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Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a
Greek island Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by a ...
in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina. At , it is the 8th-largest island of Greece.


Geography

Lemnos is mostly flat, but the west, and especially the northwest part, is rough and mountainous. The highest point is Mount Skopia at the altitude of 430 m. The chief towns are Myrina, on the western coast, and Moudros on the eastern shore of a large bay in the middle of the island. Myrina (also called Kastro, meaning "castle") possesses a good
harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
. It is the seat of all trade carried on with the mainland. The hillsides afford pasture for sheep, and Lemnos has a strong husbandry tradition, being famous for its Kalathaki Limnou ( PDO), a cheese made from sheep and goat milk and melipasto cheese, and for its yogurt. Fruit and vegetables that grow on the island include almonds, figs, melons, watermelons, tomatoes, pumpkins and olives. The main crops are wheat, barley, sesame; in fact Lemnos was Constantinople's granary after the Byzantine Empire lost its Anatolian possessions in the 1320s. Lemnos also produces honey (from thyme-fed bees), but, as is the case with most products of a local nature in Greece, the produced quantities are little more than simply sufficient for the local market. Muscat grapes are grown widely, and are used to produce an unusual table wine that is dry yet has a strong Muscat flavor. Since 1985 the variety and quality of Lemnos wines have increased greatly. Lemnos also has a 7-hectare desert, the Pachies Ammoudies of Lemnos.


Climate

The climate in Lemnos is mainly Mediterranean. Winters are generally mild, but there will be a snowfall occasionally. Strong winds are a feature of the island, especially in August and in winter time, hence its nickname "the wind-ridden one" (in Greek, Ανεμόεσσα). The temperature is typically 2 to 5 degrees Celsius less than in Athens, especially in summertime. File:Salt lake 3.jpg, Salt lake of Lemnos File:Ammothines Lemnos.jpeg,
Sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
File:Χορταρολίμνη Λήμνου 2.jpg, Landscape of Chortarolimni File:Paradisi hill in Lemnos.jpg, Paradisi hill


Mythic Lemnos

For ancient Greeks, the island was sacred to Hephaestus, god of metallurgy, who—as he tells himself in '' Iliad'' I.590ff—fell on Lemnos when Zeus hurled him headlong out of
Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Les ...
. There, he was cared for by the Sinties, according to ''Iliad'', or by Thetis (Apollodorus, ''Bibliotheca'' I:3.5), and there with a Thracian nymph Cabiro (a daughter of Proteus) he fathered a tribe called the Kaberoi. Sacred initiatory rites dedicated to them were performed in the island. Its ancient capital was named Hephaistia in the god's honour. Hephaestus' forge, which was located on Lemnos, as well as the name ''Aethaleia'', sometimes applied to it, points to its volcanic character. It is said that fire occasionally blazed forth from Mosychlos, one of its mountains. The ancient geographer Pausanias relates that a small island called Chryse, off the Lemnian coast, was swallowed up by the sea. All volcanic action is now extinct. The earliest inhabitants are said to have been a Thracian tribe, whom the Greeks called '' Sintians'', "robbers". The name ''Lemnos'' is said by Hecataeus to have been applied in the form of a title to Cybele among the Thracians. The worship of Cybele was characteristic of Thrace, where it had spread from Asia Minor at a very early period. Hypsipyle and Myrina (the name of one of the chief towns) are Amazon names, which are always connected with Asiatic Cybele-worship. According to the epitome of the '' Bibliotheca'' traditionally attributed to Apollodorus (''Epitome'' I:9), when
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 ...
found Ariadne abandoned on Naxos, he brought her to Lemnos and there fathered Thoas,
Staphylus Staphylus (; Ancient Greek: Στάφυλος "grape cluster") is one of several personages of ancient Greek mythology, almost always associated with grapes or wine: * Staphylus, son of wine-god Dionysus and Ariadne. * Staphylus, beloved of Diony ...
, Oenopion, and Peparethus. Pliny the Elder in his '' Natural History'' (xxxvi. 13) speaks of a remarkable labyrinth in Lemnos, which has not been identified in modern times. According to a Hellenic legend, the women were all deserted by their husbands for Thracian women, and in revenge they murdered every man on the island. From this barbarous act, the expression ''
Lemnian deeds A Lemnian deed is the cruel slaughter of someone as revenge. There are two possible origins for this term: the epic of Jason and the Argonauts, where Pelasgian women killed their men, and that of Herodotus narrative where the Pelasgians killed capt ...
'' became proverbial among the Hellenes. According to Apollonius of Rhodes' '' Argonautica'' the
Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...
landing soon after found only women in the island, ruled by Hypsipyle, daughter of the old king Thoas. From the Argonauts and the Lemnian women were descended the race called Minyans, whose king Euneus, son of Jason and Hypsipyle, sent wine and provisions to the Achaeans at Troy. According to later Greek historians, the Minyans were expelled by a Pelasgian tribe who came from Attica. The historical element underlying these traditions is probably that the original Thracian people were gradually brought into communication with the Greeks as navigation began to unite the scattered islands of the Aegean; the Thracian inhabitants were technologically primitive in comparison with the Greek mariners. In another legend,
Philoctetes Philoctetes ( grc, Φιλοκτήτης ''Philoktētēs''; English pronunciation: , stress (linguistics), stressed on the third syllable, ''-tet-''), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea (Magnes ...
was left on Lemnos by the Greeks on their way to Troy; and there he suffered ten years' agony from his wounded foot, until
Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
and Neoptolemus induced him to accompany them to Troy. According to Sophocles, he lived beside Mount Hermaeus, which Aeschylus makes one of the beacon points to flash the news of Troy's downfall home to Argos.


History


Prehistory

The ruins of the oldest human settlement in the Aegean islands found so far have been unearthed in archaeological excavations on Lemnos by a team of Greek, Italian and American
archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
at the Ouriakos site on the Louri coast of Fyssini in Moudros municipality. The excavation began in early June 2009 and the finds brought to light, consisting mainly of high quality stone tools, are from the Epipaleolithic Period, indicating a settlement of
hunters and gatherers A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
and fishermen of the 12th millennium BC. A rectangular building with a double row of stepped seats on the long sides, at the southwest side of the hill of
Poliochne Poliochne, often cited under its modern name Poliochni ( el, Πολιόχνη), was an ancient settlement on the east coast of the island of Lemnos. It was settled in the Late Chalcolithic and earliest Aegean Bronze Age and is believed to be one ...
, dates back to the Early Bronze Age and was possibly used as a kind of Bouleuterion. In August and September 1926, members of the Italian School of Archaeology at Athens conducted trial excavations on the island. The overall purpose of the excavations was to shed light on the island's pre-Hellenic "Etrusco-Pelasgian" civilization, following the discovery of the "
Lemnos stele The Lemnian language was spoken on the island of Lemnos, Greece, in the second half of the 6th century BC. It is mainly attested by an inscription found on a funerary stele, termed the Lemnos stele, discovered in 1885 near Kaminia. Fragments of ...
", bearing an inscription philologists related to the Etruscan language. The excavations, with then-current political overtones, were conducted on the site of the city of Hephaistia (i. e., Palaiopolis) where the Pelasgians, according to Herodotus, surrendered to
Miltiades Miltiades (; grc-gre, Μιλτιάδης; c. 550 – 489 BC), also known as Miltiades the Younger, was a Greek Athenian citizen known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as for his downfall afterwards. He was the son of Cimon C ...
of Athens in 510 BC, initiating the social and political hellenization of the island. There, a necropolis (ca. 9th–8th centuries BC) was discovered, revealing bronze objects, pots, and over 130 ossuaries. The ossuaries contained distinctly male and female funeral ornaments. Male ossuaries contained knives and axes whereas female ossuaries contained earrings, bronze pins, necklaces, gold-diadems, and bracelets. The decorations on some of the gold objects contained spirals of Mycenaean origin, but had no Geometric forms. According to their ornamentation, the pots discovered at the site were from the Geometric period. However, the pots also preserved spirals indicative of Mycenaean art. The results of the excavations indicate that the Early Iron Age inhabitants of Lemnos could be a remnant of a Mycenaean population and, in addition, the earliest attested reference to Lemnos is the Mycenaean Greek ''ra-mi-ni-ja'', "Lemnian woman", written in
Linear B Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...
syllabic script. Professor Della Seta reports:
The lack of weapons of bronze, the abundance of weapons of iron, and the type of the pots and the pins gives the impression that the necropolis belongs to the ninth or eighth century B.C. That it did not belong to a Greek population, but to a population which, in the eyes of the Hellenes, appeared barbarous, is shown by the weapons. The Greek weapon, dagger or spear, is lacking: the weapons of the barbarians, the axe and the knife, are common. Since, however, this population … preserves so many elements of Mycenaean art, the Tyrrhenians or Pelasgians of Lemnos may be recognized as a remnant of a Mycenaean population.


Antiquity

According to Homer, Lemnos was inhabited by the Sintians. Thucydides mentions Tyrrhenians as the pre-Greek inhabitants. Homer speaks as if there were one town in the island called Lemnos. In Classical times there were two towns, Myrina (also called Kastro) and Hephaistia, which was the chief town. Coins from Hephaestia are found in considerable number, and various types including the goddess Athena with her owl, native religious symbols, the caps of the Dioscuri, Apollo, etc. Few coins of Myrina are known. They belong to the period of Attic occupation, and bear Athenian types. A few coins are also known which bear the name of the whole island, rather than of either city. A trace of the Lemnian language is found on a 6th-century inscription on a funerary stele, the
Lemnos stele The Lemnian language was spoken on the island of Lemnos, Greece, in the second half of the 6th century BC. It is mainly attested by an inscription found on a funerary stele, termed the Lemnos stele, discovered in 1885 near Kaminia. Fragments of ...
. Lemnos later adopted the Attic dialect of Athens. Coming down to a better authenticated period, it is reported that Lemnos was conquered by Otanes, a general of Darius Hystaspis. But soon (510 BC) it was reconquered by
Miltiades the Younger Miltiades (; grc-gre, Μιλτιάδης; c. 550 – 489 BC), also known as Miltiades the Younger, was a Greek Athenian citizen known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as for his downfall afterwards. He was the son of Cimon C ...
, the tyrant of the Thracian Chersonese. Miltiades later returned to Athens and Lemnos was an Athenian possession until the Macedonian empire absorbed it. By 450 BC, Lemnos was an Athenian cleruchy. The Athenian settlers brought with them Athenian drama, dated to at least 348 BC. However, the tradition of theater seems to date back to the 5th century, and recent excavations at the site Hephaisteia suggest that the theater dated to the late 6th to early 5th century. On a barren island near Lemnos there was an altar of
Philoctetes Philoctetes ( grc, Φιλοκτήτης ''Philoktētēs''; English pronunciation: , stress (linguistics), stressed on the third syllable, ''-tet-''), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea (Magnes ...
with a brazen serpent, bows and breastplate bound with strips, to remind of the sufferings of the hero. In 197 BC, the Romans declared it free, but in 166 BC gave it over to Athens which retained nominal possession of it until the whole of Greece was made a province of the Roman Republic in 146 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in 395, Lemnos passed to the Byzantine Empire. Pliny the Elder writes about a labyrinth on Lemnos which was built by the architects Zmilis, Rhoecus and Theodorus, who were all natives of Lemnos.


Middle Ages

As a province of the Byzantine Empire, Lemnos belonged to the
theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
of the Aegean Sea, and was a target of Saracen raids in the 10th century and of
Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
raids in the 11th century. Following the dissolution and division of the Empire after the
Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
, Lemnos (known by Westerners as ''Stalimene'') was apportioned to the Latin Empire, and given as a fief to the Navigajoso family under the Venetian (or possibly of mixed Greek and Venetian descent) '' megadux'' Filocalo Navigajoso. Filocalo died in 1214, and was succeeded by his son
Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...
and his daughters, who partitioned the island into three fiefs between them. Leonardo retained the title of ''megadux'' of the Latin Empire and half the island with the capital, Kastro, while his sisters and their husbands received one quarter each with the fortresses of Moudros and Kotsinos. Leonardo died in 1260 and was succeeded by his son
Paolo Navigajoso Paolo Navigajoso (died 1277) was a scion of the noble Venetian Navigajoso family and third Latin ruler of the island of Lemnos in Greece. Paolo was the eldest son and heir of Leonardo Navigajoso. Upon his father's death in 1260, he inherited one-h ...
, who resisted Byzantine attempts at reconquest until his death during a siege of the island by the Byzantine admiral
Licario Licario, called Ikarios ( gr, Ἰκάριος) by the Greek chroniclers, was a Byzantine admiral of Italian origin in the 13th century. At odds with the Latin barons (the "triarchs") of his native Euboea, he entered the service of the Byzantine em ...
in 1277. Resistance continued by his wife, but in 1278 the Navigajosi were forced to capitulate and cede the island back to Byzantium. During the last centuries of Byzantium, Lemnos played a prominent role: following the loss of Asia Minor, it was a major source of food, and it played an important role in the recurring civil wars of the 14th century. As the Ottoman threat mounted in the 15th century, possession of Lemnos was demanded by
Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfonso V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfonso I) from 1442 until his death. He was involved with struggles to the t ...
in exchange for offering assistance to the beleaguered Byzantines, while the last Byzantine emperor,
Constantine XI Palaiologos Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last List of Byzantine em ...
, offered it to the Genoese captain
Giustiniani Longo Giovanni Giustiniani Longo ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Lóngos Ioustiniánēs''; la, Ioannes Iustinianus Longus; 1418 – 1 June 1453) was a Genoese captain, a member of one of the greatest families of the Republic of Genoa, a kinsman to the powerful ...
, if the Ottoman besiegers were driven off.
Dorino I Gattilusio Dorino Gattilusio (died 30 June 1455) was the fourth Gattilusio Lord of Lesbos from 1428 until his death. He ruled Lesbos at a time of increasing Ottoman power, and his last years were preoccupied with maintaining some measure of independence. L ...
, the ruler of Lesbos, also acquired Lemnos as his fief shortly before the
Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...
in 1453.


Ottoman period

Following the fall of Constantinople (1453), and thanks to the intercession of Michael Critobulus, Sultan
Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
recognized Dorino I Gattilusio's possession of Lemnos and Thasos in exchange for an annual tribute of 2,325 gold coins. When Dorino died in 1455, his son and successor Domenico was only granted Lemnos, however. In 1456, Mehmed II attacked and captured the Gattilusi domains in Thrace (
Ainos Ainos may refer to: *Aenus (Thrace), an ancient Greek city in Thrace, near the Aegean coast *Mount Ainos, on the island Cefalonia *Ainu people of Japan {{disambiguation ...
and the islands of Samothrace and Imbros). During the subsequent negotiations with Domenico Gattilusio, the Greek populace of Lemnos rose up against Domenico's younger brother Niccolò Gattilusio and submitted to the Sultan, who appointed a certain Hamza Bey as governor under the Bey of Gallipoli, Isma'il. Mehmed granted a special legal charter (''kanun-name'') to Lemnos, Imbros, and Thasos, at this time, later revised by Selim I in 1519. In 1457 a
Papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
fleet under Cardinal Ludovico Scarampi Mezzarota captured the island. Pope Callixtus III (in office 1455–1458) hoped to establish a new
military order Military order may refer to: Orders * Military order (religious society), confraternity of knights originally established as religious societies during the medieval Crusades for protection of Christianity and the Catholic Church Military organi ...
on the island, which controlled the exit of the Dardanelles, but nothing came of it as Isma'il Bey soon recovered Lemnos for the Sultan. In 1464, during the
First Ottoman–Venetian War First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
,the Venetians seized Lemnos and other former Gattilusi possessions, but the area reverted to Ottoman control in accordance with the 1479 Treaty of Constantinople. In the aftermath, the Kapudan Pasha, Gedik Ahmed, repaired the island's fortifications and brought in settlers from Anatolia. At this time, the administration of the island was also reformed and brought in line with Ottoman practice, with a governor ('' voevoda''), judge ( ''kadi''), and elders (''
kodjabashis The kodjabashis ( el, κοτζαμπάσηδες, kotzabasides; singular κοτζάμπασης, ''kotzabasis''; sh, kodžobaša, kodžabaša; from tr, kocabaṣı, hocabaṣı) were local Christian notables in parts of the Ottoman Balkans, most ...
'') heading the local Greek inhabitants. In the late-16th century, Lemnos is recorded, along with Chios, as "the only prosperous island of the Archipelago". It had 74 villages, three of them inhabited by Turkish Muslims. In July 1656, during the Fifth Ottoman–Venetian War, the Venetians captured the island again following a major victory over the Ottoman fleet. The Ottomans under Topal Mehmed Pasha recovered it barely a year later, on 15 November 1657, after besieging the capital of Kastro for 63 days. The famous
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
poet Niyazi Misri was exiled to Lemnos for several years during the late 17th century. In 1770 Russian forces under Count Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov besieged Kastro for 60 days during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. The fortress had just surrendered when an attack by the Ottoman fleet on the Russian vessels in Mudros Bay forced the Russians to withdraw (24 October 1770). Under Ottoman rule, Lemnos initially formed part of the '' sanjaks'' of Gallipoli or Mytilene under the Eyalet of the Archipelago, but was constituted as a separate ''sanjak'' in the reforms of the mid-19th century, at the latest by 1846. Abolished in 1867, the sanjak was re-formed in 1879 and existed until the island's capture by the Greeks in 1912. It comprised the islands of Lemnos (Limni in Turkish), Agios Efstratios (Bozbaba), Imbros (Imroz) and Tenedos (Bozcaada). The French scholar
Vital Cuinet Vital-Casimir Cuinet, commonly known as Vital Cuinet (December 19, 1833 in Longeville – September 6, 1896 in Constantinople (now Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code ...
, in his 1896 work ''La Turquie d'Asie'', recorded a population of 27,079, of which 2,450 were Muslims and the rest Greek Orthodox.


Modern period

On 8 October 1912, during the First Balkan War, Lemnos became part of Greece. The Greek navy under Rear Admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis took it over without any casualties from the Ottoman Turkish garrison, who were returned to Anatolia.
Peter Charanis Peter Charanis (1908 – 23 March 1985), born Panagiotis Charanis ( el, Παναγιώτης Χαρανής), was a Ottoman Greece, Greek-born American scholar of Byzantine Empire, Byzantium and the Voorhees Professor of History at Rutgers Univer ...
, born on the island in 1908 and later a professor of Byzantine history at Rutgers University recounts when the island was liberated and Greek soldiers were sent to the villages and stationed themselves in the public squares. Some of the children ran to see what Greek soldiers looked like. ‘‘What are you looking at?’’ one of them asked. ‘‘At Hellenes,’’ the children replied. ‘‘Are you not Hellenes yourselves?’’ a soldier retorted. ‘‘No, we are Romans." the children replied, which might seem odd at a first glance, but indicates that in parts of Greece the locals self-identified as a continuation of the Eastern, Greek-speaking part of the Roman Empire (''Ρωμιοί'').
Moudros Bay Moudros ( el, Μούδρος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the entire eas ...
became a forward anchorage for the Greek fleet, which enabled it to keep watch on the Dardanelles and prevent a foray by the Ottoman Navy into the Aegean. The Ottomans' two attempts to achieve this were beaten back in the battles of Elli and Lemnos. Thus the Ottomans were prevented from supplying and reinforcing their land forces in
Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
by sea, a critical factor in the success of the Balkan League in the war. During World War I, in early 1915, the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
used the island to try to capture the Dardanelles Straits, some away. This was done chiefly by the British and largely due to the urging of
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
. The harbour at Moudros was put under the control of British Admiral
Rosslyn Wemyss Admiral of the Fleet Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss, 1st Baron Wester Wemyss, (12 April 1864 – 24 May 1933), known as Sir Rosslyn Wemyss between 1916 and 1919, was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he served as commander of the 12th C ...
, who was ordered to prepare the then largely unused harbour for operations against the Dardanelles. The harbour was broad enough for British and French warships, but lacked suitable military facilities, which was recognized early on. Troops intended for
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
had to train in Egypt, and the port found it difficult to cope with casualties of the Gallipoli campaign. The campaign was called off in evident failure at the close of 1915. Moudros' importance receded, although it remained the Allied base for the blockade of the Dardanelles during the war. The town of
Lemnos, Victoria Lemnos is a locality in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria, Australia, on the outskirts of the regional city of Shepparton. At the 2006 census, Lemnos had a population of 369, which had dropped to 246 at the 2016 census. The locality was es ...
, Australia, established in 1927 as a
soldier settlement Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlemen ...
zone for returning First World War soldiers, was named after the island. There are three Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemeteries on the island, the first one for the 352 Allied soldiers in
Portianou Portianou (Greek: Πορτιανού) is a village on the Greek island of Lemnos, located northeast of Myrina. Its population was 314 in 2011. Geography * Neo Pedino * Palaio Pedino, southwest * Portianou is 2 kilometers from the beach called " ...
, the second one for the 148 Australian and 76 New Zealander soldiers in the town of Moudros and the third one for the Ottoman soldiers (170 Egyptian and 56 Turkish soldiers). In late October 1918, the armistice between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies was signed at Moudros. After the Red Army victory in the Russian Civil War in 1920, many Kuban Cossacks fled the country to avoid persecution from the Bolsheviks. A notable evacuation point was the Greek island of Lemnos where 18,000 Kuban Cossacks landed, though many later died of starvation and disease. Most left the island after a year. During World War II, the island was occupied by the Germans on 25 April 1941, in the wake of the Wehrmacht’s invasion of Greece, by the Infanterie Regiment 382/164 Inf.Division under the command of Oberst Wilhelm-
Helmuth Beukemann __NOTOC__ Wilhelm Berthold Helmuth Beukemann (9 May 1894 – 13 July 1981) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Awards and decorations * Iron Cross (1914) ...
. The same bay of Moudros used by the Allies in WWI served as a base for German ships controlling the northern Aegean sea. An important fact is that the occupation forces included German punitive bataillon, the famous 999 units, in this case the
999th Light Afrika Division (Wehrmacht) The 999th Light Africa Division (''999. leichte Afrika-Division'') was a German Army unit formed in Tunisia in early 1943. The basis of the division was the 999th Africa Brigade (''999. Afrika-Brigade''), formed several months earlier, as a penal ...
and its Afrika Schützen Regiment 963 (later Festungs Infanterie Bataillon 999). These included many German and Austrian antifascist political prisoners enrolled by force, many of whom then joined the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), such as
Wolfgang Abendroth Wolfgang Walter Arnulf Abendroth (2 May 1906 – 15 September 1985) was a socialist German jurist and political scientist. He was born in Elberfeld, now a part of Wuppertal in North Rhine-Westphalia. Abendroth was an important contributor to the c ...
. Partially evacuated since August 1944, the island was liberated on 16 and 17 of October 1944 by the Greek Sacred Band (World War II) or Greek Sacred Squadron under the command of the British Raiding Forces (as part of the SAS or
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
). Today the island has about 30 villages and settlements. The province includes the island of Agios Efstratios to the southwest which has some exceptional beaches. The fictional island of Altis, the setting of the 2013 tactical shooter game Arma 3, is inspired by Lemnos, with many settlements and major sites such as
Lemnos International Airport Lemnos International Airport "Hephaestus" is an airport on Lemnos Island, Greece. The airport is located 18 km away from the city of Myrina and began operation in 1959. This Airport, along with the whole island of Lemnos, was also featured ...
, the town of Myrina, and Mount Skopio appearing in-game, all under pseudonyms.


Municipality

The present municipality of Lemnos was formed on the merger of the following four former municipalities, each of which became municipal units, following the 2011 local government reform: *
Atsiki Atsiki ( gr, Ατσική) is a village and a former municipality on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lemnos Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμν ...
* Moudros * Myrina *
Nea Koutali Nea Koutali ( el, Νέα Κούταλη) is a municipal unit on the island of Lemnos, North Aegean, Greece. Located in the south central portion of the island with a land area of , it accounts for about 15.9% of the island's area, making it the sma ...
Lemnos and the smaller island of Agios Efstratios previously formed part of Lesbos Prefecture. In 2011, the prefecture was abolished and Lemnos and Agios Efstratios now form Lemnos Regional Unit. Lemnos Province, abolished in 2006, comprised the same territory as the present regional unit.


Subdivisions

The municipal units of Atsiki, Moudros, Myrina and Nea Koutali are subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets): Atsiki *
Agios Dimitrios Agios Dimitrios (Greek: Άγιος Δημήτριος meaning Saint Dimitrios, before 1928: Μπραχάμι - ''Brahami'') is a suburb in the southern part of the Athens, Greece. Geography Agios Dimitrios is situated 5 km south of Athens c ...
*Atsiki (Atsiki, Propouli) * Dafni * Karpasi * Katalakko * Sardes * Varos (Varos, Aerolimin) Moudros *
Fisini Fisini ( el, Φισίνη) is a village and a community in the southeastern part of the island of Lemnos, Greece. It is in the municipal unit of Moudros. In 2011 its population was 57 for the village, and 107 for the community, which includes the v ...
(Fisini,
Agia Sofia Agia, ayia, aghia, hagia, haghia or AGIA may refer to: *''Agia'', feminine form of ''Agios'', 'saint' Geography *Agia, Cyprus *Agia, Chania, a town in Chania (regional unit), Crete, Greece *Agia, Larissa, Greece *Agia (Meteora), a rock in Thessaly ...
) * Kalliopi * Kaminia (Kaminia,
Voroskopos Kaminia ( el, Καμίνια) is a village in the northeast of the island of Lemnos, Greece. It is a community of the municipal unit of Moudros. From 1918 until 1998, it was an independent community. The population in 2011 was 234 for the vil ...
) *
Kontopouli Kontopouli ( el, Κοντοπούλι) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Moudros in the northeastern part of the island of Lemnos, Greece. In 2011 its population was 623 for the village and 634 for the community, which includes ...
(Kontopouli,
Agios Alexandros Agios Alexandros ( el, Άγιος Αλέξανδρος) is a settlement in the northeastern part of the Aegean island of Lemnos, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Moudros and the community of Kontopouli. The population was 0 at the 2011 ...
, Agios Theodoros) *
Lychna Lychna ( el, Λύχνα) is a village and a community in the island of Lemnos, Greece. In 2001 its population was 110 people for the village, and 320 for the community, which includes the village Anemoessa. It is part of the municipal unit of Moudro ...
(Lychna, Anemoessa) *Moudros (Moudros, Koukonisi) *
Panagia Panagia ( el, Παναγία, fem. of , + , the ''All-Holy'', or the ''Most Holy''; pronounced ) (also transliterated Panaghia or Panajia), in Medieval and Modern Greek, is one of the titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern ...
(Panagia, Kortisonas) *
Plaka Pláka ( el, Πλάκα) is the old historical neighborhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. Plaka is built on top of the residentia ...
*
Repanidi Repanidi ( el, Ρεπανίδι) is a village and a community in the northeast of the island of Lemnos, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Moudros. It is located 2 km northeast of Romanou, 3 km west of Kontopouli, 3 km east ...
(Repanidi, Kotsinos) * Roussopouli *
Romano Romano may refer to: Food * Pecorino Romano, a hard, salty Italian cheese * Romano cheese, an American English and Canadian English term for a class of cheeses Places Italy Municipalities in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Latium * Arcinazzo Ro ...
* Skandali Myrina *Myrina (Myrina, incl. Androni) * Thanos (Thanos, Paralia Thanous) * Kaspakas (Kaspakas, Agios Ioannis, Gali, Limenaria) *
Kornos Kornos may refer to: *Kornos, Cyprus *Kornos, Greece Kornos ( el, Κορνός) is a traditional village of Lemnos, North Ae ...
{{geodis ...
(Kornos, Psylloi) * Platy (Platy, Paralia Plateos, Plagisos Molos) Nea Koutali *
Angariones Angariones (Greek: Αγγαριώνες, older form Αγκαρυώνες - ''Agkaryones'') is a village in the Greek island of Lemnos, part of the municipal unit Nea Koutali. In 2011 its population was 116. It is situated in the western part of th ...
*
Kallithea Kallithea (Greek: Καλλιθέα, meaning "beautiful view") is a district of Athens and a municipality in south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth largest municipality in Greece (96,118 inhabitants, 2021 census) and the fourth biggest i ...
*
Kontias Kontias ( el, Κοντιάς) is a village on the Greek island of Lemnos, North Aegean. It is the seat of the municipal unit Nea Koutali. In 2011 its population was 572. Kontias is situated in the southwestern part of the island, 2 km west of Tsi ...
* Livadochori (Livadochori, Poliochni) *Nea Koutali * Pedino (Neo Pedino, Palaio Pedino, Vounaria) *
Portianou Portianou (Greek: Πορτιανού) is a village on the Greek island of Lemnos, located northeast of Myrina. Its population was 314 in 2011. Geography * Neo Pedino * Palaio Pedino, southwest * Portianou is 2 kilometers from the beach called " ...
*
Tsimandria Tsimandria ( el, Τσιμάνδρια) is a village and a community in the southwestern part of Lemnos, a Greek island in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. It is part of the municipal unit of Nea Koutali. It is 1.5 km south of Portianou, 2 ...


Culture


Cuisine

Local specialties include: * Kalathaki Limnou, cheese *Melichloro, cheese *Fava ( Lathyrus clymenum) *''
Paximadia Paximadia ( el, Παξιμάδια, "rusks") are two small uninhabited islands in the gulf of Mesara located approximately south of Agia Galini in Rethymno regional unit. They are in the Libyan Sea next to the southern coast of Crete. Due to ...
'' *''Tiganopites'' *
Flomaria Flomaria () is a traditional pasta made on the island of Lemnos. They are made from flour, eggs, milk, and salt. They are made adding egg, such as hilopites, but their size is longer. It is used also for a traditional recipe of the island; rooste ...
, type of pasta *Valanes, type of pasta *
Limnio Limnio (LIM-nee-oh) is a red Greek wine grape variety that is indigenous to the Greek island of Lemnos. The grape has had a long history of wine production that may extend back to Ancient Greece with wine historians widely believing it was the gr ...
wine *''Katiméria'', dessert (tiganites, type of pancakes) *''Feloúdia'', dessert


Sports

*
Ifaistos Limnou BC Ifaistos Limnou B.C. (also known as: Ifestos Limnou B.C. or Hephaestus Lemnos B.C.) (Greek: Ήφαιστος Λήμνου K.A.E.) was a Greek professional basketball club that was based on the Greek island of Lemnos, in Myrina. The club was named ...


Socio-economic data

In 2001 the island had 12,116 regular dwellings, of which 65% were stone-built, and 90.2% had pitched roofs made of red tiles. The island's economically active population in 2001 was 6,602. Of them, 12% were employers, 20.5% self-employed, 55.3% wage-earners, 7.1% unpaid, auxiliary family members, and 5.1% did not declare line of occupation. Of the economically active population, 17.9% worked in agriculture, 5.3% in light manufacturing, 11% in construction, 6.7% in hotels and restaurants, and the rest in other lines of business.2001 Census, National Statistical Service of Greece


Transport

The only airport is
Lemnos International Airport Lemnos International Airport "Hephaestus" is an airport on Lemnos Island, Greece. The airport is located 18 km away from the city of Myrina and began operation in 1959. This Airport, along with the whole island of Lemnos, was also featured ...
, east of Myrina. The island is well served by ferries from Piraeus ( Athens), Laurium, Thessaloniki and Kavala.


Notable people

*
Alcamenes Alcamenes ( grc, Ἀλκαμένης) was an ancient Greek sculptor of Lemnos and Athens, who flourished in the 2nd half of the 5th century BC. He was a younger contemporary of Phidias and noted for the delicacy and finish of his works, among w ...
(5th century BC); sculptor * (1618-1694); Turkish Sufi, poet *
Ioannis Dimitriou 250pxIoannis Dimitriou ( el, Ιωάννης Δημητρίου, 1826–''c.'' 1900) was a cotton and industrial merchant that worked in Egypt and was a major donator of ancient Egyptian artifacts which he gave to the National Archaeological Museu ...
, cotton and industrialist merchant *
Peter Charanis Peter Charanis (1908 – 23 March 1985), born Panagiotis Charanis ( el, Παναγιώτης Χαρανής), was a Ottoman Greece, Greek-born American scholar of Byzantine Empire, Byzantium and the Voorhees Professor of History at Rutgers Univer ...
, historian *
Komninos Pyromaglou Komninos Pyromaglou ( el, Κομνηνός Πυρομάγλου; 1899 – 15 December 1980), was a Greek teacher and politician, and one of the driving forces behind the foundation of the National Republican Greek League (EDES), the second-largest ...
, WWII resistance figure *
Ilias Iliou Ilias Iliou (, also transliterated as ''Ēlías Ēlioú''; May 1904 – 25 January 1985) was a Greek lawyer and politician, member of the Greek Parliament and leader of the United Democratic Left (EDA). He was also a distinguished writer and ju ...
(1904 – 1985); politician, leader of
United Democratic Left The United Democratic Left (, ''Eniéa Dimokratikí Aristerá'' (EDA)) was a left-wing political party in Greece, active mostly before the Greek military junta of 1967–74. Foundation The party was founded in July 1951 by prominent center-left ...
* Rallis Kopsidis (1929 - 2010); painter, writer *
Panagiotis Magdanis Panagiotis Magdanis (born 29 November 1990) is a Greek rower. He is a two-time World Champion in the men's lightweight quadruple sculls. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the men's lightweight coxless four, finishin ...
, Olympic rower


See also

* Lemnian language *
Lemniscate In algebraic geometry, a lemniscate is any of several figure-eight or -shaped curves. The word comes from the Latin "''lēmniscātus''" meaning "decorated with ribbons", from the Greek λημνίσκος meaning "ribbons",. or which alternativel ...
*
Limnio Limnio (LIM-nee-oh) is a red Greek wine grape variety that is indigenous to the Greek island of Lemnos. The grape has had a long history of wine production that may extend back to Ancient Greece with wine historians widely believing it was the gr ...
wine * Lemnian Athena * Armistice of Mudros (or Moudros)


References


Sources

*


External links

*
Lemnos travel guide website


{{Authority control Islands of Greece Islands of the North Aegean Landforms of Lemnos (regional unit) Locations in the Iliad Municipalities of the North Aegean Thracian Sea Territories of the Republic of Venice Territories of the Republic of Genoa Wine regions of Greece Hellenic Navy bases Hellenic Air Force bases Populated places in Lemnos