Vrontados
Encyclopedia
Vrontados is a small coastal town located at the eastern part of the island of Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...

 in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. With a population of about 4,500 the town hosts the seat of the municipality of Omiroupolis.

Other

The town has a strong tradition in merchant seafaring and is currently the home of various important Greek ship owners. Also Vrontados is well known for its unique Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

 celebration known as rouketopolemos
Rouketopolemos
Rouketopolemos is the name of a local traditional event held annually at Easter in the town of Vrontados on the Greek island of Chios...

 (rocket war). Due to its proximity to the city of Chios (the island's capital), modern Vrontados is considered a sort of a suburb of the capital. Vrontados purportedly gets its name from the loud noise thunder (Vrontes - Βροντές) makes as it echoes from the nearby mountain, Aepos.

Historical References

The legendary Poet Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

 was supposedly born or at least lived for a long time in Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...

, on the north side of the Vrontados coast is the so called "Homer's stone", a rather uncomfortable natural rock throne where according to the legend the poet sang and taught.

According to tradition, Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...

, visited Vrontados in order to study nautical charts and get information of experienced Vrondadian seamen who would help him to his great voyage for the discovery of America.

External links


See also

  • Chios
    Chios
    Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...

  • Communities of the Chios prefecture
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