Syros

Syros is located in the very center of the Cyclades, about the same distance from Paros , Tinos , Andros and Mykonos . The island is stretched from north to south for 22 kilometers, the width of the island from west to east is 8 kilometers. On the island of 3 large settlements, in addition to the capital of Ermoupolis, these are Ano Syros and Posidonia . The island does not attract a large number of tourists, since there are almost no monuments of ancient Greek art on the island and the tourist infrastructure is poorly developed.

On Syros (in Ermoupolis) is the Apollo Theater - the first Greek opera house built in 1864. The theater is a copy of the La Scala theater in Milan , and as a result of the restoration carried out in the 90s of the 20th century, it returned part of its former splendor. Ermoupolis also houses the world's first monument to an unknown soldier (created at the end of the 19th century).

The famous French writer Theophile Gauthier , when traveling through Greece in the middle of the 19th century, wrote about Syros as follows:

Syros ... he is about the navel of Greece, the capital of elegance and nobility. Who could really imagine that these qualities so abundantly grow on a meager rocky island in the Aegean!

Prehistoric Period

Archaeological research has shown that the island was inhabited in the Neolithic era.

During excavations in the towns of Kastri and Chalandriioni (in the northeast of the island), an acropolis, a settlement and a necropolis of the prehistoric era, as well as objects belonging to the early Ciscade period ( XXXIV - XXIII century BC ) of the Cycladic civilization were discovered. Findings dating to the end of this period and later allowed us to call this period of Cycladic culture the period “Keros - Syros”.

Near the large cemetery, the fortified settlement of Kastri is partially excavated, surrounded by two stone-built walls. The inner wall throughout the exposed area, equal to 70 m, had six semicircular towers. The settlement was located on a hill near the sea. The houses are built of stone, mostly long slate slabs laid flat. The dwellings consisted of two rooms, earthen or stone floors, the walls were not coated with clay. There are houses with a rounded end wall, apsidal . In the Keros - Syros period, cemeteries were usually small - up to 100, 200 burials, and the Halandrioni burial ground was quite large - 500 burials. It is divided into sections, in the smallest of which was 65, and in the largest - 242 graves. Some graves used the old rite of burial in stone crates. Tombs of new types also appeared - rectangular or oval with a stepped arch, with an unused small door closed by a stone, and with a dromos in front of it. The deceased were lowered into them through a hole in the roof ^[1] . In the second millennium BC. e. Minoan civilization existed on the island, the island was closely connected with Crete .

Historical period

After the death of the Minoan civilization, an obvious cultural degradation occurred on the island. In the dark ages, the island was inhabited by Ionians . The rise of culture occurred in the VI century BC. e. Archaeologists have found many artifacts related to this period - statues, amphorae, pifos , etc. It was during this period that the island of Ferekid , one of the first ancient Greek philosophers , was born. In the V century BC e. the island was a member of the Athenian Maritime Union , and in the IV century BC. e. - The Second Athenian Maritime Union . At the end of the IV century BC. e. the island recognized the power of Macedonia, then became part of the Roman Empire, and from the 5th century AD e. was part of Byzantium . After the IV Crusade in 1207, the island was captured by the Venetian Marco Sanudo and included it in the Duchy of Naxos . During this period, Catholicism prevailed on the island, since that time Catholics became the majority of the inhabitants of the island. In 1537, the island was captured by the Turks. However, the presence of a significant Catholic population forced many European countries, especially France , to show interest in the island and to provide protection to it. So, in the XVII century the Capuchin monastery was founded here , in the XVIII century - the Jesuit monastery in Ano (Upper) Syros , which was then the capital of the island, since below, by the sea, in those days there was nothing but a port. In the years 1771-1774, during the First Archipelago expedition of the Russian fleet, the island entered into Russian citizenship and served as a grocery store for the Russian fleet. In 1775, the Ottoman Empire was returned. During the Greek national liberation war of 1821-1829, the island held a neutral position due to the significant Catholic population. However, Syros received many refugees from Greece who arrived here in the hope of escaping from the Turkish massacre. It was they who built Ermoupolis in the 19th century ^[2] . In 1830, the island became part of the revived state of Greece.

Syros, along with Tinos, are the only territories in Greece that have a significant Catholic population. The Greek Catholics of Syros, Tinos and Athens make up the Greek exarchate of the Greek Catholic Church . In 2001, 47% of the inhabitants of the island were Catholics. Moreover, most Catholics live in the inner part of the island, in Ermoupolis Orthodox dominate.

• Eumeus - in ancient Greek mythology, a slave to Odysseus , one of the few who remained faithful to the old master - was born on the island of Syria, which the Greeks associated with Syros.
• Perekid (584 / 83-499 / 98) - philosopher, teacher of Pythagoras .
• Vikelas, Demetrius (1835-1908) - Greek businessman, poet, philologist, first president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (1894-1896).
• Suliotis-Nikolaidis, Athanasios (1878-1945) - Greek officer, Macedonomians, intelligence officer, politician and historian of the early XX century, ideologist of Greek-Turkish cooperation.
• Stylianos Likudis (1878 - 1958) - Admiral and Academician, devoted his life to the development of a network of lighthouses on the Greek coast and islands.
• Nicostratos Kalomenopoulos (1865 - 1952) - lieutenant general of the Greek army, military historian and topographer.

In the village of Foinikas (Finikas) , the Foinikas Syros Sports Club is based. The greatest success was achieved by the men's volleyball team of the club, sometimes playing in the major league and winning the first Greek Volleyball League Cup (in 2011 ) ^[3] , and six months later, the national championship silver medals. In 2016, from September 15 to 19, the World Championship in underwater fishing will be held on the island of Syros ^[4] .

• syros-ermoupolis.gr - official site of the Syros community — Ermoupolis (Greek)
• Syros GNTO . Date of treatment June 1, 2017.