Donousa ( el, Δονούσα, also Δενούσα ''Denousa''), and sometimes spelled Donoussa, is an island and a former

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

in the

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The nam ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Naxos and Lesser Cyclades Naxos and Lesser Cyclades ( el, Νάξος και Μικρές Κυκλάδες) is a municipality in the Naxos regional unit, South Aegean region, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Naxos (city). The municipality consists of the Cyc ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. Donousa is the easternmost island of the Lesser Cyclades.

Geography

Donousa is located east of the island of

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

and about north of

Amorgos Amorgos ( el, Αμοργός, ; ) is the easternmost island of the Cyclades island group and the nearest island to the neighboring Dodecanese island group in Greece. Along with 16 neighboring islets, the largest of which (by land area) is Niko ...

. Its area is and its highest point is . Its population is 167 inhabitants (2011 census), most of which live in the main settlement Donousa (also ''Stavros''). Other villages include Mersini (on the southeastern coast), Kalotaritissa (near its northern coastline) and Charavgi (in the south).

History

Tracing all the way back to ancient

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

in the prehistoric times,

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 ...

, the god of winemaking and wine, took

Ariadne Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...

from Naxos to hide her from

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

. There is also evidence of inhabitation on Donousa during the Early Cycladic period, around 3,000 BC. The island during the Roman times, was additionally considered to be the place where exiles were deported. Later, it became the favourite hideout spot of Mediterranean pirates. Throughout time, the island was ruled by various civilisations including the Venetians and Turks.

Towns

Agios Stavros is the main port and capital of Donousa. When visiting the Agios Stavros port and town, one will find a variety of taverns, cafes, bakeries, mini markets, rooms for rental and other touristic facilities. Other towns and villages on the island include Kalotaritissa, Haravgi and Mersini.

References

{{Authority control Islands of Greece Lesser Cyclades Landforms of Naxos (regional unit) Islands of the South Aegean Populated places in Naxos (regional unit)