the island of lesbos
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For the Greek prefecture which contains the island, see
Lesbos Prefecture.
Lesbos
Λέσβος
Olympos peak rises 968 meters over Lesbos Geography
Coordinates:
39°10′N 26°20′E / 39.167°N 26.333°E / 39.167; 26.333 Island chain: North Aegean
Total isles: 16
Area: 1,632.819 km² (630
sq.mi.)
Highest mountain: Lepetymnos & Olympus (968 m (3,176 ft)) Government
Greece Periphery: North Aegean Prefecture: Lesbos Capital: Mytilene Statistics
Population: 90,643 (as of
2001)
Density: 56 /km² (144 /sq.mi.)
Postal code: 811 xx, 812 xx, 813 xx, 814xx
Area code: 225x0-x
License code: ΜΗ, ΜΥ
Website www.lesvos.gr Lesbos (
Greek: Λέσβος also transliterated
Lesvos; sometimes the island is also referred to as
Mytilini after its major city) is a
Greek island located in the northeastern
Aegean Sea. It has an area of 1632
km² (630
square miles) with 320 kilometres (almost 200 miles) of
coastline, making it the third largest Greek island and the largest of the numerous Greek islands scattered in the Aegean. It is separated from
Turkey by the narrow
Mytilini Strait. Administratively, it forms part of the
Lesbos Prefecture. Its population is approximately 90,000, a third of which lives in its
capital,
Mytilene, in the southeastern part of the island. The remaining population is distributed in small towns and villages. The largest are
Kalloni, the
Gera Villages,
Plomari,
Agiassos,
Eresos, and
Molyvos (the ancient Mythymna). Mytilene was founded in the 11th century BC by the family Penthilidae, who arrived from
Thessaly, and ruled the city-state until a popular revolt (590–580 BC) led by
Pittacus of Mytilene ended their rule.
Contents
[
hide]
[edit] Geography
Satellite photo of Lesbos (1995).
Topography
Facing the Turkish coast (
Gulf of Edremit) from the north and east; at the narrowest point, the strait is about 5.5 km (3.4 mi) wide. Its shape is roughly triangular, but it is deeply intruded by gulfs of
Kalloni, with an entry on the southern coast, and
Gera, in the southeast.
[1]
The island is forested and mountainous with two large peaks, Mt. Lepetymnos (968 m (3,176 ft)) and Mt. Olympus (967 m (3,173 ft)), dominating its northern and central sections.
[2] The island’s
volcanic origin is manifested in several
hot springs and two principal volcanic
harbors.
Lesbos is verdant, aptly named
Emerald Island, with a greater variety of
flora than expected for the island's size. Eleven million
olive trees cover 40% of the island together with other
fruit trees.
Forests of mediterranean
pines, chestnut trees and some
oaks occupy 20%, and the remainder is
scrub,
grassland or urban. In the western part of the island is the world’s second largest petrified forest of
Sequoia.
Its economy is essentially
agricultural.
Olive oil is the main source of
income. Tourism in
Mytilene, encouraged by its international airport and the coastal towns of
Petra,
Plomari,
Molyvos and
Eresos, contribute substantially to the economy of the island.
Fishing and the
manufacture of
soap and
ouzo, the Greek national
liqueur, are the remaining sources of income.
[edit] Climate
The island has a mild
Mediterranean climate. The mean annual
temperature is 18 °C (64 °F)), and the mean annual
rainfall is 750 mm (30 in). Its exceptional
sunshine makes it one of the sunniest islands in the Aegean Sea. Snow and very low temperatures are rare.
[edit] Petrified forest
Main article:
Petrified forest of Lesbos
Lesbos contains one of the few known
petrified forests and has been declared a
Protected Natural Monument, included also to the European
Geopark Network. Fossilised plants have been found in many localities on the western part of the island. The fossilised forest formed during the Late
Oligocene to Lower–Middle
Miocene, by the intense
volcanic activity in the area. Neogene
volcanic rocks dominate the central and western part of the island, comprising
andesites,
dacites and
rhyolites,
ignimbrite,
pyroclastics,
tuffs, and
volcanic ash. The products of the volcanic activity covered the
vegetation of the area and the
fossilization process took place during favourable conditions. The fossilized plants are silicified remnants of a
sub-tropical forest that existed on the north-west part of the island 20-15 million years ago.
[edit] History
Historic map of Lesbos by
Piri Reis
A statue in
Madrid of
Cybele, the
great mother goddess, in her chariot that was drawn by lions to guide the sun in its daily path across the sky.
According to Classical Greek
mythology, Lesbos was the patron
god of the island.
Macar was reputedly the first king whose many "daughters" bequeathed their names to some of the present larger towns. In Classical myth his "sister",
Canace, was killed to have him made king. The place names with female origins are likely to be much earlier settlements named after local goddesses, who were replaced by gods. Homer refers to the island as "
Macaros edos", the seat of Macar.
Hittite records from the
Late Bronze Age name the island
Lazpa and must have considered its population significant enough to allow the Hittites to "borrow their gods" (presumably idols) to cure their king when the local gods were not forthcoming. It is believed that emigrants from mainland Greece, mainly from
Thessaly, entered the island in the
Late Bronze Age and bequeathed it with the Aeolic dialect of the Greek language, whose written form survives in the poems of
Sappho, amongst others.
The abundant gray
pottery ware found on the island and the worship of
Cybele, the great mother-goddess of
Anatolia, suggest the cultural continuity of the population from
Neolithic times. When the Persian king
Cyrus defeated
Croesus (546 BC) the Ionic Greek cities of Anatolia and the adjacent islands became Persian subjects and remained such until the Persians were defeated by the Greeks at the
Battle of Salamis (480 BC). The island was governed by an
oligarchy in
archaic times, followed by quasi-democracy in
classical times. For a short period it was member of the
Athenian confederacy, its apostasy from which is described in a stirring chapter of
Thucydides' history of the
Peloponnesian War. In
Hellenistic times, the island belonged to various
Successor kingdoms until 79 BC when it passed into
Roman hands.
During the Middle Ages it belonged to the
Byzantine Empire. In 803, the Byzantine Empress
Irene was exiled to Lesbos, forced to spin wool to support herself, and died there.
After the
Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) the island passed to the
Latin Empire, but was reconquered by the Byzantines in
1247. In 1355, it was granted to the
Genoese Gattilusi family for economic and political reasons. The island was conquered by the
Ottoman Turks in 1462. It remained under Turkish rule, named
Midilli in Turkish, until 1912 when it was taken by Greek forces during the
First Balkan War. The cities of Mytilene and Mithymna have been bishoprics since the 5th century.
The oldest artifacts found on the island date to the Paleolithic period
[3]. Important archaeological sites on the island are the
Neolithic cave of
Kagiani, probably a refuge for shepherds, the Neolithic settlement of
Chalakies, and the extensive habitation of Thermi (3000–1000 BC). The largest habitation is found in Lisvori (2800–1900 BC) part of which is submerged in shallow coastal waters. There are also several archaic, classical Greek and Roman remains. Vitruvius called the ancient city of Mytilene "magnificent and of good taste". Remnants of its medieval history are three impressive castles.
Sappho and Alcaeus, by
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1881
Lesbos is the birthplace of several famous persons. In archaic times,
Arion developed the type of poem called
dithyramb, the progenitor of tragedy,
Terpander invented the seven note musical scale for the lyre, followed by the lyric poet
Alcaeus, and the lyric poet
Sappho.
Phanias wrote history. The seminal artistic creativity of those times brings to mind the myth of
Orpheus to whom
Apollo gave a
lyre and the
Muses taught to play and sing. When Orpheus incurred the wrath of the god Dionysus he was dismembered by the Maenads and of his body parts his head and his lyre found their way to Lesbos where they have "remained" ever since.
Pittacus was one of the
Seven Sages of Greece. In classical times Hellanicus advanced historiography,
Theophrastus, the father of botany, succeeded
Aristotle as the head of the Lyceum. Aristotle and
Epicurus lived there for some time, and it is there that Aristotle began systematic zoological investigations. In later times lived
Theophanes, the historian of
Pompey's campaigns, Longus wrote the famous novel
Daphnis and Chloe, and much later the historian Doukas wrote the history of the early
Ottoman Turks. In modern times the poet
Odysseus Elytis, descendant of an old family of Lesbos received the
Nobel Prize.
[edit] Contemporary Lesbos
One meaning of the word
lesbian derives from the poems of
Sappho, who was born in Lesbos and who wrote with powerful emotional content directed toward other women. It is due to this association that Lesbos and especially the town of
Eresos, her birthplace, are visited frequently by
lesbian tourists,
[4] much to the chagrin of the deeply conservative and traditionalist
Greek Orthodox population of the island.
[5] In
2008, the Lesbian islanders lost a court case against the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece. The Lesbian islanders had requested a legal injunction to bar homosexual groups from using the word "lesbian" in their names, which the Lesbian islander petitioners claim violates their human rights as it is "insulting" and disgraces them around the world.
[6][7]
View of coast looking east from Vatera Beach on the Greek island of Lesbos
Mithymna
Skala of
Eresos-Antissa
View of Kalloni Bay.
The Liberty Statue of Mytilene.
Twelve historic churches on the island were listed together on the 2008
World Monuments Fund's Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world. Exposure to the elements, outmoded conservation methods, and increased tourism are all threats to the structures. It is hoped that increased attention to their declining states will aid in their preservation.
[edit] Municipalities
The island of Lesbos contains 13
[8] of the 17
municipalities and 1 community that comprise
Lesbos Prefecture. The Lesbian municipalities have a total population of 90,643 inhabitants, or over 83 percent of the prefecture's population, according to the 2001 census. Their combined land area, including uninhabited offshore islets, is 1,632.819 km2 (630.435 sq mi), or about 75.8% of the prefecture's land area. (The balance of the prefecture's population resides on the islands of
Lemnos, in four municipalities, and
Saint Eustratius, in one community.)