the sea, we may refer to a view in Choiseul-Gouffier; and to another,
which shows the fine forms of the mountains immediately behind, in Conybeare and
Howson's Life and Epp. of St. Paul.
The first passage in which the history of Mytilene comes prominently
into view is in the struggle between the Aeolians and Athenians for Sigeum (B.C.
606), at the NW. corner of Asia Minor. The place and the time are both remarkable,
as illustrating the early vigour with which Mytilene was exercising its maritime
and political power. We see it already grasping considerable possessions on the
mainland. It was in this conflict, too, that Pittacus, the sage and lawgiver of
Mytilene, acted so noble a part, and that Alcaeus, her great poet, lost his shield.
The mention of these two names reminds us that this time of rivalry with Athens
coincides with the famous internal contests of the nobles and commons in Mytilene.
For the history and results of this struggle, see the lives of Alcaeus, Pittacus,
and Sappho, in the Dict. of Biography.
It may be difficult to disentangle the history of the Mytilenaeans
from that of the Aeolians in general, during the period of the Persian ascendancy
on these coasts. But we have a proof of their mercantile enterprise in the fact
that they alone of the Aeolians took part in the building of the Hellenium at
Naucratis (Herod. ii. 178); and we find them taking a prominent part in the invasion
of Egypt by Cambyses. (Ib. iii. 13, 14.) They supplied a contingent to Darius
in his Scythian expedition (Ib. iv. 97). They were closely connected with the
affairs of Histiaeus (Ib. vi. 5); and doubtless, though they are not separately
mentioned, they were the best portion of those Aeolians who supplied sixty ships
to Xerxes in his invasion of Greece. (Ib. vii. 95.)
The period of the Athenian supremacy and the Peloponnesian War is
full of the fame of Mytilene. The alliance of its citizens with those of Athens
began soon after the final repulse of Persia. They held a very distinguished position
among the allies which formed the Athenian confederacy; but their revolt from
Athens in the fourth year of the Peloponnesian War brought upon them the most
terrible ruin. Though the first dreadful decision of the Athenian assembly was
overruled (Thucyd. iii. 36), the walls of Mytilene were pulled down, and her fleet
given up; her territory was divided among Athenian shareholders, and she was deprived
of her possessions and forts on the mainland. (Ib. iii. 50.) Towards
the close of the Peloponnesian War, Conon was defeated by Callicratidas off Mytilene,
and blockaded in the harbour. (Xen. Hell. i. 6) We pass now to the period of Alexander,
with whose campaigns this city was conspicuously connected. The Lesbians made
a treaty with Macedonia. Memnon reduced the other cities of the island ; and his
death, which inflicted the last blow on the Persian power in the Aegean, took
place in the moment of victory against Mytilene. It was retaken by Hegesilochus,
in the course of his general reduction of the islands, and received a large accession
of territory. Two Mytilenaeans, Laomedon and Erigyius, the sons of Larichus, were
distinguished members of Alexander's staff. The latter fell in action against
the Bactrians ; the former was governor of Syria even after Alexander's death.
The first experience of the Roman power in the Aegean was disastrous
to Mytilene. Having espoused the cause of Mithridates, and having held out to
the last, it was sacked by M. Thermus, on which occasion J. Caesar honourably
distinguished himself. Pompey's friendship with Theophanes led to the recognition
of Mytilene as a free city. (Plin. v. 31.) After the defeat of Pharsalia, Pompey
touched there for the last time to take Cornelia on board. His son Sextus met
with a friendly reception there, after his defeat at sea, by Agrippa. (Dion Cass.
xlix. 17; App. B.C. v. 133.) Agrippa himself resided there for some time in retirement,
ostensibly on account of his health, but really through mortification caused by
the preference shown to M. Marcellus (Tac. Ann. xiv. 53; Suet. Aug. 66, Tib. 10);
and this residence is commemorated by an inscription still extant. The last event
which we need mention in the imperial period is the crossing over of Germanicus
with Agrippina from Euboea to Lesbos, and the birth of Julia. (Tac. Ann. ii. 54.)
This event, also, was commemorated both by coins and inscriptions. (See Eckhel
and Pococke.) It appears that the privilege of freedom was taken away by Vespasian,
but restored by Hadrian. (Plehn, Lesbiac. p. 83.)
Mytilene is one of the few cities of the Aegean, which have continued
without intermission to flourish till the present day. In the course of the middle
ages it gradually gave its name to the whole island. Thus, in the Synecdemus of
Hierocles, Mitulene and Methumna are both mentioned under the Province of the
Islands; but in the later Byzantine division, Mytilene is spoken of as an island,
like Lemnos and Chios, in the Theme of the Aegean Sea. (Const. Porphyrog. de Them.
i. pp. 42, 43, ed. Bonn.) The fortunes of Mytilene during the first advances of
the Mahomedans in the Levant, and during the ascendancy of the Venetians at a
later period, are noticed in Finlay's History of the Byzantine and Greek Empires,
vol. ii. pp. 72, 171, 223. The island of Lesbos was not actually part of the Mahomedan
empire till nearly ten years after the fall of Constantinople.
With the exception of the early struggles of the time of Alcaeus and
Pittacus, there is little to be said of the internal constitutional history of
Mytilene. It shared, with all Greek cities, the results of the struggles of the
oligarchical and democratical parties. We find a commonalty (damos) and a council
(bolla) mentioned on coins of the period of Alexander ; and the title of magistrates,
called strategos (praetor), appears on coins of Lucius Verus. In connection with
this part of the subject we may allude to two creditable laws; one which enacted
(doubtless in consequence of the great quantity of wine in the island) that offences
committed by the drunk should be more severely punished than those committed by
the sober (Arist. Pol. ii. 9. 9); the other making a singular provision for the
punishment of faithlessness in tributary allies, by depriving them of the privilege
of educating their children. (Aelian, Var. Hist. vii. 15.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PYRRA (Ancient city) MYTILINI
Eth. Purrhaios. A town on the coast of the deep bay on the west of
the island of Lesbos, which had so narrow an entrance that it was called the Euripus
of Pyrrha. It was situated at a distance of 80 stadia from Mytilene and 100 from
Cape Malea. (Athen. iii. p. 88; Strab. xiii. p. 617.) In the Lesbian revolt the
town sided with Mytilene, but was reconquered by Paches. (Thuc. iii. 18, 25, 35;
comp. Scylax, p. 36; Steph. B. s. v.) In Strabo's time the town no longer existed,
but the suburbs and port were still inhabited. Pliny (v. 39) reports that Pyrrha
had been swallowed up by the sea. The bay of Pyrrha is now called Caloni.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
SIGRION (Ancient city) LESVOS
Sigrion. The westernmost promontory of the island of Lesbos, which now bears the
name of Sigri (Strab. xiii. pp. 616, 618.) Stephanus B. calls Sigrium a harbour
of Lesbos.
ANTISSA (Ancient city) LESVOS
A town on the west coast of Lesbos, though formerly on a small island opposite Lesbos, with which it afterwards united.
ERESSOS (Ancient city) LESVOS
or Eresus (on coins the name is always written Eresos). A city
of Lesbos, situated on a hill at a distance of twenty-eight stadia from Cape Sigrium.
It derives celebrity from having given birth to Theophrastus. Phanias, another
disciple of the great Stagirite, was likewise a native of this place. According
to Archestratus, quoted by Athenaeus, Eressus was famous for the excellence of
its wheaten flour.
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LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
(Lesbos). A large island in the Aegaean, off the coast of Mysia
in Asia Minor. It was colonized by Aeolians, who founded in it an Hexapolis, consisting
of the six cities Mitylene, Methymna, Eresus, Pyrrha, Antissa, and Arisbe, afterwards
reduced to five through the destruction of Arisbe by the Methymnaeans. The chief
facts in the history of Lesbos are connected with its principal city, Mitylene.
The island is most important in the early history of Greece as the native region
of the early school of lyric poetry. It was the birthplace of the poets Terpander,
Alcaeus, Sappho, and Arion , of the sage Pittacus, of the historian Hellanicus,
and of the philosophers Theophrastus and Phanias.
MITHYMNA (Ancient city) LESVOS
(Methumna and Methumna, the first form being the better). The
second city of Lesbos, standing at the northern extremity of the island. It was
the birthplace of the poet Arion and of the historian Hellanicus. The celebrated
Lesbian wine grew in its neighbourhood. In the Peloponnesian war it remained faithful
to Athens, even during the great Lesbian revolt; afterwards it was sacked by the
Spartans (B.C. 406), and never recovered its former prosperity.
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MYTILINI (Ancient city) LESVOS
(Mitulene) or Mytilene (Mutilene), the latter being the earlier
form. The chief city of Lesbos, stood on the east side of the island opposite
the coast of Lesbos, upon a promontory which was once an island, and both sides
of which formed excellent harbours. Its first foundation is ascribed to Carians
and Pelasgians. It was early colonized by the Aeolians. Important hints respecting
its political history are furnished by the fragments of the poetry of Alcaeus,
whence (and from other sources) it seems that, after the rule and overthrow of
a series of tyrants, the city was nearly ruined by the bitter hatred and conflicts
of the factions of the nobles and the people, till Pittacus was appointed to a
sort of dictatorship, and the nobles were expelled. Meanwhile, the city had grown
to great importance as a naval power, and had founded colonies on the coasts of
Mysia and Thrace. At the beginning of the seventh century B.C. the possession
of one of these colonies, Sigeum, at the mouth of the Hellespont, was disputed
in war between the Mitylenaeans and Athenians, and assigned to the latter by the
award of Periander, tyrant of Corinth. Among the other colonies of Mitylene were
Achilleum, Assos, and Antandrus. Mitylene submitted to the Persians after the
conquest of Ionia and Aeolis, and furnished contingents to the expeditions of
Cambyses against Egypt and of Darius against Scythia. It was active in the Ionian
revolt, after the failure of which it again became subject to Persia, and took
part in the expedition of Xerxes against Greece. After the Persian War it formed
an alliance with Athens, and remained one of the most important members of the
Athenian confederacy, retaining its independence till the fourth year of the Peloponnesian
War (B.C. 428), when it headed a revolt of the greater part of Lesbos, the progress
and suppression of which forms one of the most interesting episodes in the history
of the Peloponnesian War. This event destroyed the power of Mitylene. Its subsequent
fortunes cannot be related in detail here. It fell under the power of the Romans
after the Mithridatic War.
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PYRRA (Ancient city) MYTILINI
A town on the west coast of the island of Lesbos, on the inner part of the deep bay named after it, and consequently on the narrowest part of the island.
EVERGETOULA (Municipality) MYTILINI
MANTAMADOS (Municipality) MYTILINI
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
MITHYMNA (Ancient city) LESVOS
Methymna, Molivos, Molybos, Methymnaeans, Methymnaean, Methymnians, Methymnian, Methymne
MYTILINI (Ancient city) LESVOS
MITHYMNA (Ancient city) LESVOS
MYTILINI (Ancient city) LESVOS
A titulary archbishopric in the island of Lesbos.
Inhabitated, first by the Pelasgians, then by the Aeolians, it was ruled in turn
by the Persians, the Athenians, the Macedonians, the Seleucid, and the Romans.
Included in the empire of the East after the time of Theodosius it
suffered much from the different invasions of the Scythians in 376, the Slavs
in 769, the Arabs in 821, 881, 1035, the Russians in 864 And 1027. In 1204 after
the foundation of the Latin Empire, the city became a possession of the French,
only to be reconquered in 1248 by John Ducas Vatatzes. It belonged to the Genoese
when the sultan, Mahomet II, conquered it in 1462.The home of many famous persons,
among them Sappho, Alcaeus, and the sage Pittacus, Mitylene was famous for its
beauty and for the strength of its walls. St. Paul stopped there during his third
journey.
S. Salaville, ed.
Transcribed by: Douglas J. Potter
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
ANTISSA (Ancient city) LESVOS
Antissa
is believed to be NW of the modern town of Skalokhori, on the peninsula called Nisi, Ovriokastro, or Kastro ton Genoveson, E of the place where the river Voulgaris issues into the Tsamourliman (Mud Harbor) and ca. 9 km NE of the modern market town of Antissa which was called Telonia during the Turkish period and up to the 1930s. There are smaller ruined settlements W of Skalokhori, near Liota on the bay of Gavathas, and also farther W between the bay of Pokhi and Orphikia in the area of Lapsarna. The site of Antissa, which was excavated before WWII, may also be the location of the Byzantine castle of Ag. Theodoroi whose name appears in old maps. During its independent period, Antissa was rarely on friendly terms with the neighboring state of Methymna, but those who survived after the destruction of the city in 167 B.C. were forced to incorporate with the Methymnians.
ERESSOS (Ancient city) LESVOS
The remains of the ancient city are near the Skala (harbor) of the modern inland town of Eresos, ca. 92 km from Mytilene. Strabo (13.618) mentions this site. The chief preserved antiquities are a part of the pre-Hellenistic and Hellenistic isodomic circuit wall, some remains of buildings, and the ruins of the ancient harbor. In 1931 a local archaeological collection was begun, which includes finds of various periods.
This extract is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites, Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Feb 2003 from Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
LESVOS (Island) NORTH AEGEAN
An island at the NE corner of the Aegean Sea, at the entrance to the
Gulf of Adramyttion (Bdremit) in Asia Minor. Its shape is notable for two gulfs
with very narrow mouths. The Gulf of Kalloni (ca. 20 km long) was called in antiquity
Pyrrhaios Buripos. The Gulf of Geras was ancient Hiera (ca. 13 km long). Lesbos,
according to tradition, was named for son of Lapithos, the descendant of Deucalion
and Hellen, and grandson of Aiolos, founder of the Aiolian tribe.
The significant number of Mycenaean sherds found on the surface in
1970 at the extensive ruins of Kourtir, on the gulf of Kalloni, near the town
of Lisvori, and the numerous sherds from ruins of other periods, testify to continuous
occupation of the site from at least the Late Neolithic to the Geometric period.
The island reached its zenith in the archaic period, but even before
700 B.C. Mytilene controlled the Aiolian cities on the shore of Asia Minor opposite
the island and in the Troad up to the Hellespont. Because of this the Mytilenaians
came into collision with the growing sea power of the Athenians, who disputed
their possession of the Aiolian colony, Sigeion.
Lesbos paid tribute to the Persians under Cyrus. 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. After the defeat at Lade, Lesbos was subject to the
Persians, but was freed after the Persian defeat at Mycale in 479 B.C. It then
joined the Athenian Alliance, from which the Mytilenaians revolted in 428 B.C.,
although the Methymnians remained loyal to Athens and found themselves opposed
to a confederation of the other large cities of the 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. In 405 B.C. the Spartan admiral Lysander became master of the entire island
after his victory at Aigos Potamoi on the Hellespont. After the success of Konon,
Mytilene once more joined the Athenian Alliance in 392 B.C., and the Athenian
general Thrasyboulos restored the rest of the island to Athenian control. Lesbos
was made autonomous by the Peace of Antalkidas in 387, but in 385 came again under
Spartan domination. The island broke away in 369 and joined the second Athenian
Confederacy. In 357 B.C. it was obliged to recognize Persian domination and to
establish an oligarchical constitution. Lesbos finally broke away from the Persians
and the oligarchs when Alexander the Great invaded Asia in 332 B.C. After Alexander's
death it came into the hands of those of his successors who controlled the Aegean.
In 167 B.C. the Romans destroyed Antissa because it was allied to
Perseus, the king of Macedon. 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. Pompey later gave Mytilene autonomy, which the
Emperor Vespasian revoked in A.D. 70, but which the Emperor Hadrian later restored.
Life remained peaceful on Lesbos until the 8th c. A.D. when attacks of various
barbarian peoples against the island began.
The most notable cities of Lesbos were Mytilene, Methymna, Antissa,
Bresos and Pyrrha. The city of Arisba was independent before the time of Herodotos,
but was soon taken over by Methymna.
M. Paraskevaidis, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
MITHYMNA (Ancient city) LESVOS
Methymna (Molybos) is at the N end of Lesbos, ca. 61 km NW of Mytilene. It was the next most powerful city state on the island after Mytilene. During the war between Athens and Sparta Methymna always opposed Mytilene and tended to resist the hegemony of whichever side was favored by Mytilene. Before the time of Herodotos Methymna had taken over Arisba by force, and in 167 B.C. when the Romans destroyed Antissa, they gave her territory to Methymna. Some archaeological discoveries were made in Methymna in the 19th c., and after WWI traces of an ancient settlement dating from as early as the 7th or possibly 8th c. B.C. and continuing to Roman times were found at Dambia, NW of the present town.
This extract is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites, Princeton University Press 1976. Cited June 2003 from Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
MYTILINI (Ancient city) LESVOS
Mytilene.The older city of Mytilene was located on an islet
on which a fortress of the Byzantine period, repaired under the Genoese and the
Turks, is now preserved. This original city later expanded onto the main part
of Lesbos. Excavation of the ancient theater began in 1958, although the first
trial findings were made in the 19th c. The orchestra has a diameter of 25.26
m and is almost perfectly circular, which shows this to be one of the oldest theaters
in Greece. The theater of Mytilene was so beautiful that Pompey copied the plan
when he built the first great stone theater in Rome.
Excavation of mosaic pavements dating to the beginning of the 4th
c. B.C., which have representations of scenes from Menander's plays, was begun
in 1961 near the ancient theater, in an area now called Khorafa. Other mosaic
pavements of the Roman period have been uncovered in front of the entrance to
the church of Ag. Therapon, and a striking portion of a Classical structure (probably
an aqueduct) of the beginning of the 4th c. B.C. was found NW of this church.
At the same site a road of the early Hellenistic period was discovered, made of
soft brown limestone, preserved to a width of 3.6 m.
Twenty minutes walk NE of the village of Moria (ca. 7 km NW of Mytilene)
one can see the best-preserved section of the Roman aqueduct which appears to
have brought water to Mytilene from the Megali Limni (Great Lake) which has now
been drained. Portions of the same aqueduct are preserved W of the village of
Lambou Myloi (Mills of Lambos) and there are other traces of it along its route.
About 500 m S of the Spa of Thermi and near the village of Pyrgoi Thermi, on the
shore, is a part of the remains of the prehistoric town of Thermi, dating to the
Bronze Age (3d and 2d millennium B.C.) now covered with earth.
M. Paraskavaidis, ed.
This extract is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Sept 2003 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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