Makronisos ( el, Μακρόνησος, lit. ''Long Island''), or Makronisi, is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Aegean sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

, in

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 ...

, notorious as the site of a

political prison A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

from the 1920s to the 1970s. It is located close to the coast of

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

, facing the port of

Lavrio Laurium or Lavrio ( ell, Λαύριο; grc, Λαύρειον (later ); before early 11th century BC: Θορικός ''Thorikos''; from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια ''Ergastiria'') is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greec ...

. The island has an elongated shape, north to south and east to west at its widest point, and its terrain is arid and rocky. It is the largest uninhabited Greek island. It is part of the

Kea-Kythnos Kea-Kythnos ( el, Περιφερειακή ενότητα Κέας-Κύθνου) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of South Aegean. The regional unit covers the islands of Kea, Kythnos, Makronisos and several smaller ...

regional unit The 74 regional units of Greece ( el, περιφερειακές ενότητες, ; sing. , ) are the country's Seventy-four second-level administrative units. They are divisions of the country's 13 regions, and are further divided into municipa ...

and in the municipality of

Kea The kea (; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the family Nestoridae found in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange under its wing ...

History

In ancient times the island was called Helen ( grc, Ἑλένη). It protected the ancient harbours of

Thorikos Thoricus or Thorikos ( grc, Θορικός) was a city, and later a ''deme'' in the southern portion of ancient Attica, one of the twelve original settlements that were united in the ''synoikismos'' attributed to Theseus to form Archaic Athens. I ...

and

Sounion Cape Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο ''Akrotírio Soúnio'' ; grc, Ἄκρον Σούνιον ''Άkron Soúnion'', latinized ''Sunium''; Venetian: ''Capo Colonne'' "Cape of Columns") is the promontory at the southernmost ...

. It was also called Macris (Μάκρις), from its length.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

describes it as 60

stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...

(9.4 km) in length; but its real length is seven geographical miles (12 km). It was uninhabited in antiquity, as it is at the present day; and it was probably only used then for the pasture of cattle. Both Strabo and

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC *Pausanias of Sicily, physician of th ...

derive its name from

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

, the wife of

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

: the latter writer supposes that it was so called because Helen landed here after the capture of

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

; but Strabo identifies it with the Homeric

Cranae Cranae or Kranai ( el, Κρανάη ) (also Marathonisi) is an island off the coast of Gytheio (ancient Gythium) connected to the land by a causeway built in 1898. Etymology Some believe that the etymology for the name Cranae (Kranai) comes from ...

, to which

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

fled with Helen, and supposes that its name was hence changed into Helena. There cannot, however, be any doubt that the Homeric Cranaë was opposite

Gythium Gytheio ( el, Γύθειο, ) or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion ( grc, Γύθειον), is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government ...

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

. The

Kea Channel ISS009-E-15405-Kea-Makronisos

The Kea Channel, is a pass ...

between Makronisos and neighbouring

was the site of the sinking, in 1916, of HMHS ''Britannic'', sister ship of the RMS ''Titanic''.

Prison camp

Makronisos was used as a military prison island and concentration camp from the time of the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

until the restoration of democracy, following the collapse of the

Regime of the Colonels In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...

in 1974. Torture methods were used among others. Because of its history, it is considered a monument of the civil war era; therefore the island and the original structures on it are protected from alteration. Among the prisoners of Makronisos were Apostolos Santas,

Nikos Koundouros Nikos Koundouros ( el, Νίκος Κούνδουρος; 15 December 1926 – 22 February 2017) was a Greek film director. Biography Koundouros was born in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, in 1926. He studied painting and sculpture at the Athens School of F ...

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( el, Μιχαήλ "Μίκης" Θεοδωράκης ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He Film score, scored for the films ''Zorba the Greek (film) ...

Leonidas Kyrkos Leonidas Kyrkos (; 12 October 1924 – 28 August 2011) was a Greek leftist politician and member of the Hellenic Parliament and the European Parliament. Life Leonidas Kyrkos was born in Heraklion, Crete, to Greek politician Michail Kyrkos, who ...

and

Thanasis Vengos Thanasis Veggos (alternatively spelt Thanassis and/or Vengos; Greek language, Greek: Θανάσης Βέγγος; pronounced: ''Thanássis Véngos''; 29 May 19273 May 2011) was a Greece, Greek actor and director born in Neo Faliro, Piraeus. He perf ...

Films

* ''Le Nouveau Parthénon'' (1975) by Kostas Chronopoulos and Giogos Chrysovitsianos. * '' Happy Day'' (1976) by

Pantelis Voulgaris Pantelis Voulgaris ( el, Παντελής Βούλγαρης; born 23 October 1940) is a Greek film director and screenwriter. His first feature film ''To proxenio tis Annas'' in 1972 won the first prize in Thessaloniki International Film Festiv ...

. * ''Makronissos'' (2008), by Ilias Giannakakis and Evi Karabatsou. * ''

Like Stone lions at the gateway into night ''Like Stone Lions at the Gateway into Night'' (french: Comme des lions de pierre à l'entrée de la nuit) is a 2012 documentary film by Olivier Zuchuat. Summary Between 1947 and 1950, more than 80,000 Greek citizens were imprisoned on the isle o ...

'' (2012), by

Olivier Zuchuat Olivier Zuchuat is a Swiss film director. Born in 1969 in Geneva. After studying theoretical physics at EPFL and Trinity College and literature he became a teaching assistant at the University of Lausanne ( Switzerland). He directed several ...

References

* Hamilakis, Yannis, "The Other 'Parthenon': Antiquity and National Memory at Makronisos", ''

Journal of Modern Greek Studies The ''Journal of Modern Greek Studies'' is an academic journal founded in 1983, and is the official publication of the Modern Greek Studies Association. It is devoted to the study of social, cultural, and political affairs in modern Greece, define ...

'' 20:2 (October 2002), pp. 307–338.

External links

*http://www.abettergreece.com/Makronissos_en.html {{Authority control History of Greece (1949–1974) Uninhabited islands of Greece Internment camps Landforms of Kea-Kythnos Prison islands