Kythnos or Kithnos (Greek: Κύθνος) is a Greek island in the Western Cyclades between Kea and Serifos. It is 56 nautical miles from the harbor of Piraeus. The Cyclades, from the Greek Κυκλάδες, (circular, modern Greek Kykládes; see also List of traditional Greek place names) form an island group south-east of the mainland of Greece. ... Kea, also known as Gia (Κέα / Τζια in Greek), Tzia and Keos (Ancient: Κέως), is an island of the Cyclades archipelago, in the Aegean sea, in Greece. ... Seriphos (or Serifos) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, located in the western Cyclades, south of Kythnos and northwest of Siphnos. ... A nautical mile is a unit of distance, or, as physical scientists like to call it, length. ... A harbor (AmE), harbour (CwE) or haven is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. ... View of Piraeus A night ferry about to leave the port of Piraeus for the Dodecanese Piraeus, or Peiraeus (Modern Greek: Πειραιάς Peiraiás or Pireás, Ancient Greek / Katharevousa: Πειραιεύς Pireéfs) is a city in the periphery of Attica, Greece, located south of Athens. ...

Kythnos is about 100 square kilometers in area and has a coastline of about 100 kilometers. It has more than 70 beaches, many of which are still inaccessible by road. Of particular note is the crescent-shaped isthmus of fine sand at Kolona, where sunbathers may relax with the sea lapping at both sides of the beach. Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... Beaches is a 1988 movie adapted by Mary Agnes Donoghue from the novel Beaches by Iris Rainer Dart. ...

Settlements

village of Driopida

typical village street

The island has two significant settlements, the village of Messaria or Kythnos (pop. about 675), known locally as Hora, and the village of Driopis or Driopida (pop. about 525), also known as Horio. Both villages are notable for their winding and often stepped streets, too narrow for vehicular traffic. The villages are very picturesque but in different architectural styles. Hora has the more-typical flat roofs of the Cyclades, while Driopida's rooftops are slanted and tiled. Hora is also notable for its large Greek Orthodox Church. The island's first internet café has opened in Hora. Pentecost - Pentecost is considered in Eastern Orthodoxy to be the Birth of the Church. ... // Origins of Christian places of worship The architecture of Christian worship space grew out of the regular meetings of the followers of Christianity in private houses (see 1 Cor. ... An Internet café or cybercafé is a place where one can use a computer with Internet access for a fee, usually per hour or minute; sometimes one can have unmetered access with a pass for a day or month, etc. ...

There is also a growing coastal settlement called Kanala on the east side of the island, and many of the larger beaches are settled by a handful of residents. Aghios Dimitrios, at the southern tip of the island, is a mostly modern settlement, with small vacation houses dotting the hillside above a wide beach that is dotted with sea daffodils. On the northeast end of the island lies Loutra, a site famous for its thermal springs, which are said to have curative properties. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A hot spring or a hydrothermal spring is a place where warm or hot groundwater issues from the earth on a regular basis for at least a predictable part of the year, and is significantly above the ambient ground temperature (which is usually around 55–57 °F or 13–14...

view of Merihas' harbor at sunset

The port town is called Merihas, and its population significantly fluctuates during the year. Before the 1970s, there were no year-round residents in recent history; a Greek fisherman named Manolas Psaras and his wife Foto were the first to live in the port year-round. Today, there is a growing year-round population, and, especially during the peak of the Summer tourist season, the town becomes quite busy. Many residents of the port speak at least some English, the most popular second language. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1971 to 1980, inclusive. ... A Long Island fisherman cleans his nets A fisherman in central Chile A fisherman is a person who engages in the activity of fishing. ... For other senses of this word, see summer (disambiguation). ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A second language is any language other than the first, or native, language learned; it is typically used because of geographical or social reasons. ...

Merihas is connected to Piraeus and to Lavrion by ferry boat, and the ride takes 90 minutes to four hours, depending on the speed of the ship and the weather. Construction of a new mole began in 2005 to accommodate larger ferryboats. A minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour and to 60 seconds. ... The hour (symbol: h) is a unit of time. ... Speed (symbol: v) is the rate of motion, or equivalently the rate of change of position, expressed as distance d moved per unit of time t. ... Weather is an all-encompassing term used to describe all of the many and varied phenomena that can occur in the atmosphere of a planet. ...

Kythnos was until recently considered to be one of the last Cycladic islands unaffected by the impact of tourism, but this is inexorably changing. Still, the island has not yet been overdeveloped, and in the more remote areas of the villages, traditional ways live on relatively unchanged. The word tradition, comes from the Latin word traditio which means to hand down or to hand over. ...

Throughout Kythnos, drylaid stone walls delineate individual parcels of land

History

Kythnos can lay claim to the oldest known habitation in the Cycladic islands, a Mesolithic settlement (10,000 BCE – 8000 BCE) at Maroulas on the northeast coast. The site, close to the village of Loutra, is situated on the shore, and large portions have eroded into the sea. Excavations in 1996 found intact human skeletons, along with stone artifacts and part of a floor pavement, which indicates a long-term settlement, probably of hunter-gatherers. The Mesolithic (Greek mesos=middle and lithos=stone or the Middle Stone Age) is the period between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. ... (9th millennium BC – 8th millennium BC – 7th millennium BC – other millennia) Events The south area of Çatalhöyük. ... Skeleton of a Blue Whale In biology, the skeleton or skeletal system is the biological system providing physical support in living organisms. ... In anthropology, the hunter-gatherer way of life is that led by certain societies of the Neolithic Era based on the exploitation of wild plants and animals. ...

Third millennium BCE (First Cycladic Period) findings at Skouries near the highest peak of the island, Mt. Profitis Elias, suggest that Kythnos was a supplier of raw materials for metallurgy to other islands during the Bronze Age. Remains of copper smelting sites and open-air copper mines were investigated in 1984-1985. (A recent paper by Myrto Georgakopoulo points to the seminal work here by Gale and others.) (4th millennium BC – 3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – other millennia) Events Foundation of the city of Mari (Syria) (29th century BC ) Creation of the Kingdom of Elam (Iraq) Germination of the Bristlecone pine tree Methuselah about 2700 BC, the oldest tree still living now Dynasty of Lagash in Sumeria... Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds and their mixtures, which are called alloys. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic brown Atomic mass 63. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

The earliest inhabitants of the island known to historians were the Kares (Carians), a pre-Hellenic tribe probably allied to or under the dominion of the Minoans who eventually were forced by pressure of invading tribes to move on and settle in Asia Minor. Herodotus (Bk. viii, 73) records that in the 13th century BCE, another pre-Hellenic tribe, the Dryopes, originally from the Greek mainland near Mount Parnassus, migrated to the islands, first to Euboea and later spreading to Kea, Kythnos, and beyond. This tribe most probably gave rise to the name of one of the two main villages, Dryopis or Dryopida. Some sources say the island took its name from King Kythnos of the Dryopes; others suggest this is a mythical rather than a historical figure. (Speculations on the origin of the name are contained in Vallinda, 1896, and on the kythnos travel guide website. The Dryopes eventually moved on as well under pressure from Ionians, who migrated out of mainland Greece as Dorian tribes moved in from the north. The Minoans were an ancient pre-Hellenic civilization on what is now Crete (in the Mediterranean), during the Bronze Age, prior to classical Greek culture. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey. ... Bust of Herodotus at Naples Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: , Herodotos) was a historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ... (Redirected from 13th century BCE) (14th century BC - 13th century BC - 12th century BC - other centuries) (1300s BC - 1290s BC - 1280s BC - 1270s BC - 1260s BC - 1250s BC - 1240s BC - 1230s BC - 1220s BC - 1210s BC - 1200s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events... Mount Parnassus (also Mount Parnassos or Liakoura) is a mountain barren limestone in central Greece that towers above Delphi, north of the Gulf of Corinth, and offers scenic views of the surrounding olive groves and countryside. ... Euboea or Negropont (Modern Greek: Εύβοια Evia, Ancient Greek Εúβοια Eúboia; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is the largest island of the Greek archipelago. ... The Dorians were one of the ancient Hellenic tribes acknowledged by Greek writers. ...

Only rarely is the island mentioned by ancient authors. In the Battle of Salamis (480 BCE), Herodotus records that Kythnos contributed a trireme and a penteconter, and this contribution is commemorated on the base of a golden tripod at Delphi (Herodotus, Bk viii, 46). Combatants Greek city-states Persia Halicarnassus Commanders Eurybiades of Sparta Themistocles of Athens Adeimantus of Corinth Aristides of Athens Xerxes I of Persia Ariamenes † Artemisia Strength 366-380 ships 1 1000 - 1207 ships [1]2 Casualties 40 ships 200-500 ships 1 Herodotus gives 378 of the alliance, but the... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC Years: 485 BC 484 BC 483 BC 482 BC 481 BC _ 480 BC _ 479 BC... A Greek trireme A Roman trireme Triremes were ancient war galleys with three rows of oars on each side. ... A French galley and Dutch men-of-war off a port by Abraham Willaerts, painted 17th century. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The theatre, seen from above Delphi (Greek Δελφοί — Delphoi) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece. ...

Innumerable sources repeat, without providing a citation, that Aristotle praised the government of Kythnos in his "Constitution of Kythnos." Exactly what he wrote is difficult to ascertain, since all of his essays on the constitutions of 158 city-states are lost except for the one on Athens. (Possibly, the origin of the quote is from the 2nd century lexicographer Harpocration. See Smith, 1854. The entry on Kythnos is under the spelling "Cythnus"). Aristotle (Ancient Greek: Aristotélēs 384 – March 7, 322 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína (IPA: )) is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world, named after goddess Athena. ...

A Hellenistic site at Vryokastro, above the bay of Episkopi on the northwest part of the island, was partially excavated in the mid-20th century, yielding floor plans of houses and a sanctuary, as well as a few artifacts. In Greek newspaper articles of December 19, 2002, archaeologist Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian announced a spectacular discovery on this site: an inner sanctum (adyton) of the temple was found intact and unplundered. Over 1,400 objects, including precious jewels and gold, silver and bronze artifacts, terra cotta figurines, and painted vases, were excavated from what the archaeologists have determined is a 2,700-year-old temple dedicated to either Hera, queen of the gods, or Aphrodite, goddess of love. The artifacts date mostly from the 7th to the 5th centuries BCE. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Terra cotta is a hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction. ... In the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology, Hêra (IPA pronunciation: ; Greek or ) was the wife and sister of Zeus. ... Birth of Venus (a. ... A cartoonish version of the heart, a frequent modern symbol of love. ... (8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC - other centuries) (700s BC - 690s BC - 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC - 650s BC - 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC - 610s BC - 600s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Scythians arrived in Asia Collapse... (6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) The 5th and 6th centuries BC are a period of philosophical brilliance among advanced civilizations. ...

The site at Vryokastro was inhabited until Roman times. In this era, the islands of the Cyclades suffered frequent predation by pirates, and perhaps for this reason, the main settlements moved inland and to more defensible locations. Roman or Romans may refer to: History Ancient Rome Roman Kingdom (753 BC to 509 BC) Roman Republic (509 BC to 44 BC) Roman Empire (44 BC to AD 476) Roman citizen Byzantine Empire (330 to 1453), also known as the Eastern Roman Empire or the Empire of the Greeks... The Flag of 18th Century pirate Calico Jack This article is about sea piracy; for other uses of Piracy or Pirate, see Pirate (disambiguation). ...

Remains of another old settlement, with extensive stone walls, can be seen in the extreme northern headland. This site, called Kastro, was likely the capital of the island from about the time of Christ through the Byzantine era and into Frankish times. This site seems nearly impregnable: on three sides is a sheer 500-foot drop to the sea. The fourth side is approached via a narrow track, which was barricaded with a thick, high wall, parts of which are still extant (along with walls delineating hundreds of houses). Nevertheless, there is evidence that the town was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The population fluctuated dramatically during this period and at times the island was decimated due to marauders and plague (Smith, 1854 and Bent, 1885, reprinted 2002). This page is about the title. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... Look up plague in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In 1207, Kythnos came under the rule of the Frankish overload Marco Sanudo, and it remained in Venetian hands for 400 years. A chronology of the rulers can be found on the history ring website Regnal Chronologies. During this period, it was known as Thermia, a name derived from the hot mineral springs occurring on the northeastern coast at the village of Loutra (which means "baths" in Greek). These medicinal baths were renowned at least since Roman times and were a fashionable spa and resort area. The capital remained at Kastro, which was rebuilt as a Frankish fortress and was known as the Tower of Thermia (Smith, 1854 and Bent, 1885, reprinted 2002).

Following a siege, the Turks were victorious over the last Venetian overlord, Angelo Gozzadini, in 1617. (According to a story recounted by J.L. Bent in his 1885 travelogue on the Cyclades, Kastro fell only because of a treacherous ploy by the Turks: a young woman, heavy with child and apparently in pain, approached the entrance and begged to be admitted; the watchman's daughter opened the gate for her—and for the Turks hiding nearby. Bent writes that this version is preserved in a popular island ballad (Bent, 1885, reprinted 2002, chap. 17). Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

After its fall to the Turks, Kastro was abandoned and the new capital was located inland, as the name Messaria suggests. Later, this town became known as Hora (the generic Greek name for a capital town, also spelled Chora).

Under the Ottomans, Kythnos enjoyed religious freedom, but was a poor, under-populated place, still beset by pirates and suffering frequent epidemics. Most of its population succumbed to the plague in 1823. Nevertheless, it was one of the first islands to revolt against the Turks and join Mainland Greece in its fight for independence. During the reign of the first Greek King, Othon, Kythnos was a place of exile for political prisoners and was the scene of an unsuccessful revolt in 1862 by rebels from Syros who attempted to free the prisoners. EuroTravellingNet 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... A Youthful Portrait of King Otto of Greece Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria and King of Greece (Salzburg, June 1, 1815 - Bamberg, July 26, 1867) was made the first modern king of Greece in 1832 under the Convention of London, whereby Greece became a new independent kingdom under the... EXILE is a 6-member Japanese pop music band. ... A political prisoner may be someone held in prison or otherwise detained, perhaps under house arrest, because their ideas or image are deemed by a government to either challenge or threaten the authority of the state. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In the 19th century, Kythnians mainly earned their living as they had for centuries before: as shepherds or by fishing. The island had few natural resources and, lacking a deep-water mooring for boats, was relatively inaccessible. Then, as the new century dawned, iron ore was discovered on the island and Kythnians were able to supplement their meager incomes by working in the mines. These mines, however, were mostly played out by World War II, and once again, the population of the island went into decline, as young people left to find employment and a better life in Athens or even further afield. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

The Greek tourist boom beginning in the mid-20th century largely bypassed Kythnos because its harbor lacked a deep-water dock for ferryboats. The construction of a new mole in 1974 precipitated great changes. Today, the island is a modern, prosperous place, with a burgeoning tourist trade. It is in the forefront of alternative energy experiments, with the establishment in 1983 of Greece’s first wind park, which today supplies much of the island’s electricity. Numerous individual houses on remote coves are equipped with photovoltaic systems, and nearly all houses employ solar hot water heaters. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A solar cell, a form of photovoltaic cell, is a device that uses the photoelectric effect to generate electricity from light, thus generating solar power (energy). ...

Due to its proximity to Athens, Kythnos has become a fashionable setting for vacation homes, in addition to being an accessible destination for foreign visitors. Besides its numerous beaches and picturesque villages, it also is the site of one of the largest caves in Greece, Katafiki Cave in Dryopida. This cave, first visited in the 1830s and described by the geologist Fiedler, has unique "schratten" or rock curtains, as well as speleotherms. It was the site of an iron mine until 1939 and has now been developed as a tourist attraction.

References

• Bent, James Theodore, "The Cyclades: Life Among the Insular Greeks," 1885, reprinted in 2002 by Archaeopress, Oxford. Chapter 17 recounts his impressions of Kythnos
• Herodotus, "The History," trans. by David Greene, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, paperback edition, 1988
• Smith, William, ed., "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography," 1854. Can be accessed at the Tufts University Perseus Project.
• Vallinda, Antoniou, "History of the Island of Kythnos," monograph (in Greek), 1896, reprinted by the Syndesmos Kythnion, Athens, 1990.

External links

• Kythnos Island Travel Site Guide
• Inner Sanctum Discovery
• Official Island Website