Irakleia or Heraklia (; ) is an island and a former
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
in the
Cyclades
The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Naxos and Lesser Cyclades, of which it is a municipal unit.
Its population was officially 148 inhabitants at the 2021 census, and its land area .
It is a small island between the islands of
Naxos and
Ios. Close to
Schoinoussa,
Koufonisi,
Donoussa, and
Keros, together they form the
Lesser Cyclades. The port is called Agios Georgios, while the "capital"/chora on the top of the island is called Panagia (
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
). The biggest caves in the Cyclades are located on Irakleia. Irakleia can be reached by ferries from
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, Naxos and
Paros.
Description
Iraklia is the largest island of the Lesser Cyclades. It is located in the eastern part of the archipelago, which is south of
Naxos. The island has two settlements, Panagia in the middle of the island and Agios Georgios, where the port is located. Irakleia has been inhabited from early antiquity. On the island there are many mysterious rock paintings which are from approximately 5,000 years ago. The paintings, named Bousoules (Μπούσουλες), may have been used as orientation marks. The ruins of a fortress dating from the 4th-2nd century B.C. are located at Livadi on the island. In modern times, Iraklia was the property of the
Hozoviotissa Monastery on the nearby island of
Amorgos.
Historical population
Ancient history
In the mid-1890s, the French archaeologist discovered a fragmentary inscription from Irakleia, in which the Ancient Greek island
polis decreed the banning of
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...
s. An analysis by the French historian
Louis Robert dated the inscription to the early 3rd century BCE. The inscription states that the inhabitants of the island had sworn an oath, in a formal meeting, to prohibit goats from the island and prosecute the introduction of goats to the island should it result in the deaths of those that attempt to stop it. The inscription was prominently displayed in a shrine to the "Mother of the Gods", as a public record of the political community's decision. According to Robert, by the 20th century CE, the island was largely uninhabited; absentee landlords had used Irakleia to put goats to pasture and the island had become known to travellers as the "goat island".
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Official website
Ports and harbours of Greece
Lesser Cyclades
Islands of Greece
Landforms of Naxos (regional unit)
Islands of the South Aegean
Populated places in Naxos (regional unit)
{{SouthAegean-geo-stub