Lichades or Lichadonisia ( el, Λιχάδες or Λιχαδονήσια) is an island complex off the north west of

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

, in the

North Euboean Gulf The North Euboean Gulf ( el, Βόρειος Ευβοϊκός Κόλπος, ''Voreios Evvoïkos Kolpos'') is a gulf of the Aegean Sea. It separates the northern part of the island Euboea from the mainland of Central Greece. The narrow Euripus Strai ...

. The islands located opposite

Lichada Lichada ( el, Λιχάδα, ''Licháda'') is a village in Euboea, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Istiaia-Aidipsos, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 39.891 km2. In ...

cape in the north-western extreme of Euboea and opposite of small town

Kamena Vourla Kamena Vourla ( el, Καμένα Βούρλα, lit=Burnt Rushes, ) is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. At the 2011 local government reform it became part of the municipality ''Molos-Agios Konstantinos'' (of which it became the sea ...

Central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...

mainland. Administratively, they belong to

Istiaia-Aidipsos Istiaia-Aidipsos ( el, Ιστιαία-Αιδηψός) is a municipality in the Euboea regional unit, Central Greece, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Istiaia. The municipality has an area of 509.204 km2. Municipality The muni ...

municipality, in

regional unit.

Description

The complex consists of seven islands and islets. The biggest of them is Manolia and is the only that had residents in the past. The other six are Strongyli, Mikri Strongyli, Steno, Vagia, Vorias and Limani. The biggest island, Manolia has a beautiful beach and is visited by many tourists in the summer. In the past had a small settlement but nowadays is forsaken. Strongyli is the second largest island and on top has a big lighthouse.

History

Lichades were formed after the huge earthquake of 426 B.C., when the land between them sank in the Euboean Sea. According to

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 ...

, their name comes from

Lichas :''Lichas can also refer to Lichas the Spartan, who discovered the bones of Orestes, or a genus of trilobite'' In Greek mythology, Lichas (; el, Λίχας) was Hercules's servant, who brought the poisoned shirt from Deianira to Hercules beca ...

, the servant of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

who brought the poisoned shirt from

Deianira Deianira, Deïanira, or Deianeira (; Ancient Greek: Δηϊάνειρα, ''Dēiáneira'', or , ''Dēáneira'', ), also known as Dejanira, is a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name translates as "man-destroyer" or "destroyer of her hu ...

to Hercules. Hercules hurled him to the sea and from his parts these small islands were formed. The islands are one of the suggested locations for the

Battle of the Echinades (322 BC) The Battle of the Echinades was one of the naval battles of the Lamian War (323–322 BC), fought between the Macedonian navy under Cleitus the White and the Athenian navy. Background The Lamian War or Hellenic War was fought by a coalition o ...

, which ended Athenian

thalassocracy A thalassocracy or thalattocracy sometimes also maritime empire, is a state with primarily maritime realms, an empire at sea, or a seaborne empire. Traditional thalassocracies seldom dominate interiors, even in their home territories. Examples ...

References

External links

*
lichadonisia.com
{{Euboean Sea Islands Archipelagoes of Greece Landforms of Euboea (regional unit) Landforms of Central Greece