Kea (island)
Encyclopedia
Kea also known as Gia or Tzia , Zea, and, in Antiquity
, Keos , is an island of the Cyclades
archipelago, in the Aegean Sea
, in Greece
. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos
peripheral unit. Its capital, Ioulis
, is inland at a high altitude (like most ancient Cycladic settlements, for the fear of pirates) and is considered quite picturesque. Other major villages of Kea are Korissia (the port) and Vourkari (a fishing village). After suffering depopulation for many decades, Kea has been recently rediscovered by Athens
as a convenient destination for weekends and yachting
trips. The population in 2001 was 2,417.
(about 1 hour by ferry from Lavrio) and is also 20 km from Cape Sounio
as well as 60 km SE of Athens
. Its climate is arid
and its terrain is hilly. Kea is 19 km long from north to south and 9 km wide from west to east. The area is 129 km² with the highest point being 560m.
The municipality Kea includes the island of Makronisos
to the northwest.
settlement at the site now called Ayia Irini, which reached its height in the Late Minoan
and Early Mycenaean
eras (1600-1400 BCE).
In the classical period Kea (Ceos) was the home of Simonides
and of his nephew Bacchylides
, both ancient Greek lyric
poet
s, and the Sophist Prodicus
, and the physician Erasistratus
. The inhabitants were known for offering sacrifices to the Dog Star Sirius
and Zeus
to bring cooling breezes while awaiting for the reappearance of Sirius in summer; if the star rose clear, it would portend good fortune; if it was misty or faint then it foretold (or emanated) pestilence. Coins retrieved from the island from the 3rd century BC feature dogs or stars with emanating rays, highlighting Sirius' importance.
During the Byzantine
period many churches were built and the prosperity of the island rose. Kea was Byzantine until, in 1204, it was captured by the Venetians
in the wake of the fourth crusade
. It was recaptured by the Byzantines under Licario
in 1278. In 1296 it fell to the Venetians again, who soon built a castle on the ancient acropolis of Ioulis.
Kea was taken from the Venetians by the Ottoman Turks
in 1527. It joined Greece
following the Greek War of Independence
in 1821, along with the rest of the Cyclades.
HMHS Britannic
, the largest ship sunk in World War I
and sister ship to the RMS Titanic, was sunk off Kea in 1916.
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
, Keos , is an island of the Cyclades
Cyclades
The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos...
archipelago, in the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos
Kea-Kythnos
Kea-Kythnos is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of South Aegean. The regional unit covers the islands of Kea, Kythnos and several smaller islands in the Aegean Sea.-Administration:...
peripheral unit. Its capital, Ioulis
Ioulis
Ioulis or Ioulida , locally called Khora like the main towns of most Greek islands and sometimes known by the island name of Kea or Keos , is the capital of the island of Kea in the Cyclades.-Modern town:...
, is inland at a high altitude (like most ancient Cycladic settlements, for the fear of pirates) and is considered quite picturesque. Other major villages of Kea are Korissia (the port) and Vourkari (a fishing village). After suffering depopulation for many decades, Kea has been recently rediscovered by Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
as a convenient destination for weekends and yachting
Yachting
Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
trips. The population in 2001 was 2,417.
Geography
It is the island of the Cyclades complex that is closest to AtticaAttica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
(about 1 hour by ferry from Lavrio) and is also 20 km from Cape Sounio
Sounion
Cape Sounion is a promontory located SSE of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece.Cape Sounion is noted as the site of ruins of an ancient...
as well as 60 km SE of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Its climate is arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
and its terrain is hilly. Kea is 19 km long from north to south and 9 km wide from west to east. The area is 129 km² with the highest point being 560m.
The municipality Kea includes the island of Makronisos
Makronisos
Makronisos is an island in the Aegean sea, in Greece and is located close to the coast of Attica, facing the port of Lavrio. It has an elongated shape and its terrain is arid and rocky. In ancient times the island was called Helena. It is part of the prefecture of the Cyclades but it is not part...
to the northwest.
History
Kea is the location of a Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
settlement at the site now called Ayia Irini, which reached its height in the Late Minoan
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
and Early Mycenaean
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece was a cultural period of Bronze Age Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites...
eras (1600-1400 BCE).
In the classical period Kea (Ceos) was the home of Simonides
Simonides of Ceos
Simonides of Ceos was a Greek lyric poet, born at Ioulis on Kea. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets, along with Bacchylides and Pindar...
and of his nephew Bacchylides
Bacchylides
Bacchylides was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been a commonplace of Bacchylidean scholarship since at least Longinus...
, both ancient Greek lyric
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s, and the Sophist Prodicus
Prodicus
Prodicus of Ceos was a Greek philosopher, and part of the first generation of Sophists. He came to Athens as ambassador from Ceos, and became known as a speaker and a teacher. Plato treats him with greater respect than the other sophists, and in several of the Platonic dialogues Socrates appears...
, and the physician Erasistratus
Erasistratus
Erasistratus was a Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. Along with fellow physician Herophilus, he founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where they carried out anatomical research...
. The inhabitants were known for offering sacrifices to the Dog Star Sirius
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris...
and Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
to bring cooling breezes while awaiting for the reappearance of Sirius in summer; if the star rose clear, it would portend good fortune; if it was misty or faint then it foretold (or emanated) pestilence. Coins retrieved from the island from the 3rd century BC feature dogs or stars with emanating rays, highlighting Sirius' importance.
During the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
period many churches were built and the prosperity of the island rose. Kea was Byzantine until, in 1204, it was captured by the Venetians
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in the wake of the fourth crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
. It was recaptured by the Byzantines under Licario
Licario
Licario, called Ikarios by the Greek chroniclers, was a Byzantine admiral of Italian origin in the 13th century. At odds with the barons of his native Euboea, he entered the service of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos , and reconquered many of the Aegean islands for him in the 1270s...
in 1278. In 1296 it fell to the Venetians again, who soon built a castle on the ancient acropolis of Ioulis.
Kea was taken from the Venetians by the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1527. It joined Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
following the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
in 1821, along with the rest of the Cyclades.
HMHS Britannic
HMHS Britannic
HMHS Britannic was the third and largest of the White Star Line. She was the sister ship of and , and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. She was launched just before the start of the First World War and was laid up at her builders in Belfast for many months before...
, the largest ship sunk in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and sister ship to the RMS Titanic, was sunk off Kea in 1916.
Historical population
| Year | Island population |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 1,797 |
| 2001 | 2,417 |
Communities
- Chavouna
- Ellinika Kea
- Kato Meria
- IoulisIoulisIoulis or Ioulida , locally called Khora like the main towns of most Greek islands and sometimes known by the island name of Kea or Keos , is the capital of the island of Kea in the Cyclades.-Modern town:...
- Kea
- Korissia
- Koundouros, Greece
- Otzias
- Pisses
- Vourkari
Notable people
- AristoAristo of CeosAristo of Ceos was a Peripatetic philosopher and a native of the island of Ceos, where his birthplace was the town of Ioulis. He is not to be confused with Aristo of Chios, a Stoic philosopher of the mid 3rd century BC....
(3rd century BC) Peripatetic philosopher - ProdicusProdicusProdicus of Ceos was a Greek philosopher, and part of the first generation of Sophists. He came to Athens as ambassador from Ceos, and became known as a speaker and a teacher. Plato treats him with greater respect than the other sophists, and in several of the Platonic dialogues Socrates appears...
(5th century BC) sophist - SimonidesSimonides of CeosSimonides of Ceos was a Greek lyric poet, born at Ioulis on Kea. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets, along with Bacchylides and Pindar...
lyric poet (c. 556 BC-468 BC) - BacchylidesBacchylidesBacchylides was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been a commonplace of Bacchylidean scholarship since at least Longinus...
( 5th century BC) lyric poet
External links
- Official Island website
- An 1885 travel guide to Keos (Zea), an excerpt from James Theodore BentJames Theodore BentJames Theodore Bent was an English explorer, archaeologist and author.-Biography:James Theodore Bent was the son of James Bent of Baildon House, near Bradford, Yorkshire, where he was born. He was educated at Repton School and Wadham College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1875. In 1877 he married...
's The Cyclades, or Life among the Insular Greeks