According to Ezinesports, Lemnos is an island in the northern Aegean. The area of the island is 476 km 2, and 16,000 people inhabit it.
In Greek mythology, Lemnos was known as the island of Hephaestus, the god of fire. Hephaestus was born ugly and lame, and according to legend, as a child he was thrown from Olympus by his mother Hera to earth on the island of Lemnos. Inhabitants of Lemnos – Sintians, saved Hephaestus, and in gratitude he taught people the basics of metallurgy and blacksmithing. Once, the Lemnos women forgot to sacrifice to Aphrodite, for which they angered the goddess, and she sent a terrible stench on them. Then the men began to cheat on them with the Thracians. And one night the Lemnians killed all the men on the island and seized power. At the head of the Lemnian Amazons, who became famous for their raids on Thrace, was Ipsipyla. When the Argonauts, led by Jason, during their campaign for the Golden Fleece, arrived on an island ruled by women, Ipsipila wanted to attack them with weapons, but she was persuaded to accept them in peace. In honor of the arrival of the heroes, Queen Ipsipila instituted a pentathlon competition. Thus, Lemnos is considered the birthplace of the modern pentathlon.
Archaeological excavations have shown that the island has been inhabited since the middle of the Neolithic. The most important confirmation of this is the remains of the ancient city of Poliochni, the main archaeological site of Lemnos, discovered in the southeastern part of the island.. The city was founded in the 4th millennium BC and is the oldest organized settlement in Europe. During its heyday, the settlement was surrounded by powerful stone walls with towers and bastions. The walls of Poliochni have survived to this day. The main street of the city stretches from north to south. It is crossed by perpendicular lanes, which gives the layout a regular look. The walls of the houses were made of bricks and had a wooden frame. Apparently, this design arose to protect against great destruction in an area prone to earthquakes.
Around 1000 BC Lemnos was inhabited by Pelasgi or Tyrrhenians. By this time, the emergence of two other cities of the island – first Hephaestia and a little later Myrina. With the expansion of the Roman Empire, it falls under the rule of the Romans, and after its fall goes to the Byzantines. On the shore of the bay where Hephaestia is located, they found a prosperous city, which received the name Kotzinas. In those days, the lion’s share of the wheat consumed by Constantinople was produced and stored on the island.
The following events unfold in the XIII-XV centuries. Lemnos firstgoes to the Venetians, who fortify the island with fortresses to protect against pirates and Turks. At the end of the XV century. the island fell under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for several centuries. In 1770, the fleet under the command of Count Alexei Orlov besieged and took the Venetian fortress and for some time used Mirina as a base. And on July 1, 1807, between the shores of Lemnos and the Aion-Oros (Athos) peninsula, a battle took place between the Russian and Turkish fleets, which went down in history as the Battle of Athos.
During the First World War, the Entente troops were garrisoned on the island. After the First World War, there were still French troops, and in the fall of 1920, more than 18,000 Kuban Cossacks from the army of Baron Wrangel arrived on the island as refugees from the Crimea. Many were with families. Their presence on the island lasted more than a year. Finally, in November 1921, some of the Cossacks were transferred to Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, others dispersed to many countries of the world. Not everyone survived the winter on the island – the remains of about 500 people rest on Lemnos. There are more than 30 settlements on Lemnos, the largest of which are Mirina, its capital, and Mudros. Mirina stands on the site of the ancient city of the same name. The city stretches along the coast of two bays, separated by a rocky and steep cape, on which the Byzantine fortress of Kastro is located. Mudros is 27 km away from Mirina in a southeasterly direction. The city is home to the Church of the Annunciation, and in the suburbs is the Cossack cemetery, restored in 2004. Kotsinas, founded by the Byzantines, is located on the northern coast of the island. There is a medieval fortress in the bay. Near Kotsinas is Mount Despotis, which is identified with the ancient Mosichl and the volcano. The sanctuary of the Kabiri (Chloe) is located in the northeast of Lemnos. The ruins of buildings of the 7th-6th centuries have been preserved here. BC.
Lemnos – not a very popular place among tourists, so here you can find a quiet and relaxing holiday. At the same time, the beaches of the island are among the best in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Many beaches are located in the vicinity of Mirina. These include Agios Ioannis, surrounded by volcanic rocks; Avlonas with the purest sand; equipped Platy Beach; picturesque Thanos Beach; Romaikos Yialos, which offers a variety of water sports equipment. The muscat wine of Lemnos has been known since the time of Aristotle, who considered it the best wine in Greece. It is made from a very ancient grape variety – Limno.
