Chidira ( el, Χίδηρα) is a village on the Greek island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...

(or ''Lesvos''), located at its western part and belonging to the municipal unit of

Eresos-Antissa Eresos-Antissa ( el, Ερεσός-Άντισσα) is a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. From the 2010 local government reform until 2019 it was part of the municipality of Lesbos and since 2019 it is a municipali ...

. Its population was 472 in 2011. Chidira borders with the villages Agra, Mesotopos,

Eresos Eresos (; el, Ερεσός; grc, Ἔρεσος) and its twin beach village Skala Eresou are located in the southwest part of the Greek island of Lesbos. They are villages visited by considerable numbers of tourists. From 1999 until 2010, Ereso ...

, Antissa, Revma, Pterounda and Vatousa. Chidira is the birthplace of

Georgios Jakobides Georgios Jakobides (Γεώργιος Ιακωβίδης; 11 January 1853 – 13 December 1932) was a painter and one of the main representatives of the Greek artistic movement of the Munich School. He founded and was the first curator of the Nati ...

or ''Iakovidis'', one of the most important Greek painters. Th
Jacobides Digital Museum
is located in Chidira.

A prehistoric site

A prehistoric site is on top of the hill ''Koirania'', right above the village. The site has not been excavated yet, but the dating of artifacts found there, including a stone

phallus A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisel ...

exhibited at Methymneos Winery (see below), indicate that it dates back to the beginning of the 5th millennium B.C.

Environment

The crater of the volcano which formed the

Petrified Forest of Lesbos The Lesvos Petrified Forest is a petrified wood forest on the island of Lesbos, Greece. The forest was formed from the fossilized remains of plants and trees, which can be found in many localities on the western part of Lesbos Island. Finds now ...

is located in the area. The soil is therefore very acidic and contains many

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

, including

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

and

copper sulfate Copper sulfate may refer to: * Copper(II) sulfate, CuSO4, a common compound used as a fungicide and herbicide * Copper(I) sulfate Copper(I) sulfate, also known as cuprous sulfate, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Cu2 SO4. It ...

. Vegetation consists of Mediterranean

shrubs A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

-trees and several species of waterplants at the banks of the numerous streams. The area harbors the only European colony of the plant "

Rhododendron luteum ''Rhododendron luteum'', the yellow azalea or honeysuckle azalea, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to southeastern Europe and southwest Asia. In Europe, it occurs from southern Poland and Austria south throu ...

", which favors the acidic soil. Furthermore, the region of Chidira is a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

and a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, owing to its abundant

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

and its distinct geological features and

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

Wine-making area

Methymneos Winery
owned by Ioannis Lambrou, is located in Chidira. The winery produces

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

wines made exclusively with the ''Chidiriotiko'' grape variety of Lesbos. The acidic, sulfuric soil of Chidira gives Methymnaeos wines a strong minerality and prevents vine diseases, thus favoring

organic farming Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

. Methymneos is the first commercial bottled wine in the history of the renowned ancient ''

Lesbian wine Lesbos wine is wine made on the Greek island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea. The island has a long history of winemaking dating back to at least the 7th century BC when it was mentioned in the works of Homer. During this time the area competed with t ...

''. Tours to the winery, offered every year in July, August and September by the owner himself, are free of charge.M. Barrett.
www.lesvos.com/wine

References

{{West Lesbos div Populated places in Lesbos