Agios Efstratios or Saint Eustratius ( el, Άγιος Ευστράτιος), colloquially Ai Stratis ( el, Άη Στράτης), anciently Halonnesus or Halonnesos ( grc, Ἁλόννησος), is a small Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea about southwest of Lemnos and northwest of Lesbos. The municipality has an area of 43.325 km². Together with Lemnos and nearby islets it forms the regional unit of Lemnos, part of the Greek archipelagic region of the North Aegean.

Name

Anciently the island was known as Halonnesus, and under this name was a bone of contention between

ancient Athens Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC, and its cultural achieve ...

and Macedon as was noted in ''

On the Halonnesus "On the Halonnesus" ( grc, Περὶ τῆς Ἀλοννήσου) is a political oration attributed to the prominent Athenian statesman and orator Demosthenes. The speech constitutes an Athenian response to a letter of Philip II of Macedon, with wh ...

'', attributed to Demosthenes. The island was named after Saint Eustratius (Όσιος Ευστράτιος ο Θαυματουργός), who lived on the island in the 9th century as an exile, because he was opposed to the iconoclastic policies of the Byzantine Emperor

Leo the Armenian Leo V the Armenian ( gr, Λέων ὁ ἐξ Ἀρμενίας, ''Leōn ho ex Armenias''; 775 – 25 December 820) was the Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed ...

. His grave is still being shown by the inhabitants. The island is mentioned in the Isolario by

Cristoforo Buondelmonti Cristoforo Buondelmonti (c. 1385 – c. 1430) was an Italian Franciscan priest and traveler, and a pioneer in promoting first-hand knowledge of Greece and its antiquities throughout the Western world. Biography Cristoforo Buondelmonti was born ar ...

in 1420 as Sanstrati. It was also known as "Bozbaba" during Ottoman rule. The Ottoman Census of 1831 states that the Island was composed of exclusively Greeks and that there were 310 Greek males of fit to fight. This registrar did not register women, orphans, Christians below the age of puberty, the mentally or physically incapacitated as well as high - ranking officials, so the actual population would be much higher.

Geography

Another view of the harbour of Agios Efstratios

Agios Efstratios is quiet, isolated and dry, with a population of approximately 300 people. The climate is arid, with little rainfall during the winter months and long, hot summers. The landscape is mostly rocky, with scarce and low vegetation. Locust infestation is a recurring problem. Crops are insignificant; the surrounding sea, however, is rich in fish which are fished by local fishermen. There are numerous beaches on the island such as Agios Antonios, Lemonies, Avlakia and others, most of which are reached by caique. Agios Efstratios Island is linked by boat with Limnos, Agios Konstantinos, Kymi and Kavala.

Recent political history

The island was used to house political prisoners in internal exile since the 1930s. The first communists were exiled to the island with the

Idionymon ''Idionymon'' ( el, ιδιώνυμο, literally "that which has its own name", also translated as "special illegal act" or ''delictum sui generis''), is a Greek legal term referring to a criminal offense which is treated distinctly from the general ...

law of

Venizelos Venizelos () is a Greek surname. It may refer to: * Eleftherios Venizelos (1864–1936), Greek politician * Sofoklis Venizelos (1894–1964), Greek politician, son of the above * Evangelos Venizelos (born 1957), Greek politician, unrelated to the ...

, later during the Metaxas Regime and again during the

Greek civil war The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

. After Makronisos it became the largest prison island in Aegean. During the Greek military junta of 1967–74, the island was again used as a prison for political dissidents. Exiles here included

Ilias Iliou Ilias Iliou (, also transliterated as ''Ēlías Ēlioú''; May 1904 – 25 January 1985) was a Greek lawyer and politician, member of the Greek Parliament and leader of the United Democratic Left (EDA). He was also a distinguished writer and j ...

Stefanos Sarafis Stefanos Sarafis ( el, Στέφανος Σαράφης, 23 October 1890 – 31 May 1957) was an officer of the Hellenic Army and Major General in EAM-ELAS), who played an important role during the Greek Resistance. Early life and career Saraf ...

, Dimitris Glinos,

Kostas Varnalis Kostas Varnalis ( el, Κώστας Βάρναλης; 14 February 1884 – 16 December 1974) was a Greek poet. Life Varnalis was born in Burgas, Eastern Rumelia (now in Bulgaria), in 1884. As his name suggests, his family originated from Va ...

Tasos Leivaditis Tasos Leivaditis ( el, Τάσος Λειβαδίτης; 1922–1988) was a Greece, Greek poet, short story writer and literary critic who belonged to the postwar generation that was deeply marked by the struggles and failures of the communist move ...

, Yiannis Ritsos,

Menelaos Lountemis Menelaos Lountemis ( el, Μενέλαος Λουντέμης; 1906 – 22 January 1977) was the pen name one of the most important essayists in the Greek interwar period and post-World War II era. His pen name was inspired by his later homeland ...

Manos Katrakis Emmanuel "Manos" Katrakis ( el, Εμμανουήλ (Μάνος) Κατράκης; 14 August 1908 – 3 September 1984) was a Greek actor of theater and film.Mikis Theodorakis. On 19 February 1968, an earthquake (7.1 on the Richter scale) demolished most of the houses, which were replaced by concrete prefabricated buildings laid out in a military-like camp formation. Nonetheless, the island retains a very attractive capital, also called Agios Efstratios, while preserving a rather unspoiled Mediterranean environment with pristine beaches. It is mostly a place for relaxation and meditation.

Greece's first green island

Athens News Agency reported that, on 4 June 2009, at a two-day international conference in Athens on " Climate change and Challenges for the Future Generations"International Conference: Climate Change and Challenges for the Future Generations
under the patronage of UNESCO, Greece's Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said that Agios Efstratios would soon become the country's first "green" island, entirely powered by

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

sources (RES), its residents relying on solar and wind generated energy and moving around the island on bicycles and in electric cars. Hatzidakis said a €10 million project would be implemented by 2010. At the same conference Professor Philippos Tsalidis, Development Ministry General Secretary for Research and Technology, said that although Greece's energy needs currently required strategic reliance on natural gas, Aghios Efstratios, could serve as a global model for 100% reliance on RES. Agios Efstratios is included in the European Union's

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

network of nature protected areas.

Transportation

Agios Efstratios has one port, which offers year-round ferry connections to the island of Lemnos, as well to mainland Greece, namely Lavrio. The ship operating these routes is owned by Hellenic Seaways. There is also a small heliport on the main village outskirts, but it is used mostly for emergency airlift, or coast guard and military helicopters' stopover.

Appearance in popular media

Agios Efstratios serves as the basis for the fictional island of Stratis in the 2013 video game Arma 3, along with its northern counterpart of Lemnos, fictionalized as "Altis", the governing body of the two islands. However, "Stratis" in Arma 3 has some critical differences from Agios Efstratios, including numerous additional military bases scattered around the island in-game, and a large airport built off artificial land into the sea south-west of the village of Agios Efstratios. In the game, it is located south of Altis, based on Lemnos. The Republic of Altis and Stratis is located just south of Malta in the game, as opposed to east of Greece.

Gallery

File:Agios Efstratios.jpg, View File:Άποψη του χωριού.jpg, Overview File:Αλωνίτσι.jpg, Alonitsi beach

References

External links

Documentary about Agios Efstratios

Municipality of Agios Efstratios Official Page - Δήμος Αγίου Ευστρατίου Επίσημη Ιστοσελίδα

Agios Efstratios Sea Pilot
{{Authority control Landforms of Lemnos (regional unit) Municipalities of the North Aegean Islands of the North Aegean