Symi
Simi
(Greek:
Σύμη; also transliterated Syme or Symi) is
a small but historic
Greek
island. Geographically, it is part of the
Dodecanese
island chain, located about 41 km from
Rhodes
(and 425 km from
Piraeus,
the port of
Athens),
with
57 kmē
of mountainous terrain. Its interior is dotted with
small valleys, and its coastline alternates between
rocky cliffs and sandy coves. Its main town, located on
the northeast coast, is also named Simi, and the island
has around 2,500 inhabitants, mostly engaged in fishing,
trade, and tourism. In addition to its many historical
sites, the island's isolated beaches—many reachable only
with small boats—are popular with tourists.
In
Greek mythology,
Simi is reputed to be the birthplace of the
Three Graces,
and it takes its name from
Poseidon's
wife, the nymph Syme (in antiquity the island was known
as Aigli and Metapontis).
History
In
Homer's
Iliad
the island is mentioned as the domain of King
Nireus,
who fought in the
Trojan War
on the side of the Greeks.
Thucydides
writes that during the
Peloponnesian War
there was a
Battle of Syme
near the island in January,
411 BC,
in which an unspecified number of
Spartan
ships defeated a squadron of Athenian vessels.
Little
is known of the island until the
14th century,
but archaeological evidence indicates it was
continuously inhabited, and ruins of citadels suggest it
was an important location. It was first part of the
Roman Empire
and then the
Byzantine Empire,
until its conquest by the
Knights of St. John
in
1373.
This
conquest, fuelled by the Knights' interest in shipping
and commerce, launched what was to be a period of
several centuries of prosperity for Simi, as its
location amidst the Dodecanese made it an important
waypoint for trade until the advent of
steam-powered
shipping in the
19th century.
The island was conquered from the Knights by the
Ottoman Empire
in
1522
(along with nearby
Rhodes)
but it was allowed to retain many of its privileges, so
its prosperity continued virtually uninterrupted. It
attained the height of its prosperity in the mid 19th
century, and many of the peculiarly colorful
neoclassical
mansions covering the slopes near the main city date
from that period.
The
island, along with the rest of the Dodecanese, changed
hands several times in the
20th century:
in
1912
it was occupied by
Italy,
formally ceded to Italy in
1923,
and finally rejoined with Greece in
1948
(see
Dodecanese
for details).
Notable Sites
- The
Monastery of the
Archangel Michael
Panormitis is a
Greek Orthodox
monastery
built on the southwest coast in the early
18th century.
It overlooks a bay, and is still inhabited by monks.
- The
"Knight's Castle" overlooks the main town of Simi.
It was built by the Knights of St. John as an
expansion of a Byzantine castle on the same site,
many parts of which are still visible. There are
also remnants of an ancient citadel on which the two
later castles were built.
-
There are two monuments at the main port that date
back to the
Classical era.
- The town
of Simi alone has thirteen major churches and dozens
of chapels, some dating back to the Byzantine era.
- The
northern port of Emborios (also called Nimborio) has
surviving ancient
Pelasgian
walls and a set of twelve domes remaining from
workshops used by artists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symi
Vacancies
in Symi
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