Agios Georgios ( el, Άγιος Γεώργιος) or San Giorgio is a Greek unpopulated and uninhabited island in the entry of

Saronic Gulf The Saronic Gulf (Greek: Σαρωνικός κόλπος, ''Saronikós kólpos'') or Gulf of Aegina in Greece is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis and forms part of the Aegean Sea. It defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Co ...

. It’s the largest uninhabited island of the

Saronic Islands The Saronic Islands or Argo-Saronic Islands is an archipelago in Greece, named after the Saronic Gulf in which they are located, just off the Greek mainland. The main inhabited islands of this group are Salamis Island, Salamis, Aegina, Agistri, a ...

with an area of 4.3 km².

History

In antiquity the island was named Belbina ( grc, Βέλβινα) and it is mentioned by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

in a dialogue between

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 ...

and his political opponent Timodemos from

Afidnes Afidnes ( el, Αφίδνες, or Ἀφίδναι, from the Middle Ages until 1919: Κιούρκα - ''Kiourka'') is a small town in East Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Oropos, of which it is ...

. There was also a town of the same name on the island. Though some scholars have proposed that Agios Georgios should be identified as the ancient

Psyttaleia Psyttaleia ( el, Ψυττάλεια) is an unpopulated and uninhabited island in the Saronic Gulf between the harbor of Piraeus and the Kynosoura peninsula on Salamis Island, Greece. It covers an area of 0.375 square kilometers. The island hous ...

which was involved in the

Battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was ...

, the consensus remains with the island that has long been known as Lipsokoutali, now renamed Psyttaleia.

Modern times

In 2016 a 73 MW

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

was built on the island by

Terna Energy Terna Energy ( el, ΤΕΡΝΑ Ενεργειακή) is a Greek renewable energy company that is listed on the Athens Exchange. The company is a subsidiary of Greek conglomerate GEK Terna, which through its subsidiary Heron S.A. is as well involv ...

, and delivers about 250 GWh electricity per year to Athens. Administratively, the island has belonged to the municipality of

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

since 1834. In recent years, the municipality of

Lavreotiki Lavreotiki is a municipality at the southeasternnmost tip of the Attica peninsula in the Greek regional unit of East Attica. Its municipal seat is the town of Laurium (''Lavrio''). It is historically important as a significant ancient mining dis ...

challenged the ownership of the island (and its associated wind farm revenues), however a 2017 legal judgement reaffirmed Hydra's ownership.

References

{{The Saronic Saronic Islands Uninhabited islands of Greece Wind farms in Greece