Lesbos [1] , Mitilini [2] ( Greek Λέσβος , Lezvos [3] , or Μυτιλήνη ) is a Greek island in the northeast part of the Aegean Sea . The area is 1632.81 km². It is the third largest island of Greece and the eighth largest in the Mediterranean after Sicily , Sardinia , Cyprus , Corsica , Crete , Majorca and Evia . The main city of the island is Mytilini .
| Lesbos | |
|---|---|
| Greek Λέσβος | |
 View of the island from space | |
| Specifications | |
| Square | 1,632.81 km² |
| Highest point | 968 m |
| Population | 90 634 people (2001) |
| Population density | 55.51 person / km² |
| Location | |
| Archipelago | North Aegean Islands |
| Water area | Aegean Sea |
| A country |
|
| Periphery | North Aegean Islands |
Content
History
The oldest sites of the ancient man on the island date back to 500–200 thousand liters. n [four]
The first known settlements ( Fermi) on the island belong to the beginning of the III millennium BC. er
The oldest known native of the island is the poet Terpander ( VIII century BC ).
At the end of VII and the first half of VI. BC The island of Lesbos was the place of life and creative activity of several famous poets, including Sappho , Alkey, and the half-legendary Arion . Thanks to the work of Sappho, the name of the island is associated with the origin of the term “ lesbian love ”, meaning female homosexual passion [5] .
Alkay , who devoted love poems to Sappho, was included in the Alexandria era among the Nine Lyricists . He introduced into poetry a special poetic size ( Alkeyev's stanza ), subsequently borrowed by Horace . Along with Horace, an ardent admirer of Alceia's talent was Cicero . Alkei’s popularity was greatly contributed by the aphoristic nature of his language in the transmission of poetic images (“By the claws they recognize the lion”, “The truth in wine”, etc.). In addition, Alkay was known as a fighter of resistance to Athenian rule and local tyranny.
Aristotle lived for some time on the island of Lesbos, before he became the court of the Macedonian king Philip .
Presumably in the II century on the island lived the writer Long , who glorified the island in his novel " Daphnis and Chloe ."
In the Middle Ages, the island was captured by the Genoese and passed into the possession of the Gattilusio clan, whose representatives assumed the title of archons of Lesbos Island (1355-1462).
In 1462, the island captured the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II . One of the participants of the Turkish conquest of Lesbos, the Turks or the refined Albanian Yakub-aga, received land in the Lesbian village of Bonova. He became a merchant-shipowner (known as Yakub-reis [6] [7] [8] [9] ) and the father of the famous Turkish pirates Aruja Barbarossa and Khair-ed-din Barbarossa (natives of Lesbos).
At the end of 1912, during the Balkan wars and the liberation movement of the Greeks, the island was conquered by the Greek Aegean fleet under the command of Pavlos Kounturiotis . After World War I, under the Treaty of Sevres in 1920, Lesbos was to withdraw to Greece. However, as is well known, the Treaty of Sevres, which never actually entered into force, de jure completely ceased to operate after a review of its conditions at the Lausanne Conference of 1923 ( Lausanne Peace Treaty ).
Temples and Monasteries
- Cathedral of St. Athanasius in Mitilini. The temple is known for its decoration in the post-Byzantine style of woodcarving. In the cathedral are the relics of the martyr Theodore the Byzantine .
- Monastery of Archangel Michael . Known for the miraculous icon of the Archangel Michael.
- Monastery of St. Raphael . In the monastery are the relics of the martyrs Raphael, Nicholas, Irina and the Olympics.
- Limonos Monastery . During the years of Turkish rule, the monastery was the spiritual and educational center of Lesbos.
- Temple of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in Ayasos. In the temple there is the Ayasi Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, according to legend, written by the Apostle Luke .
Tourism
The main beaches are located in Skala-Eresu , Mithymna and Petra .
3 km from the town of Mythimna (ancient Mefimny) is located the only on the island nudist beach Eftalu.
Notes
- ↑ Lesbos // Dictionary of geographical names of foreign countries / resp. ed. A.M. Komkov . - 3rd ed., Pererab. and add. - M .: Nedra , 1986. - P. 195.
- ↑ Lesbos // Dictionary of geographical names of foreign countries / resp. ed. A.M. Komkov . - 3rd ed., Pererab. and add. - M .: Nedra , 1986. - P. 232.
- ↑ Instructions for the transfer of geographical names on the maps of Greece. - M., 1964. - p. 15.
- ↑ Archaeologists have found stone tools of 200 thousand years old on Lesbos .
- ↑ Lesbian love // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 add.). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- ↑ Cervantes y su mundo, Eva Reichenberger, page 134, 2005.
- ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica, page 147, 1963.
- Nor Norris, page 201, 1993: Islam in the Balkans: religion and society.
- ↑ Piri Reis & Turkish map map after Columbus: The Khalili Portolan atlas, Svatopluk Soucek, Muʾassasat Nūr al-Ḥusayn, page 11, 1996.
Literature
- Lesbos // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.