Andros ( grc, Ἄνδρος) was the chief city of, and a ''

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

'' (city-state) on, the island of

Andros Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fr ...

in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

. The city was named after the island, which, according to tradition, derived its name either from Andreus, a general of Rhadamanthus or from the seer Andrus. It was colonized by

Ionians The Ionians (; el, Ἴωνες, ''Íōnes'', singular , ''Íōn'') were one of the four major tribes that the Greeks considered themselves to be divided into during the ancient period; the other three being the Dorians, Aeolians, and Achae ...

, and early attained so much importance as to send colonies to Acanthus and

Stageira Stagira (), Stagirus (), or Stageira ( el, Στάγειρα or ) was an ancient Greek city located near the eastern coast of the peninsula of Chalkidice, which is now part of the Greek province of Central Macedonia. It is chiefly known for bei ...

Chalcidice Chalkidiki (; el, Χαλκιδική , also spelled Halkidiki, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos region c ...

about 654 BCE. The Andrians were compelled to join the fleet of

Xerxes I Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of ...

in his invasion of Greece, in 480 BCE; in consequence of which

Themistocles Themistocles (; grc-gre, Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. A ...

attempted to levy a large sum of money from the people, and upon their refusing to pay it, laid siege to their city, but was unable to take the place. The site was situated nearly in the middle of the western coast of the island, at the foot of a lofty mountain. Its citadel strongly fortified by nature is mentioned by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

. It had no harbour of its own, but it used one in the neighbourhood, called Gaurion (Γαύριον) by

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...

, and Gaureleon by Livy, and which still bears the ancient name of

Gavrio Gavrio ( el, Γαύριο), Andros is the first port to the Cyclades. This traditional village, with ruins dating to the Hellenistic Period, is on the southwest side of Andros and from the Attica port of Rafina Rafina ( el, Ραφήνα) is a su ...

. The site is located at Palaiopolis, where extensive ruins of the ancient city are to be found. Among other artefacts discovered there, were inscriptions, including an interesting hymn to

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

in hexameter verse. The town and its territory were celebrated for its wine in antiquity, and the whole island was regarded as sacred to

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

. There was a tradition that, during the festival of this god, a fountain flowed with wine.

References

Populated places in the ancient Aegean islands Former populated places in Greece Ancient Andros Greek city-states Ionian colonies Members of the Delian League {{AncientAegean-geo-stub