Behind
the great natural beauty of the Cyclades Islands, the complex
traditional architecture, the sugar-cube houses, the dazzling
blue and white colors under the constant sun, lies an ancient
culture deeply rooted in the relaxed, hospitable and easy-going
character of the inhabitants.
Kyklades, group of about 30 islands that make up the nomos (department)
of Cyclades, Greece. They lie off Attica (Attiki) in the Aegean
Sea. Ermoupolis, the capital, is on the island of Syros.
The islands, which have a total land area of 976 square miles
(2528 square km), are peaks of the submerged mountain ranges
of Greece.
In antiquity they were the centre of a Bronze Age culture, the
Cycladic, noted for its white marble idols.
The name Cyclades means "encircling islands," and
they are so named because they form a rough circle around the
sacred island of Delos, which was the legendary birthplace of
Artemis and her brother Apollo. Virtually all of the islands
have some archaeological interest.
Windmills and cube-shaped whitewashed houses are characteristic
features of the modern landscape.
History
The earliest inhabitants of the Cyclades are believed to have
been Carians (from the ancient district of Caria in southwestern
Anatolia (now Turkey). According to the ancient Greek historian
Thucydides, the Carians were expelled from the islands by King
Minos. The Greek historian Herodotus says the Carians were subjects
of Minos and that they were expelled from the islands much later,
by the Dorians and the Ionians. A rich material culture of the
Bronze Age is much in evidence throughout the islands and on
many of the islands are found remarkable and characteristic
(mostly female) figurines.
The Cyclades were colonized by Ionians in the 10th and 9th centuries
BC and flourished in the 8th to 6th century BC, but later only
Delos remained important. It served as the headquarters and
treasury of the Athenian-led Delian League in the 5th century
BC.
Over time the Cyclades came under of the rule of virtually every
power in the region, including the Crusaders, who in 1204 gave
the islands to Venice. Many of the islands bear architectural
traces of Venetian rule during the Middle Ages. The Cyclades'
antiquities have been periodically ransacked for use as building
stone.
Naxos the largest and most fertile island, and the highest in
elevation, produces fruits, nuts, and wheat. The island of Thera
consists of the remains of a volcano that exploded about 1600
BC. The other major islands of the Cyclades include Andros,
Ios, Kea, Kimolos, Kithnos, Milos, Mykonos, Paros, and Tinos.
The Cyclades export wines, brandy, tobacco, hides, pottery and
handicrafts.
The islands were being rapidly depopulated until the development
of tourism.
HOME
Behind
the great natural beauty of the Cyclades Islands, the complex
traditional architecture, the sugar-cube houses, the dazzling
blue and white colors under the constant sun, lies an ancient
culture deeply rooted in the relaxed, hospitable and easy-going
character of the inhabitants.
