MYKONOS

The Aegean Sea, " Aegeon" is not simply just one of the many seas on our planet. It was, and continues to be, the geographical point at which one of the greatest civilazations on earth was born many thousands of years ago. The etymology of the name " Aegean" can be found in the Homeric vert " aisso" , meaning to jump. The word " aix" , meaning goat, derives from this verb, as of all of the animals that man has tamed, the goat is the one particular animal that jumps. The ancient Greeks metaphorically called large waves " aiges" . "Aegeon" therefore, means wavy.

The term Aegean as a geographical point refers to the entire area that is washed by its waters and includes not only the islands, but also the mainland of the Greek peninsula as well as the coast of Minor Asia. This area combines a wide varation in its climate with a geographical environment that favours the development of unique ecosystems. Moreover, by joining three continents, Europ, Asia and Africa, the Aegean has become the meeting point of these cultures. In this way, the creation of the Aegean culture was greatly influenced by the liquid element: the sea, which cuts off and protects from external invasion, but also unites those who have the means and dare to cross it. From its very early stages, the Aegean ceased to be simply salt water, " the als" , as it is studded with islands. It bacame the " pontos" ( bridge) and the "poros" (crossing point). The fact that these works can be found in early ancient Greek texts means that the liquid element had come under man's control from a much earlier served him accordingly. Archeological evidence confirms his hypothesis.

The Aegean islands, the majority of which are grouped together in small archipelagos, have in part formed societies with many common characteristics. These characteristics may differ from archipelago to archipelago, or even from island to island according to the opportunities for communication with their neighbours in the opposite mainland. At the same time the islands act as a bridge of communication from the western to eastern Aegean, and from the northern to southern Aegean.

The Cyclades, scattered as they are in the Aegean, contribute more than any other group of islands in dividing the big sea currents of the Aegean into smaller ones, therefore, resulting in a wide range of sea circulation. Considering the fact that, as it is with all the islands, the land that is closest to the island exercises not only an economical but also a cultural impace upon it, and also taking into consideration that the Cyclades are spread out over a large area along the mainland coastline, it is to be expected that the nature of their culture will differ to a certain extent according to the mainland area with which they maintain close relations.

GEOGRAPHY

Mykonos is located in the middle of the Aegean sea between Tinos and Naxos and constitutes a single administrative area with Delos, Rhenia and the surroundings islets. It is 94 nautical miles away from Piraeus and its surface area is 85 sq. kilometres. It is an island without steep mountains and rocks. Its single morphology with the low hills, where the settlements of Mykonos spread on top of them, is its main characteristic.

MYKONOS FROM ANTIQUITY UNTIL TODAY

The history of Mykonos seems insignificant compared to the wealth of findings in the neighboring island of Delos and in the other islands of the Cyclades. The construction activity during the last years though that has been expanded in mountain peaks and untrodden small streets, sheds light to more data regarding the history of the island wich are not mentioned by the ancient authors.

The granite mass of the island, which seems as if it was thrown in the fields of Mykonos countryside, was identified in the antiquity with the "giants" battle between the Olympian Gods and the children of Gaia who were fighting for the power of the world and consitutes the uniqueness of the Mykonos landscape. The giants lie defeated underneath the rocks that were throuwn by Athena and Hercules. Another myth relates the name of Mykonos with the one of Aiantas Lokros who was punishted by Podeidon for showing disrespect to the Gods in Troy. In his returning trip to his home, Aiantas drowned. The wreckages of his ship and the hero's body were washed ashore in the north side of the island.

Mykonos is scarcely mentioned in the ancient sources in contrast to the coverage of today’s media. In the classical times, the term “ Mykonios Geiton” was probably an insult as it was referring to the poor and the annoying neighbor that comes uninvited to the symposiums. The poorness of the land forced Mykonos people to search their luck in the sea. However, many kept themselves occupied in the island of Delos, which was one of the most important sacred places of Ionians. Nikolaos Svoronos, the known numismatist of Mykonos had identified the most known occupations of antiquity, but today we have a more clear picture of the past especially after the last excavations.

People seem to settle down in Mykonos in the prehistoric times during the Middle and the Late Neolithic Period, as the surface findings in the region of Kalafatis and Panormos indicate. The excavations which began by the professor and then Curator of the 21^st Ephorate A. Sampson in the eighties in Ftelia, which is in the northern region the existence of a Neolithic settlement that had been discovered by the archeologist and later Curator of the Acropolis Kostantinos Tsakos back in the seventies. The settlement, which was built near a mine of porous stone, gave samples of settlements with food oddments from the fireplaces that were traced in the region and they gave us new information for the flora and fauna of the Cyclades in the prehistoric times. It seems that there were forests and perhaps deers in the region back then.

After the Stone Age the islands entered to the Copper Age. It is the time when first the Minoan and then the Mycenaean civilizations were formed and in the third millennium the Cyclades are regional stations of these civilizations. Another important finding came to light by an excavator’s grab in 1991. A Mycenaean tomb was discovered in “Aggelika” peak that is over the port and the mainland of the southwestern part of the island under a granite rock, an indication of some wealthy lords’ burial of the 1500 B.C. The stone –built circled tomb that had a path in it, follows the known shape of the tombs of the Mycenaean period and had a large number of pottery with paintings of the known Mycenaean jewels made by local clay. Golden necklaces and stone rings from quartz crystal are among the findings that have not been exhibited in the museum yet.

In the so-called Historic Period, the ancient people of Mykonos settled down in two regions. In the Kastro of Chora in the western end of the today’s city, layers of habituation were discovered that are dated back to 2000 B.C. and continue until today without a stop after the excavations at “ Mavros” building behind the old school of Chora in 2004. As excavations in the surface indicate, the second settlement of the antiquity was in Palaiokastro region near to the today’s settlement of Ano Mera.

Excavations in Chora have indicated the region where the cemetery of the 6^th century B.C. was. The big ceramic jar which has figures on it and is exhibited in Mykonos Museum was found by chance during the excavation of a well in 1959 in the yard of the weaver Viennoula from Mykonos and it is probably a child tomb of the archaic period. Its decoration describes with unique way the story of Ilion conquest by the Greek with the Trojan Horse in the neck of the jar potter.

The Museum is situated above the old port of Mykonos and it was built in the beginning of the 20^th century to house the findings of the archeologist D. Stauropoulos from the excavation of the tombs of Rhenia. It is known , from Herodotus reference to the Peloponnesian war, that Rhenia was the cemetery of Delos people after the purification of Apollo’s sacred in 426 B.C. The few findings from prehistoric tombs in the region of Aghios Ioannis Diakoftis in the south of the island and the pottery of the Archaic Period were the only findings of the island until the eighties and they are also exhibited in the Museum/

Dionysos and Dimitra sanctuaries have been discovered in the countryside in the south of Mykonos and a new sanctuary of Apollo was also found after an excavation in the northern side two years ago. Furthermore, the granite doors of a Hellenistic tower stand in “Portes” over the region of the well known beach of Platis Gialos. This tower was probably part of a defensive tower system of that time. In the Roman times the island is connected directly to the port of Delos which developed into one of the most important trade harbors in the Mediterranean with flourishing economic and cosmopolitan character and probably looked quiet alike modern Mykonos. Mykonos vicinity with the sacred island of Apollo and the excavations of the French that were started in 1873 are some of the reasons for the island’s development to a famous tourist resort worldwide.

The visitors back in the sixties were using the boats from Mykonos to visit the sacred of Apollo and the ruins of Delos. Many artists and literary people who were visiting Mykonos at that time, were charmed by the architecture of Chora and the hospitality of its people. This architecture which was created by the need of the people and the know how of the stone craftsmen was admired even by the French architect Le Corbusier. This craftsmanship and the practical knowledge that is vanishing today through the swirl of development and the new materials, is a heritage of a tradition which is connected with antiquity. The architecture of the city of Delos rests in the secrets of this craft that has to do with the schist process saved today in the city – the so called Chora – of Mykonos. The squares and the small streets of the city of the 2d century B.C. have the same atmosphere with the narrow streets of Chora in Mykonos.

In the sixties the Archaeology seat was in Mykonos and thanks to N. Zafeiropoulos vision who was curator of the antiquities , the Ministry of Presidency that was then in charge of antiquities was persuaded to place the islands of the Cyclades under a special protection scheme. That was to keep the character and the special characteristics of the traditional settlements of the Aegean and be protected from the unplanned construction and the development that follows mass-tourism. It took at least 10 years for the value of that measure to be recognized by the people.

Each place is tied up with the needs and the practices of the people that live in it. These people sometimes defend the place and other times the place is exploited by them. Today the tourism of the island has a completely different character. However, the soul of the island, for those who are familiar with it, is hidden in the corners of Chora away from the crowded places and the noise of the modern life. The history of the place will continue to be revealed step by step only to the visitor who is interested to seek for it, if there is still such a visitor.

SETTLEMENTS

The local dialect of Mykonos is characterized by a peculiar characteristic. The world “ chorio” ( village) is not similar to the word “oikismos ( settlement) for the people of Mykonos. The definition of the word “ chorio” for the locals is: “ a traditional farm house in a natural basin and has land for cultivation”. So, when the people of Mykonos refer to the word “ chorio” (village) they are talking for separate units, different houses that are built in the rocky and with limited sources ground of the island. This island therefore, has hundreds “ choria” (villages ) and only few “ oikismous” ( settlements) . Chora is the only historic settlement of Mykonos.