Information AboutKythera |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT KYTHIRA | |
| ionian islands | |
| islands of greece | |
| piraeus prefecture | |
| cities and towns in greece | |
| port cities in greece | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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HISTORY At the start of the second millennium B.C. it was a Minoan colony and in 424 BC it came under the sway of Athens . In Ancient Greek Mythology , Kythera was considered to be the island of celestial Aphrodite , the Goddess of love, (cf. Cyprus , the island of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Sex). Over the centuries it knew a succession of conquerors from the Romans to the Byzantines , Venetians and Turks , and it was frequently looted by Barbary Pirate s. Kytherians still talk about the destruction and looting by Barbarossa , it has become an intrinsic part of the Kytherian folklore, yet one can easily accept the stories of locals by noticing the number of monasteries embedded in the rocky hillsides to avoid destruction by the pirates. On the 21st of May 1864 , the island was reunited with the, then young, Greek state. In the capital, Chora (or Kythera), inside the castle, one can find the Historical Archive of Kythera, the second largest in the Ionian islands, after the one found in Corfu . KYTHERA TODAY Like many of the smaller Aegean Islands , Kythera is depopulated. While the island had reached a peak population of about 14,500 in 1864, that has steadily declined mostly due to emigration, both internal (to major urban centres of Greece) and external (to Australia, the United States, Germany) in the first half of the 20th century. Today its population hovers around 3,354 people (2001 census), but the modern Greek diaspora has produced around 60,000 Kytherian descendants in Australia alone. Kythera is administratively exceptional in that:
The capital - Chora - is located on the southern part of the island having no ports connected to the southern Peloponnese or Vatika . Kythera's port for Viatika is in Agia Pelagia Kythera. Most of the over 60 village names end with "-anika" and a few end with -athika, -iana and -ades. The island is close to the Hellenic-arc plate boundary, and thus, a highly seismogenic part of the region. Many earthquakes in recorded history have had their epicentres near or on the island. Probably the largest in recent times is the 1903 earthquake near at the village of Mitata, that caused significant damage as well as limited loss of life. At the beginning of the 21st century, two main earthquakes have been of concern: that of November 5 , 2004 , an Earthquake measuring between 5.6 and 5.8 on the Richter Scale and the earthquake of January 8, 2006 , measuring 6.9ML. The Epicenter of the latter was in the sea about 20km to the east of Kythera, at a depth of approximately 70km. Damage was caused to many buildings, particularly old ones, mostly in the village of Mitata, but there were no casualties. Due to its strength it was felt as far as Italy, Egypt and Jordan. Despite the fact that the island has been a trade route for centuries, construction of a modern port was postponed several times until the latter half of the 20th century. In 1933, efforts were made to construct a port in the village of Agia Pelagia, yet internal, financial and governmental problems meant that it was only decades later that one was built. That small port of Agia Pelagia (now only serving smaller ferry boats from Neapolis - Vatika) was the island's main port until the mid-1990s. Around that time the new port of '''Diakofti''', the site originally chosen by the island's British rulers in the 19th century, was constructed along with a modern wider road, aiming to support larger cargo and passenger vessels. The port of '''Diakofti''' currently serves scheduled routes to/from Gythion, Antikythera, Piraeus , Crete & Neapolis - Vatika. Additionally, the island has an airport, located in the region between the village of Friligiannika and Diakofti, about 8km from the capital. The airport was revamped and extended at the turn of the 21st century, largely by private funds provided by the local population. The island is served by Olympic Airlines flights. MUNICIPALITIES Kythera VILLAGES
MAP OF KYTHERA ISLAND See the map of Tourist & Culture Guide of Kythera EXTERNAL LINKS
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