The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an

island group An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

in the

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

, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

. The name refers to the islands ''around'' ("cyclic", κυκλάς) the sacred island of Delos. The largest island of the Cyclades is

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

, however the most populated is

Syros Syros ( el, Σύρος ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and it has 21,507 inhabitants (2011 census). The largest towns are Ermoupoli, An ...

History

Harp player, Cycladic civilization - Greece

The significant Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age

Cycladic culture Cycladic culture (also known as Cycladic civilisation or, chronologically, as Cycladic chronology) was a Bronze Age culture (c. 3200–c. 1050 BC) found throughout the islands of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea. In chronological terms, it is a re ...

is best known for its schematic, flat sculptures carved out of the islands' pure white marble centuries before the great Middle

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

Minoan civilization arose in Crete to the south. (These figures have been looted from burials to satisfy a thriving Cycladic antiquities market since the early 20th century.) A distinctive Neolithic culture amalgamating Anatolian and mainland Greek elements arose in the western Aegean before 4000 BCE, based on

emmer Emmer wheat or hulled wheat is a type of awned wheat. Emmer is a tetraploid (4''n'' = 4''x'' = 28 chromosomes). The domesticated types are ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccum'' and ''Triticum turgidum ''conv.'' durum''. The wild plant is ...

and wild-type barley, sheep and goats, pigs, and tuna that were apparently speared from small boats (Rutter). Excavated sites include

Chalandriani Chalandriani ( el, Χαλανδριανή) is a major early Bronze Age cemetery on the island of Syros in Greece, dated to the Early Cycladic II period (Keros-Syros culture, 2600–2300 BC).J. Hilditch, ''Chalandriani on Syros'', The Encyclopedia ...

, Phylakopi, Skarkos,

Saliagos ) , native_name_link = , native_name_lang = , sobriquet = , image_name = Saliangos.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = Saliagos islet , image_alt = , map = , map_alt = , map_width ...

and Kephala (on

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 ...

) with signs of copperworking, Each of the small Cycladic islands could support no more than a few thousand people, though Late Cycladic boat models show that fifty oarsmen could be assembled from the scattered communities (Rutter), and when the highly organized palace-culture of Crete arose, the islands faded into insignificance, with the exception of Delos, which retained its archaic reputation as a sanctuary throughout antiquity and until the emergence of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Archaeology

The first archaeological excavations of the 1880s were followed by systematic work by the British School at Athens and by

Christos Tsountas Christos Tsountas ( el, Χρήστος Τσούντας; 1857 – 9 June 1934) was a Greek classical archaeologist. He was born in Thracian Stenimachos, Ottoman Empire (present-day Asenovgrad in Bulgaria) and attended Zariphios high school in Plov ...

, who investigated burial sites on several islands in 1898–1899 and coined the term "Cycladic civilization". Interest lagged, and then picked up in the mid-20th century, as collectors competed for the modern-looking figures that seemed so similar to sculpture by Jean Arp or Constantin Brâncuși. Sites were looted and a brisk trade in forgeries arose. The context for many of these Cycladic figurines has been mostly destroyed and their meaning may never be completely understood. Another intriguing and mysterious object is that of the Cycladic

frying pans Frying pans is the descriptive name for Early Cycladic II artifacts from the Aegean Islands, flat skillets with a "handle", usually made from earthenware but sometimes stone ( Frying pan (Karlsruhe 75/11) is an example). They are found especi ...

. More accurate

archaeology 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 landsca ...

has revealed the broad outlines of a farming and seafaring culture that had emigrated from

Anatolia 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 ...

c. 5000 BCE. Early Cycladic culture evolved in three phases, between c. 3300 – 2000 BCE, when it was increasingly swamped in the rising influence of Minoan Crete. The culture of mainland Greece contemporary with Cycladic culture is known as the

Helladic period Helladic chronology is a relative dating system used in archaeology and art history. It complements the Minoan chronology scheme devised by Sir Arthur Evans for the categorisation of Bronze Age artefacts from the Minoan civilization within a h ...

. In recent decades the Cyclades have become popular with European and other

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

, and as a result there have been problems with

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

, and water shortages.

Geography

File:Syros ermoupolis 140707.jpg,

Ermoupoli Ermoupoli ( el, Ερμούπολη), also known by the formal older name Ermoupolis or Hermoupolis ( el, < "Town of

Hermes

"), is a to ...

, capital of the Cyclades.

File:Ia Santorini-2009-1.JPG, Santorini File:Mykonos City.jpg,

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; el, Μύκονος ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. There are 10,134 inhabitants according to th ...

File:City of Naxos.jpg,

File:Fole abhang.jpg, Folegandros File:Chora Milos.jpg,

Milos Milos or Melos (; el, label=Modern Greek, Μήλος, Mílos, ; grc, Μῆλος, Mêlos) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group. The ''Venus d ...

File:Vraka Aegean Islands Greek Costume.JPG, Traditional ''vraka'' (

breeches Breeches ( ) are an article of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles. Formerly a standard item of Western men's c ...

) in the dress of the Aegean islands The Cyclades includes about 220 islands, the major ones being

Amorgos Amorgos ( el, Αμοργός, ; ) is the easternmost island of the Cyclades island group and the nearest island to the neighboring Dodecanese island group in Greece. Along with 16 neighboring islets, the largest of which (by land area) is Nik ...

Anafi Anafi or Anaphe ( el, Ανάφη; grc, Ἀνάφη) is a Greek island community in the Cyclades. In 2011, it had a population of 271. Its land area is . It lies east of the island of Thíra (Santorini). Anafi is part of the Thira regional un ...

Andros Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many ...

Antiparos Antiparos ( ell, Αντίπαρος; grc, Ὠλίαρος, Oliaros; la, Oliarus; is a small island in the southern Aegean, at the heart of the Cyclades, which is less than one nautical mile (1.9 km) from Paros, the port to which it is conne ...

, Delos,

Ios iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

, Kimolos, Kythnos,

Paros Paros (; el, Πάρος; Venetian: ''Paro'') is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of ...

, Folegandros,

Serifos Serifos ( el, Σέριφος, la, Seriphus, also Seriphos; Seriphos: Eth. Seriphios: Serpho) is a Greek island municipality in the Aegean Sea, located in the western Cyclades, south of Kythnos and northwest of Sifnos. It is part of the Milos ...

Sifnos Sifnos ( el, Σίφνος) is an island municipality in the Cyclades island group in Greece. The main town, near the center, known as Apollonia (pop. 869), is home of the island's folklore museum and library. The town's name is thought to come f ...

, Sikinos,

Tinos Tinos ( el, Τήνος ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants. Tinos ...

, and Thira or Santoríni. There are also many minor islands (the

Lesser Cyclades The Lesser Cyclades or Small Cyclades ( el, Μικρές Κυκλάδες) is an island complex in the Aegean Sea, inside the archipelago of the Cyclades. It is located to the south-east of Naxos and comprises 32 islands and rocks. The main island ...

) including Donousa, Eschati,

Gyaros Gyaros ( el, Γυάρος ), also locally known as Gioura ( el, Γιούρα), is an arid, unpopulated, and uninhabited Greek island in the northern Cyclades near the islands of Andros and Tinos, with an area of . It is a part of the municipality ...

, Irakleia,

Koufonisia Koufonisia ( el, Κουφονήσια) is a former community in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Naxos and Lesser Cyclades, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area ...

Makronisos Makronisos ( el, Μακρόνησος, lit. ''Long Island''), or Makronisi, is an island in the Aegean sea, in Greece, notorious as the site of a political prison from the 1920s to the 1970s. It is located close to the coast of Attica, facing the ...

Rineia Rineia or Rhenea (Ρήνεια), anciently Rheneia ( grc, Ῥήνεια) or Rhenaia (Ῥηναῖα), or Rhene (Ῥήνη), is a Greek island in the Cyclades. It lies just west of the island of Delos and further southwest of the island of Mykonos, ...

, and Schoinousa. The name "Cyclades" refers to the islands forming a circle ("circular islands") around the sacred island of Delos. Most of the smaller islands are uninhabited.

Ermoupoli Ermoupoli ( el, Ερμούπολη), also known by the formal older name Ermoupolis or Hermoupolis ( el, < "Town of

Hermes

"), is a to ...

on Syros is the chief town and administrative center of the former prefecture. The islands are peaks of a submerged mountainous terrain, with the exception of two

volcanic islands Geologically, a high island or volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...

, Milos and Santorini. The climate is generally dry and mild, but with the exception of Naxos, the soil is not very fertile; agricultural produce includes

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, olive oil, and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. Lower temperatures are registered in higher elevations and these areas do not usually see wintry weather. The Cyclades are bounded to the south by the

Sea of Crete 300px, Map of the Sea of Crete The Sea of Crete (, ''Kritiko Pelagos''), or Cretan Sea, is a sea, part of the Aegean Sea, located in its southern extremity, with a total surface area of . The sea stretches to the north of the island of Crete, eas ...

Administration

The Cyclades Prefecture ( el, Νομός Κυκλάδων) was one of the

prefectures of Greece During the first administrative division of independent Greece in 1833–1836 and again from 1845 until their abolition with the Kallikratis reform in 2010, the prefectures ( el, νομοί, sing. νομός, translit=nomoi, sing. nomós) were ...

. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the prefecture was abolished, and its territory was divided into nine regional units of the

South Aegean The South Aegean ( el, Περιφέρεια Νοτίου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Notíou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the Cyclades and Dodecanese island groups in the central and ...

region: *

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 ...

Thira Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the ...

Municipalities and communities

The prefecture was subdivided into the following municipalities and communities. These have been reorganised at the 2011 Kallikratis reform as well.

Provinces

* Province of

: Amorgos * Province of

: Andros * Province of

: Ioulis * Province of

: Milos * Province of

: Naxos * Province of

: Paroikia * Province of

: Ermoupoli * Province of

: Tinos * Province of

: Thira ''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status 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 ...

Cuisine

Local specialities of the Cyclades include: * ''Brantáda'', cod fillet fish dish * ''Fava Santorinis'' (made from ''

Lathyrus clymenum ''Lathyrus clymenum'', also called Spanish vetchling, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the Mediterranean. The seeds are used to prepare a Greek dish called fava santorinis. The plant is cultivated on the island of Santori ...

'') * ''Fourtalia'' (

), omelette * '' Kakavia (soup)'' * ''Matsata'', pasta * ''Kalasouna'' (

) * ''Kalogeros'' (

) * '' Tomatokeftedes'' * Various cheeses, such as Kopanisti Mykonou, Manoura Sifnou, Armexia, Malaxia, Chloro, San Michali etc * ''Loutza'', similar to the Cypriot '' lountza'' * '' Strapatsada'' (Koskosela) * ''Sfougato'' (omelette) * ''

Lazarakia Lazarákia (, "Little Lazaruses") are small, sweet spice breads made in Greece and Cyprus by Orthodox Christians on Lazarus Saturday, the Saturday that begins Holy Week. They are eaten to celebrate the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the d ...

'' (dessert) * ''Melitinia'' (dessert) * ''Melopita'' (dessert) *

Santorini (wine) Santorini is a Greek wine region located on the archipelago of Santorini in the southern Cyclades islands of Greece. Wine has been produced there since ancient times, but it was during the Middle Ages that the wine of Santorini became famous wo ...

Notes

References

* *

External links

Jeremy B. Rutter, "The Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean"
especially Lessons 2 and 4: chronology, history, bibliography
Cyclades
The Official website of the

Greek National Tourism Organisation The Greek National Tourism Organisation ( el, Εθνικός Οργανισμός Τουρισμού, ''Ethnikos Organismos Tourismou''), often abbreviated as GNTO ( el, EOT) is the governmental Board for the promotion of tourism in Greece. It fun ...

{{coord, 37, 00, N, 25, 10, E, region:GR_type:isle, display=title Aegean islands Archipelagoes of Greece Prefectures of Greece Landforms of the South Aegean

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name ...