The Castle of Mytilene, also Fortress of Mytilene, is located in

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 ...

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 Asia Minor by the nar ...

North Aegean The North Aegean Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Voríou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the isla ...

. It is maintained in good condition and is one of the largest castles in the Mediterranean covering an area of 60 acres. The first castle on the site may have been erected during the time of

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renova ...

(ruled 527–565). The 6th-century castle may have been built on top of an already existent fortress. In the late

Middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the castle was the residence of

Francesco I Gattilusio Francesco I Gattilusio (died 6 August 1384) was the first member of the Gattilusio family to rule the Aegean island of Lesbos as a vassal of the Byzantine emperor. Freebooter The Gattilusio family came from the Republic of Genoa. The parents of F ...

and his successors, especially the tower known today as the Queen's Tower. There is also strong evidence that the original acropolis on the site may have included a sanctuary to Demeter, Kore and Cybele.

History of the castle

The

castle fortress sits on a hill between the city’s northern and southern ports. From the writing of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, the island of Lesbos has been an organized city since 1054 BC. The early harbor of Mytilene was united during ancient times with a channel 700 meters long and 30 meters wide. The Greek word Εύριπος or Euripus is a commonly used term when referring to a strait. The strait allowed ancient 3 rower or more sail boats called

Trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...

. The boats that passed were 34 meters and had depth of 4 meters. The castle at this point was east of the island. Castle island was inhabited by people. The areas of the city that were densely populated connected the two bodies of land with marble bridges, one of which can still be seen under a modern building. They usually followed a curved line. The straight begin at the old market called Epano Skala. It was also close to Metropolis Street and ended at the Southern Harbor. One could argue that the channel transversed what is now called Ermoo Street. By the 16th century, if not earlier, the channel was filled in. The original nucleus of the fortress, designed in Byzantine times, is believed to have been built on top of the ancient acropolis. According to an old text found in the language Aeolic of Lesbos. Mytilene was spelled in many different styles two such examples were Mytileanaean and as referenced by

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 ...

Maloeis, which was a harbor in Lesbos. According to the same text a Temple of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

existed in Maloeis as we learn from

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

. Temples usually were erected at the Acropolis. A Temple of Apollo may have existed within the Castle infrastructure. Another Case was made by Susan-Marie Cronkite in her Doctoral thesis that a Sanctuary of Demeter may have rested at the Acropolis throughout Mytilene's history. The city flourished and was in League with the King of Macedon, Lesbos joined a revolt against Rome 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 ...

and in 88 BC the Romans destroyed Mytilene and the Temple of Mytilene assumed Apollo's Temple. They extended domination over the whole island.

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

later gave Mytilene autonomy, which Emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

revoked in 70 AD but Emperor Hadrian Later restored.

Theophanes of Mytilene Theophanes of Mytilene ( grc-gre, Θεοφάνης ὁ Μυτιληναῖος) was an intellectual and historian from the town of Mytilene on the island of Lesbos who lived in the middle of the 1st century BC. He was a friend of Pompey and wrot ...

lived in the 1st century, he was a historian and intellectual who was friends with

according to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

he granted freedoms to

for Theophanes sake. According to excavations both in the Castle of Mytilene and elsewhere in the town archeologists have uncovered a variety bronze coins Commemorating Theophanes portrait.
Roman Period The first significant alterations to the fortress were made by

in 1373. The castle was Siege of Mytilene (1462), bombarded and captured by the Ottomans in 1462. In 1501, Sultan Bayezid II repaired the damage suffered by the Castle during the

Ottoman–Venetian War (1499–1503) The Second Ottoman–Venetian War was fought between the Islamic Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice for control of the lands that were contested between the two parties in the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Adriatic Sea. The war lasted f ...

, and built two large round towers with cannon and developed new walls. New construction to modernize the castle was undertaken in 1643-1644 by Bekir Pasha, in the days of Sultan Ibrahim Khan, perhaps in view of the

Cretan War (1645–69) Cretan War may refer to multiple wars involving the island of Crete, including: * Cretan War (205–200 BC), a war between King Philip V of Macedon and Rhodes * Cretan War (1645–69), a war between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire Se ...

or because of destruction by earthquake. They carried out repairs to the walls, erecting a new wall in front of the existing medieval wall. In front of these new structures a deep wide moat was created. Other changes and additions followed, the most important of which was made in 1677 by the Ottomans. The lower north sections of the fortifications were added. The Ancient Theatre of Mytilene was used for construction materials. In 1756 Admiral Kuramadji added a polygonal tower near the harbor of Epano Skala. During the 19th century the function and character of the castle changed. The castle exhibited a more military character, as indicated by the barracks built near the

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

and the neighboring gunpowder vault. Its walls, however, were not thick or strong enough to withstand attack by cannons, especially from the seaward side. The island was captured by Greece during the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

, on November 8, 1912. After 1912 the castle was used as a source of building material to construct refugee housing which gradually brought about its ruin. The intramural segment continued to be inhabited until shortly after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The locals also established brothels (closed since the 1980s) in the Lower Castle. The castle is currently used for local festivals in the summer and tourist tours it is declared a historical site. ΤΟΥΡΙΣΤΙΚΟΣ ΟΔΗΓΟΣ ΛΕΣΒΟΥ

Architecture

From a morphological perspective, the castle is divided into three sections: * The Acropolis or Upper Castle lies in the north and is the highest point of the hill, there is a Thesmophorion and the Castle of

* The Middle Castle, mostly built by

but was modified by the Ottomans. * The Lower Castle on the northwest side was added by the Ottomans in 1644, the lower portion has a

Turkish bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

In the Upper Castle, Francesco Gattilusio's additions included square stone tower, decorated with the family coats of arms of the

Gattilusi The House of Gattilusio was a powerful Genoese family who controlled a number of possessions in the northern Aegean from 1355 until the mid 15th century. Anthony Luttrell has pointed out that this family had developed close connections to the Byz ...

and the

Palaiologoi The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...

. It was also known as the Queen’s Tower. The middle Castle was changed by

. During the Ottoman period there were several additions, including Kulé Mosque; an Ottoman Seminary; Tekke Islamic Monastery, the Madrasa, an

imaret Imaret, sometimes also known as a ''darüzziyafe'', is one of a few names used to identify the public soup kitchens built throughout the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the 19th centuries. These public kitchens were often part of a larger comple ...

, a bath-house, the gunpowder store, Cistern, and a Fountain which survive to the present day. The Ottomans also added the Orta Kapu (Ottoman gate). The interior of the fortress is being excavated by the Canadian Archaeological Institute, which has unearthed buildings from the Archaic and Classical periods as well as remains dating from medieval times. In 2000, reconstruction began on the Orta Kapi (west-central gate) and the Cistern, and restoration is currently underway on the monument’s interior. In recent years, a space was created inside the fortress to host summer cultural events.
Ministry of Culture Mytilene Castle

Gallery

File:Η πόλη της Μυτιλήνης μέσα από το κάστρο.jpg, View from the castle File:Fortress of Mytilini, Lesvos 2.jpg, Castle of Mytilini File:Castle of Mytilene 25.JPG, Interior File:Kastro Mytilinis (13).jpg, Castle of Mytilini File:Kastro Mytilinis (19).jpg, Walls

External links

Castle Diagram

References

{{Castles in Greece Buildings and structures in Lesbos Buildings of Justinian I Byzantine fortifications in Greece

Buildings and structures in Mytilene Byzantine castles in Greece Crusader castles Ottoman fortifications in Greece

History of the castle

Architecture

Gallery

External links

See also

References