CHIOS

'Chios' (, alternative transliterations ''Khios'' and ''Hios'') is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea seven kilometres (five miles) off the Turkish coast. Chios is also the name of the island's main town and administrative centre, although it is often referred locally as Chora (Χώρα - literally meaning "The Town"). Chios is also the name of a political district ((nomós- νομός) or Prefecture of Greece within the North Aegean Periphery. Chios Prefecture covers the islands of Chios, Psara, Antipsara and Oinousses, and provides two representatives to the Greek parliament. The UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 11th century monastery of “Nea Moni”, is located on Chios.
Alternative names have included; صاقيز Sakız (Ottoman Turkish), Scio (Genoese), Chio (Italian), Khora, Chora, Castro and Kastron (see also List of traditional Greek place names).

Contents

Geography

East Coast

Southern Region

West Coast

Northern Region

Interior

Climate

History

Pre-historic Period

Pre-Hellenic Period

Hellenic Period

Roman Period

Middle Ages

Modern Period

Landmarks

Chios in popular culture

Prefecture Municipalities

See also

References

External links

Geography

Chios island is approximately crescent or kidney shaped, 50km long from north to south, 29km at its widest, and covers an area of 842 km² (350 sq. miles). The terrain is principally mountainous and arid, with a ridge of mountains running through the spine of the island. The largest of these, "Pelineon Oros" (1297 metres or 4260 feet) and "Oros" (1188 metres or 3900 feet), are situated in the north of the island. The centre of the island is divided between east and west by a range of smaller peaks, known as Provatas.
Chios has a current resident population of 51,936 (2001 census). A large number of Chians have moved to the major urban centres on the Greek mainland and the island has a considerable diaspora abroad, notably in London and New York. The island is famous for its medieval villages, its scenery and good climate. Its chief export is mastic but it also produces olives, figs, and wine. Its international fame is based on the size and quality of its merchant shipping community.

East Coast

Midway up the east coast lies the main population centres, the main town of Chios and the regions of Vrondathos and Kambos. Chios Town, with a population of 32,400, is built around the island's main harbour and medieval castle. The current castle, with a perimeter of 1400m, was principally constructed during the time of Venetian and Ottoman rule; although remains have been found dating settlements there back to 2000 B.C. The town was substantially damaged by an earthquake in 1881 and only partially retains its original character.
North of Chios Town lies the large suburb of Vrondathos, which lays claim as the birthplace of Homer substantiated by an archeological site known traditionally as "Teacher's Rock" (Δασκαλóπετρα).
Directly, south of Chios Town lies the island's airport and the region of Kambos, a large fertile plain noted for its stone mansions and walled orchards. At the southern edge of the Kambos plain lies the town of Thymianá (Θυμιανά). Thymianá is noted as the sole source of a beige-burgundy two-tone sandstone used both in the local mansions and much of the town itself. Inland lie a number of villages rising up into the central mountains culminating with the village of Ayios Georgios Sycoussis perched at the peak dividing east from west. Along the coast lies Karfas (Καρφάς), a large sandy beach, which along with the nearby village of Agia Ermióni (Άγια Ερμιόνη) is now the main tourist centre with a number of large and small hotels.

Southern Region

The south of the island is noted for the "Mastichochoria" (literally: Mastic Towns), the six villages of Mestá (Μεστά), Pyrgí (Πυργί) und Olýmpi (Ολύμποι), Kalamoti (Καλαμωτń), Vessa (βèσσα), and Elata (Ελάτα), which together have controlled the production of Mastic gum in the area since the Roman period. The villages, built between the 14th and 16th centuries, have a carefully designed layout with fortified gates and narrow streets to protect against the frequent raids by marauding pirates. Between Chios Town and the Mastichoria lie a large number of historic villages including Armolia (Αρμολια), Myrmighi (Μυρμňγκι), and Kalimassia (Καλλιμασιά). Along the east coast are the fishing villages of Kataraktis (Καταρρακτις) and to the south Nénita (Νένητα)
The south coast is sparsely populated with only two populated areas; the modern bay of Komi, and the ancient village of "Emporio" inhabited since 1800BC, and the site of a the black volcanic beach of "Mavra Volia" believed to have been created by the explosion of Santorini island in 1600BC.

West Coast

The west coast, between the deep natural harbour of Limenas at the south and the town of Vrondathos at the north, forms a crescent shaped series of almost uninhabited rocky bays. The nearest population centres being the two hillside villages of Lithi and Sidirounta, while further inland lie the villages of Elata, Vessa, Avgonyma and the deserted village of Anavatos. Although sparsely populated, the west coast has a system of stone beacons built at regular intervals to signal the approach of ships and warning the islander against the frequent invasions by pirates.

Northern Region

The north of the island contains two substantial towns: Volissos on the west coast, and Kardamyla on the east. Further to the north, are three villages that are renowned for growing cherries; Amades, Viki and Kambia. These are the only villages on the island that grow cherries. Kambia in June has an annual festival named "Giroti Ton Kerrasion" - Cherry Festival. Kambia has many festivals during the summer months. It is one of the most attractive villages in the north part of Chios. Another village worth visiting in the north-western part of the island is the beautiful village of Kourounia that lies 20km north of Volissos.

Interior

In the centre of the island, lies the 11th century monastery of Nea Moni, both sites of famous massacres during the 1822 rebellion.

Climate

The island's climate is mainly Mediterranean. Cold winter temperatures can sometimes be encountered in higher elevations.

History

Pre-historic Period

Archaeological research on Chios has found evidence that the island has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic era. The primary sites of research for this period, have been cave dwellings at Hagios Galas, in the north, and a settlement and accompanying necropolis in modern-day Emporeio at the far south of the island. The lack of information on this period however, cannot be overstated and theories on the size and duration of these settlements have not been well established.
The British School of Athens excavated the Emporeio site from 1952-1955 and most of our current information comes from these digs. The Greek Archaeological Service (G.A.S.) has been excavating periodically on Chios since 1970, though much of their work on the island remains unpublished.
The noticeable uniformity in the size of houses at Emporeio is what primarily drives scholar's theory that there may have been no serious social distinction during the Neolithic on the island, the inhabitants instead all benefiting from agricultural and livestock farming.^[1]
It is also widely held by scholars that the island was not occupied by humans during the Middle Bronze Age (2300 - 1600), though researchers have suggested recently that the lack of evidence that exists during this period may only demonstrate the lack of excavations on Chios and the northern Aegean.^[2]
By at least the eleventh century BC the island was ruled by a kingdom/chiefdom, and the subsequent transition to aristocratic (or possibly tyrannic) rule occurred sometime over the next four centuries. Future excavations may reveal more information about this period.^[3]

Pre-Hellenic Period

Pherecydes, native to the Aegean, wrote that the island was occupied by the Leleges,^[4] aboriginal Greeks themselves reported to be subject to the Minoans on Crete.^[5] They were eventually driven out by invading Ionians.
Chios was one of the original twelve member states of the Ionian League. As a result, Chios, at the end of the 7th century BC, was one of the first cities to strike or mint coins, establishing the sphinx as its specific symbol. A tradition it maintained for almost 900 years.
By the fifth to fourth centuries BC, the island had grown to an estimated population of over 120,000 (two to three times the estimated population in 2005), and based on the huge necropoli at the main city of Chios, the asty, it is thought the majority lived in that area.^[6]

Hellenic Period

It became the biggest exporter of Greek wine, which was noted for being of relative high quality. Chian amphoras, with a characteristic sphinx emblem and bunches of grape have been found in nearly every country that the ancient Greeks traded with from as far away as Gaul, Upper Egypt and Eastern Russia.^[7]

Roman Period

During the Third Macedonian War, thirty-five vessels allied to Rome, carrying about 1,000 Gaulish troops, as well as many Gaulish horses, were sent by Eumenes II to his brother Attalus.
Leaving from Elaea, they were headed to Phanae, planning to disembark from there to Macedonia. However, Perseus's naval commander Antenor intercepted the fleet between Erythrae (on the Western coast of Turkey) and Chios.
According to Livy,^[8] they were caught completely off-guard by Antenor. Eumenes' officers at first thought the intercepting fleet was friendly Romans, but scattered upon realizing they were facing an attack by their Macedonian enemy, some choosing to abandon ship and swim to Erythrae. Others, crashing their ships into land on Chios, fled toward the city.
The Chians however closed their gates, startled at the calamity. And the Macedonians, who had docked closer to the city anyway, cut the rest of the fleet off outside the city gates, and on the road leading to the city. Of the 1,000 men; 800 were killed, 200 taken prisoner.

Middle Ages

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Chios was for many centuries under the rule of the Byzantine Empire. However, after the sacking of Constantinople during the 4th Crusade (1204), the Byzantine empire was divided up by the Latin emperors of Constantinople with Chios became a possession of the Republic of Venice during the 4th Crusade.
During the turmoil of the 13th century the island ownership was constantly affected by the regional power struggles. Defeats for the Latin empire resulted in the island reverted to Byzantine rule (1225). However, the Byzantine rulers had little influence and through the treaty of Nymphaeum authority was ceded to the Genoese (1261)^[9]. After frequent invasions and occupation by Turkish pirates, the island was reconquered, at the behest of the Byzantine emperor, by the Genoan Beneto A Zacharia (1304), then admiral to Phillip of France. Zacharia put himself as ruler of the island with the short-lived Lordship of Chios. He was followed by his nephew and then son, but within a generation, the fiefdom was dissolved as a local rebellion expelled the Zacharia family from the island (1329).
Local rule was brief. By 1346 the Genoese had set up a Chartered company or Maona (the ‘Maona di Chio e di Focea’) to reconquer and exploit Chios and the neighbouring Phocaea in Asia Minor. Conquered by the Genoese, the island remained in their control until 1566, when it passed into the Ottoman Empire.

Modern Period

During the Ottoman rule the Greek population was governed by a Turkish ruling class. Chios town itself was ethnically segregated, the castle (Kastro) being barred to the native Greeks and inhabited by Turkish and Jews.
During the Greek War of Independence an uprising of the locals in 1822 was put down and, in revenge, the Sultan ordered a massacre of the islanders. Depicted by Eugène Delacroix in his famous artwork at The Louvre, the Turkish massacre of 1822 expelled or annihilated 5/6 of the 120,000 Greek inhabitants of the island. Wiping out whole villages and even affecting the valuable Mastichohoria, the mastic growing villages in the south of the island. It triggered enormous public outrage in Western Europe, as can be seen in the art of Delacroix, and in the writing of Lord Byron and Victor Hugo.
Further misfortune struck the island in 1881, when an earthquake, estimated as 6.5 on the Richter scale, damaged a large proportion of the island's buildings and resulted in great loss of life (reports at the time talk of 5500-10000 dead).
Chios rejoined the rest of independent Greece after the First Balkan War (1912), however it was further affected by the population exchanges after the Greco–Turkish War of 1919–1922, the incoming Greek refugees settling in the, previously Turkish, Kastro and in new settlements hurriedly built south of Chios Town.
Chios was officially annexed from Turkey by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

Landmarks

★ Nea Moni is a monastery with fine mosaics from Constantine IX's reign and a World Heritage Site. [1]

★ Chios claims to be the birthplace of Homer, Hippocrates the mathematician, and Oenopides. Oenopion, a legendary king, is said to have brought winemaking to the island.

★ Chios is home to one of the biggest ship-owning fraternities in Greece, with such families as Livanos, Chandris, Los, Lemos, Pachos, Pateras, Fafalios, Frangos, Pittas, Caroussis and Xylas hailing from the island. About 60 families became international grain merchants as a result of the 19th Century diaspora, settling in Smyrna, Amsterdam, Trieste, and moved into shipping when their markets closed after World War I.

★ Chios' satellite islands include Oinoussais and Psara, from where Kanaris fired the first shots in the Greek War of Independence (1822 onwards).

★ Some claim Chios is Christopher Columbus's birthplace. Columbus said he was from the Republic of Genoa, but he never claimed he was from the city of Genoa itself. Chios was a Genoese possession at the time of Columbus birth, and 'Columbus' is a common surname on Chios. Furthermore Columbus appears to have known Chios very well, since he often made references to it in his journals .

★ Chios is also the birthplace of some well known poets of modern times as Giorgos Dilvois, Nikos Gialouris, Dimitris Varos and Matheos Moundes.

★ The Korai Library, in Chios, is one of the most important in Greece, containing 95,000 volumes.

★ Chios Museum of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art, Website

★ Chios Archaeological Museum, Website

★ The town of Vrontados is home to a unique Easter celebration, where competing teams of locals gather at the town's two (rival) churches to fire tens of thousands of homemade rockets at the other church's bell tower while the Easter service is going on inside the churches, in what has become known as rouketopolemos ("the Easter church war").

★ Chios is the birthplace of 19th century Ottoman grand vizier İbrahim Ethem Pasha who also had notable descendants (carrying the surname "Eldem" to this day), the most notable among these being the painter Osman Hamdi Bey.

★ Namık Kemal, one of the principal pillars of the foundation of modern Turkish literature, served as a sub-prefect (exiled in practical terms) in Chios

Chios in popular culture

★ The final level of the Monolith computer game ''No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way'' takes place on the island of Khios.

Prefecture Municipalities

Municipality	YPES code	Seat (where different)	Postal code	Area code
Agios Minas	5401	Thymiana	821 00	22730-3
Amani	5402	Volissos	821 03	22740-2
Chios (town)	5409	--	821 00	22710-2 through 4
Ionia	5403	Kallimasia	821 00	22710-5 through 6
Kampochora	5404	Chalkeio	821 00	22710-8
Kardamyla	5405	--	823 00	22720-2
Mastichochoria	5406	Pyrgi	821 02	22710-7
Oinousses	5407	--	821 03	22710-52
Omiroupoli	5408	Vrontados	822 00	22710-9
Psara	5410	--	821 04	22740-6

See also

★ Greek cuisine

★ Greek food products

References

1. Merouses, Nikos ''Chios. Physiko periballon & katoikese apo te neolithike epoche mechri to telos tes archaiothtas. (Chios. Natural Environment & Habitation from the Neolithic Age to the end of Antiquity)'' pg. 80. Papyros, 2002
2. Merouses 2002 ch. 4
3. Merouses 2002 ch. 5, sect. 1
4. Strabo 14.1.3
5. Herodotus 1.171
6. Merouses 2002 ch. 5, sect. 3
7. Hugh Johnson, ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 41. Simon and Schuster 1989
8. Livy, 44.28
9. The Zaccaria of Phocaea and Chios. (1275-1329)
William Miller,The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 31, 1911 (1911), pp. 42-55; doi:10.2307/624735: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0075-4269%281911%2931%3C42%3ATZOPAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage

External links

★ Official Chios website : operated by Chios Prefecture (including tourist guide)

★ A dated but informative article of New York Times on Chios.

★ Map & history, The massacre, The Diaspora from Christopher Long (1998).

★ Les Familles de Chios, Histoire, Genealogies par F.Bernard Bries 1999.