![Saint Irene church in Eresos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Saint_Irene_church_in_Eresos.jpg)
Eresos (; el, Ερεσός; grc, Ἔρεσος) and its twin beach village
Skala Eresou are located in the southwest part of 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 Asia Minor by the nar ...
. They are villages visited by considerable numbers of tourists. From 1999 until 2010, Eresos and the village of Antissa constituted the municipality 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 ...
. From 2010 until 2019, Eresos was part of the municipality of Lesvos and from 2019 it is part of the municipality of
West Lesvos.
Geography
![Eresos alley, Lesvos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Eresos_alley%2C_Lesvos.jpg)
The municipal unit of Eresos–Antissa contains five other villages: Messotopos, Vatoussa,
Chidira
Chidira ( el, Χίδηρα) is a village on the Greek island of Lesbos (or ''Lesvos''), located at its western part and belonging to the municipal unit of Eresos-Antissa. Its population was 472 in 2011. Chidira borders with the villages Agra, M ...
, Sigri and Pterounda located in the west and most barren part of the island. Bare rocky hills, derived from ancient volcanic activity, dominate the area.
Skala Eresou is a centre for international tourism and is a favorite spot of Greek families, young people as well as gay women. With its long beautiful beach with dark volcanic sand and its crystal-clear unpolluted water, Skala Eressou was awarded
Blue Flag status by the Foundation for Environmental Education.
History
Archaic period
Stephanus of Byzantium, a lexicographer of the 6th century AD, claimed that the city was named after Eresos, a son of the mythical king of Lesbos,
Macar
In Greek mythology, Macar (; Ancient Greek: Μάκαρ ''Makar'') or Macareus (; Μακαρεύς ''Makareus'' means 'happy') or Macareas (, ''Makareas''), is the name of several individuals:
* Macareus, an Arcadian prince as one of the 50 sons ...
. Archaeology suggests that the city of Eresos was founded in the 8th or 7th century BC. Information about Eresos before the Classical period is extremely scant. The lyric poet
Sappho may have been born at Eresos c. 620 BCE and belonged to an important family who were socially prominent at
Mytilene
Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...
, the island's most important city. In addition, the oldest Greek inscription on the island, which dates to the 6th century BCE, has been found in the hills above Eresos, and is thought to have belonged to a temple. The remains of defensive towers and large enclosures thought to have had a religious purpose built in the decorative Lesbian polygonal style and located at the edges of Eresian territory suggests a certain degree of wealth and prosperity in the Archaic period.
Classical period
Eresos, along with
Antissa
Antissa ( grc, Ἄντισσα) was a city of the island Lesbos (Lesvos), near to Cape Sigrium, the western point of Lesbos. The place had a harbour. The ruins found by Richard Pococke at Calas Limneonas, a little NE. of cape Sigri, may be those ...
and Pyrrha, was one of the minor cities on Lesbos in the 5th century BCE. When Mytilene revolted from the
Delian League in summer 428, Eresos supported Mytilene. The following year, it fell to the Athenian general Paches and, along with the other cities of the island except for
Methymna
Mithymna () ( el, Μήθυμνα, also sometimes spelled ''Methymna'') is a town and former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of West Lesbos, of wh ...
, had an Athenian
cleruchy
A cleruchy (, ''klēroukhia'') in Classical Greece, was a specialized type of colony established by Athens. The term comes from the Greek word , ''klērouchos'', literally "lot-holder".
History
Normally, Greek colonies were politically independen ...
imposed on it. In the latter part of the
Peloponnesian War, Eresos went back and forth between Athenian and Spartan control on a number of occasions. In summer 412, Eresos revolted from Athens and joined the Spartan admiral Astyochus in making an unsuccessful attempt to seize Methymna. When Astyochus' attempt to take Lesbos failed, Eresos returned to Athenian control. The following year, exiles from Methymna again raised Eresos in revolt. The Athenian commanders,
Thrasyllus
Thrasyllus (; grc-gre, Θράσυλλος; died 406 BC) was an Athenian strategos (general) and statesman who rose to prominence in the later years of the Peloponnesian War. First appearing in Athenian politics in 410 BC, in the wake of the Ath ...
at Methymna and
Thrasybulus
Thrasybulus (; grc-gre, Θρασύβουλος ; 440 – 388 BC) was an Athenian general and democratic leader. In 411 BC, in the wake of an oligarchic coup at Athens, the pro-democracy sailors at Samos elected him as a general, making him a ...
on
Samos
Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...
, both despatched forces to retake Eresos. This siege was called off when the Athenians realised they had been out-flanked by the Spartan admiral
Mindarus. Following the Athenian victory at the
Battle of Arginusae
The naval Battle of Arginusae took place in 406 BC during the Peloponnesian War near the city of Canae in the Arginusae islands, east of the island of Lesbos. In the battle, an Athenian fleet commanded by eight strategoi defeated a Spartan fle ...
in 406, Eresos may have fallen under Athenian control as the rest of the island did. Whatever the case, in 405 the Spartan commander
Lysander
Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an en ...
imposed garrisons and Spartan governors on the cities of Lesbos, which remained in place for the next two decades.
Spartan control of Eresos ended in 389 when the Athenian commander Thrasybulus retook the city. In 377 Eresos is recorded as a member of the
Second Athenian League The Second Athenian League was a maritime confederation of Aegean city-states from 378 to 355 BC and headed by Athens, primarily for self-defense against the growth of Sparta and secondly, the Persian Empire.
Background
In 478 BC, Athens found ...
. About 371,
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routle ...
, remembered as the "father of botany", was born at Eresos; he spent his entire career at Athens, where he succeeded
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
as head of the
Peripatetic school
The Peripatetic school was a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece. Its teachings derived from its founder, Aristotle (384–322 BC), and ''peripatetic'' is an adjective ascribed to his followers.
The school dates from around 335 BC when Aristo ...
. From 377 down to 332, the chronology of Eresian politics is difficult to establish with any certainty.
Phaenias of Eresus was also a native of the town. Athens is thought to have lost control of Eresos following the
Social War (357–355 BC)
The Social War, also known as the War of the Allies, was fought from 357 BC to 355 BC between Athens with the Second Athenian League and the allied city-states of Chios, Rhodes, Cos and Byzantion.
Origins
Provoked by Athens' increasingly domina ...
, after which its power in the Aegean waned. It was perhaps at this point that the tyranny of Apollodorus and his brothers took power. This family and their descendants remained in power until 336, when
Attalus and
Parmenion
Parmenion (also Parmenio; grc-gre, Παρμενίων; c. 400 – 330 BC), son of Philotas, was a Macedonian general in the service of Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. A nobleman, Parmenion rose to become Philip's chief milita ...
campaigned in the region against the Persians at the behest of
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...
. It is assumed that a democracy was set up at Eresos and the city enrolled in the
League of Corinth
The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was create ...
. In 335,
Memnon of Rhodes
Memnon of Rhodes (Greek: Μέμνων ὁ Ῥόδιος; c. 380 – 333 BC) was a prominent Rhodian Greek commander in the service of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Related to the Persian aristocracy by the marriage of his sister to the satr ...
retook this region for the
Persian Empire and re-installed the tyranny of Apollodorus and his brothers. In spring 334,
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
invaded Asia Minor, and it is assumed that the cities of Lesbos (including Eresos) went over to the Macedonian forces soon after his victory at the
Battle of the Granicus
The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydus to Dascylium, at the crossing of the Gr ...
in May 334; again, the tyrants will have been expelled and the Eresian democrats re-installed. In 333, the admiral Memnon of Rhodes again attacked the island of Lesbos: he seized all the cities except for Mytilene and installed a new pair of tyrants at Eresos, Eurysilaus and Agonippus. A long inscription later set up at Eresos c. 306-301 by the Eresian democrats claims (not without partisan intent) that the tyrants committed many crimes, including expelling the men from the city, holding their women hostage on the acropolis, and exacting large sums of money from the populace, as well as helping the Persians commit piracy against Greek shipping.
[''Inscriptiones Graecae'' XII (2) 526 ]
OGIS 8
).
In 332, Alexander's admiral
Hegelochus of Macedon retook Lesbos from the Persians once and for all and brought Eurysilaus and Agonippus to be tried before Alexander in Egypt, where he left their fate in the hands of the newly restored Eresian democracy. The same long inscription which records the alleged crimes of the tyrants also details their trial which ended in their execution.
Biographical traditions of the philosophers
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routle ...
and
Phaenias of Eresos claims that they were involved in the overthrow of tyranny at Eresos. Efforts were made by the exiled relatives of Apollodorus and his brothers to return to Eresos in 324 and 319 and by the exiled relatives of Agonippus and Eurysilaus to return c. 306-301, but on all three occasions the Eresian democracy was successfully able to argue that they should not be obliged to take back their exiles.
Hellenistic period
The history of Eresos after the Classical period is only known from its inscriptions, as almost no mention is made of it in the literary sources which survive. In the last two decades of the 4th century BCE Eresos had been subject to
Antigonus I Monophthalmus. After Antigonus' defeat at the
Battle of Ipsus in 301, the region of north west
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
and the adjacent islands went over to King
Lysimachus until his death at the
Battle of Corupedium
The Battle of Corupedium, also called Koroupedion, Corupedion or Curupedion ( grc, Κύρου πεδίον or Κόρου πεδίον, "the plain of Kyros or Koros") was the last battle between the Diadochi, the rival successors to Alexander the Gr ...
in 281. In the following decades, the cities of Lesbos with the exception of Mytilene drifted into the
Ptolemaic sphere of influence. Ptolemaic influence at Eresos in the second half of the 3rd century BCE is indicated by the creation of a religious festival in honour of the Ptolemaic royal family called the Ptolemaia at which gymnastic competitions were held.
Political infighting at the Ptolemaic court following the accession of
Ptolemy V Epiphanes in 205 and the campaigns of
Antiochus III
Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...
in the years following led to the disintegration of Ptolemaic influence in the north Aegean. The power vacuum was filled by
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
, which soon after agreed a treaty of alliance with Eresos and the other cities of Lesbos. In the first half of the 2nd century BCE, Eresos also drew closer to the other cities of Lesbos under the aegis of the Lesbian ''koinon'', a quasi-federal organisation which had existed on the island in various forms since the early 6th century BCE, but became more active in times when a common danger was perceived. This period of Eresian history also saw closer ties with Rome, at this time an emerging power in the Eastern Mediterranean. Two Romans are honoured in a list of
''proxenoi'' from Eresos dating to the last third of the 3rd century BCE, one of the earliest appearances of
''negotiatores'' in the Greek East. An inscription recording a letter sent to Eresos by a Roman magistrate and another document honouring the Romans as benefactors of the Greeks, both of which date to the 2nd century BCE, indicate that Eresos, much like the other cities on Lesbos, sought to forge closer ties with Rome. The complete destruction of neighbouring
Antissa
Antissa ( grc, Ἄντισσα) was a city of the island Lesbos (Lesvos), near to Cape Sigrium, the western point of Lesbos. The place had a harbour. The ruins found by Richard Pococke at Calas Limneonas, a little NE. of cape Sigri, may be those ...
in 167 will have been a further encouragement to do so.
Imperial period
It is unclear what role Eresos played in the
Mithridatic Wars
The Mithridatic Wars were three conflicts fought by Rome against the Kingdom of Pontus and its allies between 88 BC and 63 BC. They are named after Mithridates VI, the King of Pontus who initiated the hostilities after annexing the Roman provi ...
against Rome (88-63 BCE) and whether, like Mytilene, it subsequently suffered for its anti-Roman stance following victory over
Mithridates VI of Pontus. However, by the reign of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
the elites of Eresos had become fiercely pro-Roman. There were cults to the Emperor Augustus, his wife
Livia, and his heirs
Lucius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...
and
Gaius
Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen).
People
* Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist
*Gaius Acilius
*Gaius Antonius
*Gaius Antonius Hybrida
*Gaius Asinius Gallus
*Gaius Asinius P ...
Caesar, and the people of Eresos further honoured Gaius Caesar and Claudius Nero, later the Emperor
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
, by electing them honorary ''prytanis'' in certain years, the most important magistracy at Eresos. Prominent Eresian aristocrats won Roman citizenship for their descendants by participating in the Imperial cult, dedicating altars and temples to the Imperial family, and arranging festivals in their honour. A fragmentary inscription indicates that Eresos successfully petitioned Augustus in 12 BCE on an unknown matter, while in c. 7-4 BCE
Publius Quinctilius Varus, the Roman senator and friend of Augustus later defeated at the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster () by Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese in AD 9, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius ...
in 9 CE, may have visited Eresos on his way to
Syria and conferred Roman citizenship on one of the city's prominent families. In addition, numerous funerary epitaphs and other monuments indicate the existence of a permanently resident Roman population form the 1st century BCE onwards.
Modern Period
The resettlement of the inhabitants, from the current coastal location of Skala Eressos or Eressos Beach (Paralia Eressos) to the current location of the Eressos Village, which is located about four kilometres from the beach, is estimated at the end of the 17th century and is due to the avoidance of pirate raids.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the doctor Antonios Ar. Koukos, assessing the location of the village as unsuitable from a health point of view and detrimental from an economic point of view, recommended the relocation to the present-day Eressos Beach. To support it, he was the first to relocate. Then others gradually began to settle in Eressos Beach permanently. At the expense of the holy monasteries of Ypsilo and Pythari, the enclosure and repair of the chapel on the Beach was carried out. The priest of the church was maintained by the numerous residents of Eressos Beach with their contribution.
Demographics
Sport
The only sport club based in Eresos is a
football team whose name is AO Papanikolís ( el, Αθλητικός Όμιλος Παπανικολής), founded in 1979 and currently playing in one of
local football championships of Greece :''The first version of this article has been based in the text of the Greek Wikipedia published under GFDL.''
Local football championships of Greece are lowest leagues of the Greek Football. The participants are only amateur clubs from various G ...
, lowest leagues of
Greek football. Its name was taken in honor of admiral
Dimitrios Papanikolis and its main colors are red and blue.
In literature
Eresos is the setting of
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell.
Born in India to British colonial p ...
's ''Sappho: a Play in Verse'' (1950), set in the Archaic period; Durrell invents an episode in which an earthquake causes a large part of the city to be submerged beneath the sea.
[Eric Salmon, ''Is the Theatre Still Dying?'', Greenwood Press (1985) 115.]
Eresos makes a brief appearance in the novel ''
Sure of You'', the sixth volume in the series ''
Tales of the City
''Tales of the City'' is a series of nine novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2014, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBT. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally serial ...
'' by
Armistead Maupin
Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. ( ) (born May 13, 1944) is an American writer notable for '' Tales of the City'', a series of novels set in San Francisco.
Early life
Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., to Diana Jane (Barton) and Armistead Jones Ma ...
. In the chapter entitled "The Third Whale", Skala Eressou is described as a seaside town with concrete buildings and a beach of coarse grey sand. Some places in the town are described. These include the shop on the square where Mona found the key rings inscribed with the name "
Sappho", the hotel called "Sappho the Eressian" where Mona stays in a spare, clean room with a single bed and a lone lamp, the big grey bluff at the end of the beach where more nude bathers were gathered, and the famous tents put up by the women who were part of Sappho's tribe.
See also
*
List of settlements in Lesbos
References
External links
"Theophrastos" Association of all over the World EresiansEressos.com
{{Authority control
Populated places in Lesbos