Lesbos

This article describes the Greek island of Lesbos. For further meanings, see Lesbos (disambiguation) .

Lesbos (Λέσβος)
Waters	Mediterranean Sea
Archipelago	East Aegean Islands
Geographical location	39 ° 12 '  N , 26 ° 18'  E Coordinates: 39 ° 12 '  N , 26 ° 18'  E
length	70 km
width	40 km
surface	1 636  km²
Highest elevation	Vigla (Leptimos Mountains) 968  m
Residents	86,436 (2011) 53 inhabitants / km²
main place	Mytilene

Lesvos or Lesvos ( Greek Λέσβος ) is the third largest island in Greece and with an area of ​​almost 1636 km² the eighth largest in the Mediterranean . Since 2011 the island has formed the regional district of Lesbos (Περιφερειακή Ενότητα Λέσβου) in the North Aegean region . According to the 2011 census, the island had 86,436 inhabitants. The island has been divided into two municipalities since 2019. In Mytilini , the commercial and economic center of the island, live 37,890 inhabitants. In addition there are about 12,000 people who are in the Moria refugee camp stayed until it was almost completely destroyed in a major fire in September 2020.

Surname

In Greek mythology , the island's patron was called "Lezbos", the son of Lapithes , who married Methymna . The word lesbian , in the sense of female homosexual, is derived from the name of the island, as the ancient poet Sappho , who came from there, sang of her love for women in her poems.

geography

location

Lesvos is located in the northern Aegean Sea and is part of the East Aegean Islands within the Northeast Aegean Islands . In the north the Gulf of Edremit (Edremit Körfezi) separates the island from Asia Minor with about nine kilometers in a very short distance, in the east the approximately 15 km wide strait of Lesbos (Στενό Μυτιλήνης). The nearest larger islands are Chios 48 km south, Psara 65 km southwest, Agios Efstratios 76 km west and Limnos 74 km north-west.

shape

Satellite image

Lesbos is of volcanic origin and rises in several places to almost a thousand meters above sea level. The 1635.998 km² island is divided by two indentations reaching deep into the interior of the island from the south. Its maximum extension of a little more than 70 km reaches Lesbos measured from Cape Agrilia (Ακρωτήριο Αγριλιά) in the southeast to Cape Saratsina (Ακρωτήριο Σαράτσινα) in the southwest. The longest extension in north-south direction is around 45 km from Cape Korakas (Ακρωτήριο Κόρακας) to Cape Agios Fokas (Ακρωτήριο Άγιος Φωκάς).

Mountain massifs dominate the island. The Lepetymnos (Λεπέτυμνος) in the north is the highest peak of the island with 968 m, the Olymbos in the south is almost the same at 967 m. In the extensive western Ordymnos massif (Όρδυμνος) the Profitis Ilias reaches a height of 799 m, in the southeast the Kourteri (Κουρτερή) with 527 m is the highest point on the Amali Peninsula (Χερσόνησος Αμαλή). Almost half of the island is hilly land with olive and fruit trees and forests, predominantly Mediterranean pines with oak and walnut trees. They cover about 20% of the island's area. The mountain and hill country is repeatedly interrupted by plains that make up almost a third of the island. The largest are on the two lakeside golf courses. Lesbos has more than a dozen water-bearing rivers and streams all year round, the largest of which have their source on the Olymbos in the east of the island, the Evergetoulas flows into the Gulf of Gera.

From the south coast, two bays with a depth of around 20 meters each extend into the island. The 43 km² and about 6.5 km long Gulf of Gera (Κόλπος Γέρας) in the southeast is connected to the sea by a 200 to 800 m wide canal. The Gulf of Kalloni (Κόλπος Καλλονής) with a surface 110 km² goes up to 21 km into the interior of the island. The rest of the coastline is divided by numerous smaller bays. Uninhabited islets are in front of the coast at various points. The largest is Megalonisi in the far west, in the far east lie the Tomaronisia .

Two petrified tree trunks in the Lesvos Geopark. They were obtained by being covered in volcanic ash.

On the way between Antissa and Sigri there is a petrified forest from the time of 23 million years ago. In western Lesvos there are more than 30 former lava domes , so-called Necks , and several volcanic calderas (Skoutari, Vatousa, Agra and Anemotia). The east of the island is forested and most of it is not volcanic. Only at Polichnitos are there clear signs of active volcanism and the hottest springs in Greece (70–85 ° C).

climate

The island's climate is characterized by strong uneven spatial and seasonal precipitation distribution and large differences between minimum and maximum daytime temperatures. Lesbos lies in the transition area between the Mediterranean winter rainy climate and the continental steppe climate of Asia Minor. The semi-arid west of the island is separated from the sub-humid east of the island by an approximately ten kilometer wide transition zone.

The records of the Mytilene weather station in the east of the island indicate a hot and dry summer from April to October with an average temperature of 26.2 ° C and a cool, humid winter from November to March with an average temperature of 10.5 ° C. In the period from 1955 to 1997, the absolute maximum temperature in Mytilini was 40.4 ° C, the minimum temperature was -4.4 ° C.

Rainfalls are rare during the hot season. The average rainfall in July is 2.7 mm and from June to August a total of 14.7 mm. Precipitation is concentrated in the wet and cold season, with a peak of 152.7 mm in December. The average annual rainfall varies between 725 mm in the east and only 414 mm in the western part of the island. The long-term precipitation data for Mytilene show a decrease in the amount of about 35% from 1980 to 2000. A further decrease in the mean annual rainfall has been observed since 2000. In the period from 2000 to 2008, the amount of precipitation almost halved compared to the mean value from 1954 to 1999. This trend was observed for all months except November. The decrease in rainy days is about two days per month. This decrease in precipitation combined with an increase in air temperature has already been demonstrated or predicted for other regions of the Mediterranean.

Precipitation data from various locations on the island show that the western part of the island receives only 65% ​​of the amount of rain compared to the other areas. The reduced rainfall in West Lesbos is mainly due to strong winds in this area. The mean speeds are about twice as high as in the eastern and central island areas.

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Mytilene Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 12.1 12.6 14.6 19.0 23.9 28.5 30.4 30.2 26.7 21.7 17.2 13.8 O 20.9 Min. Temperature (° C) 6.7 7.0 8.0 11.2 15.2 19.3 21.6 21.4 18.5 14.8 11.4 8.7 O 13.7 Precipitation ( mm ) 119.7 89.3 71.5 46.2 21.5 5.7 2.2 3.2 10.5 38.9 96.6 142.8 Σ 648.1 Rainy days ( d ) 13.0 11.3 10.7 9.5 5.9 2.7 1.0 0.7 2.5 6.4 10.0 13.9 Σ 87.6 Source: National Meteorological Service of Greece, 1955–1997

Administrative structure

→ Main article : Administrative division of Lesbos

With the implementation of the municipality reform according to the Kapodistrias program in 1997, the island of Lesbos was divided into 13 municipalities with a total of 73 municipal districts. On January 1, 2011, the Kallikratis program brought the former municipalities of the island together to form the newly created municipality of Lesvos ( Dimos Lesvou Δήμος Λέσβου), the administrative seat was Mytilini. This community was divided into the two communities Mytilini and Dytiki Lesvos in 2019 .

Parish	Greek name	code	Area (km²)	2001 residents	Residents 2011	City districts / local communities (Δημοτική / Τοπική Κοινότητα)	location
Mytilene	Δημοτική Ενότητα Μυτιλήνης	530101	107.460	36,196	37,890	Mytilini, Agia Marina, Alyfanda, Afalonas, Loutra, Moria, Pamfila, Panagiouda, Taxiarche
Agia Paraskevi	Δημοτική Ενότητα Αγίας Παρασκευής	530102	117.697	02,628	02,497	Agia Paraskevi, Napi
Agiasos	Δημοτική Ενότητα Αγιάσου	530103	079.924	02,587	02,373	Agiasos
Gera	Δημοτική Ενότητα Γέρας	530104	086,350	06,985	06.101	Pappados, Mesagros, Paleokipos, Perama, Plakados, Skopelos
Eresos-Andissa	Δημοτική Ενότητα Ερεσού-Αντίσσης	530105	290.947	05,530	05,269	Eresos , Andissa, Vatoussa, Mesotopos, Pterounda, Sigri , Chidira
Evergetoulas	Δημοτική Ενότητα Ευεργέτουλα	530106	088.866	03,336	02,771	Sykoundos, Asomatos, Ippio, Kato Tritos, Keramia, Lambou Myli, Mychos
Kalloni	Δημοτική Ενότητα Καλλονής	530107	241,946	08,194	08,504	Kalloni, Agra, Anemotia, Arisvi, Dafia, Keramio, Parakila, Skalochorio, Filia
Loutropoli Thermis	Δημοτική Ενότητα Λουτροπόλεως Θερμής	530108	079.468	03,809	03.135	Loutropolis Thermis, Komi, Mistegna, Nees Kydonies, Pigi, Pyrgi Thermis
Mandamados	Δημοτική Ενότητα Μανταμάδου	530109	119.585	03.210	02,447	Mandamados, Kapi, Klio, Pelopi
Mithymna	Δημοτική Ενότητα Μήθυμνας	530110	050.166	02,433	02,255	Mithymna, Argennos, Lepetymnos, Sykaminea
Petra	Δημοτική Ενότητα Πέτρας	530111	075.329	03,749	03,358	Petra, Lafionas, Skoutaros, Stypsi, Ypsilometopo
Plomari	Δημοτική Ενότητα Πλωμαρίου	530112	122.452	06,698	05,602	Plomari , Akrasi, Ambeliko, Megalochori, Neochori, Paleochori, Plagia, Trygonas
Polichnitos	Δημοτική Ενότητα Πολιχνίτου	530113	172.629	05,288	04.234	Polichnitos, Vasilika, Vrisa, Lisvori, Stavros
total		5301	1,632,819	90,643	86,436

The largest cities are the capital of the island of Mytilini, as well as Kalloni, Mithymna, Plomari, Agiassos and Petra.

story

prehistory

Hunters, fishermen and gatherers

Archaeological research has long been neglected on Lesbos, so the written history is comparatively poorly researched. The earliest traces of human life are stone artefacts from Rodafnidia (Ροδαφνίδια) near Lisvori . The reductions in Levallois be the Middle Palaeolithic dated by the recent research Middle Pleistocene or the Acheuléen assigned. This makes it the oldest site in Greece. The waterway east of the island is 50 m deep, which meant that human and animal immigration was easily possible during the cold periods when the sea level was up to 130 m below today's level. The Middle Paleolithic finds have been dated to at least 258,000 ± 48,000 years, the tool technology indicates an even higher age, similar to Kaletepe Deresi 3 or even the Olduwai sites.

Early farming cultures, Bronze Age

Settlement activities of the late Neolithic and thus early peasant cultures could be demonstrated in several places in the interior of the island on high hills and on the coast. The relatively late Neolithization, which is not certain, can possibly be explained by the fact that the opposite mainland also has a delay. Any older traces could also be explained by the rising sea level and thus by the destruction of coastal settlements.

Almost 40 settlements testify to the continued settlement since the Early Bronze Age , i.e. in the 3rd millennium BC. The places were preferably on the coast or on alluvial land in the east, southeast and in the center of the island. The western part of the island was first discovered from the Middle Bronze Age , i.e. in the early 2nd millennium BC. BC, and especially populated in the coastal zone during the Late Bronze Age. Important high altitude settlements are Angourelia Sarakinas, Saliakas (from there the route from the southeast of the island and its inner part on the Gulf of Kalloni could be controlled) and Prophitias Ilias. The Gulf of Kalloni and the east coast formed the main settlement centers.

Only Thermi has been comprehensively researched stratigraphically , a total of seven construction phases were proven. The settlement of Thermi began around 3000 BC. BC on a flat peninsula on the east coast in one of the most fertile areas of the island. Benefiting from agriculture and maritime trade, Thermi developed during the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. To an early urban center of the northern Aegean Sea. The organized expansion of the settlement to an area of ​​1.5 hectares was geared to the needs of the steadily growing population. In the Thermi IV phase , the settlement had around 1200 inhabitants and was protected by a complex fortification. In the subsequent phase, Thermi V. , long, narrow houses built together dominated the re-fortified settlement. Thermi V was finally established in the 2nd half of the 3rd millennium BC. Abandoned before the end of Troy II. The fortified settlement of Kourtir near Lisvori reached an area of ​​about four to five hectares, and a limited archaeological emergency excavation was carried out.

Late Bronze Age, Hittites

From the late 14th century BC onwards, Lesbos belonged to the Late Bronze Age. To the rulership of the Hittite vassal state of Šeḫa . Two Hittite texts from the 13th century BC BC refer to the island as Lazba or Lazpa . The first (KUB V, 6), which presumably dates from the time of the Hittite great king Muršili II , reports on the transfer of an image of a god from the capital of the same name to Ḫattuša . The second (KUB 19.5), from Manapa-Tarḫunta and addressed to the Hittite great king Muwatalli II , mentions an attack on the island by Piyamaradu , a prince from the former Arzawa area. This kidnapped several Sarapitu , probably priests or craftsmen, after Itamar Singer purple dyers, who were in the service of the kings of Mira , Seḫa, but also the Hittite great king, to Millawanda (very likely Miletus ), which was ruled by Aḫḫijawa and the actions of the Piyamaradu at least covered.

Antiquity

Greeks and Persians, Hellenistic Empires

As early as the 6th century BC There was a flourishing of poetry, which is associated with names such as Sappho († around 570) or Alkaios of Lesbos († around 580). Music and philosophy were added later; Here are Aristotle (who lived 345/344 v. Chr. in Mytilini), Theophrastus († 287), Epicurus (born on Samos) to name.

Coin minted under the Persians, approx. 510-480 BC. Chr.

Around 600 BC Tyrants appeared who fought fierce battles for status and power after the island had already experienced violent clashes. Above all, the work of Alkaios contributes to the comparatively favorable source situation. For the late phase of tyranny, towards the end of the 6th century, we have to rely on Herodotus and his description of Koes. Melanchros , "tyrant of Mytilene", was after Alcaios in the 42nd Olympiad, between 612/611 and 609/608 BC. BC, overthrown by Pittakos . The beginning of its aisymnety is usually dated around 598/597; at the same time, the war for Sigeion is handed down, a city on the mainland of Asia Minor. Nevertheless, after the overthrow of his enemies, his rule is considered a comparatively peaceful time. His resignation made him one of the Seven Wise Men . Finally, Koes was installed as a tyrant by the Persians at the end of the 6th century, in which way is not known. The Persian general Otanes conquered the islands of Lemnos and Imbros with the help of lesbian ships , Keos himself took part in the Persian campaign against Naxos in 499 . After the failure of this campaign, Keos was captured and stoned in the course of the Ionian revolt of the Greek cities against the Persians. The second form of tyranny apparently relied on Persian support.

The Delisch-Attic League, 431 BC Chr.

Lesvos remained of considerable importance mainly because of the port city of Mytilene and the proximity to the Persian Empire . 478 BC The polis became a member of the Attic League, but fell away from this league in 428 under the leadership of Athens. Along with Chios, Mytilene was the last Graubünden citizen who had supported the Attic fleet in the League with his own ships. But the ordinary Mytilenian citizens, armed with weapons by the leaders of the insurrection, did not want to fight the Athenians. Instead, they forced the city to surrender and surrender to the Athenian strategist Paches. He had more than 1,000 main operators of the garbage from the League of Lakes brought to Athens for judgment by the people's assembly and distributed their land to Attic clergy . The already scheduled action to execute and enslave the entire population of Mytilenes - a terrifying example should be made - could just be prevented. Mytilenes fortifications were razed and its ships were taken over by the Athenians.

406 BC The Spartan fleet under Kallikratidas besieged the city, who had enclosed the general Konon with the bulk of the Athenian fleet in the port. The Athenians sent an auxiliary fleet and were able to free the trapped in the Battle of the Arginus - named after a group of islands east of Lesbos, today Garip Adaları . The battle was the greatest naval battle of the Peloponnesian War . Only decades later did Lesvos leave the Athens-led sea league. The leading power eventually became Macedonia .

When Alexander the Great began to conquer the Persian Empire, the Persian fleet managed to conquer Lesbos. The admirals Pharnabazos and Autophradates tried to keep the most important islands under their control. Alexander, however, marched further eastward, so that the Macedonian Nauarchs Hegelochus and Amphoteros were able to systematically occupy the islands, including Lesbos. There the Athenian mercenary leader Chares negotiated free withdrawal with 2,000 men.

Roman Empire

Course of the aqueduct, 6 = Moria

Roman aqueduct , south of Moria

Late antique floor mosaic from the House of Menander, Mytilene Archaeological Museum

The Christianization began on the island comparatively late. In late antiquity there were around 60 communities, a surprisingly high number that can be derived from the heresies that shaped the island from the 4th to 6th centuries. Pagan communities also continued to exist in the north for a long time. Neither martyrdoms nor violent acts have been handed down, but rather the leading members of the community decided to convert, probably for reasons of adapting to the rest of the late Roman elite of the empire.

Eastern Byzantium (until 1354), Genoa (until 1462), Seljuks

Mithymna with fortress; as Molova was the city Kaza Ottoman Sanjak of Metelin in Vilayet Rhodes .

Lesbos and Ayvalik - Map by Piri Reis

In the Middle Ages and early modern times, the islands were mostly called Mitylene. There were two poleis on the island , namely Mitylene in the east, which became a bishopric in the 4th century, before 536 a metropolis, and Methymna in the north, which became a bishopric before 787 and was autocephalous from 836 . In early Byzantine times, the agriculturally important island belonged to the province of Nesoi, the capital of which was Rhodes . In the Middle Byzantine period, the island belonged to the Aigaion Pelagos theme .

With the conquest of Anatolia by the Seljuks , Byzantium got on the defensive at the latest since the Battle of Manzikert (1071). The Seljuks penetrated as far as the Aegean Sea and founded emirates there . In 1090 Tzachas , the emir of Smyrna , succeeded in conquering the island, but was driven out by the Byzantine fleet. In 1124/25 a Venetian fleet occupied Lesbos when Venice's fleet was on its way back from the Holy Land . Their task was to force the emperor to renew a trade agreement. According to Benjamin von Tudela , there were ten Jewish families in ten communities in 1165.

With the conquest of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade (1204), the island fell to the Latin Empire , but one of the successor empires of the Byzantine Empire, the Empire of Nikaia , succeeded in conquering Lesbos in 1225. With the reconquest of Constantinople in 1261 the Latin period ended.

Alexios Philanthropenus , who had led a rebellion in Asia Minor in 1295, was pardoned by Emperor Andronikos II in 1323 on the intercession of the patriarch Isaiah . He succeeded in liberating Philadelphia from Turkish siege, and remained there as governor until Andronikos sent him to Lesbos as governor in 1326 (or 1327). But his successor Andronikos III. Relieved him of this post in 1328.

When Lesbos was conquered in 1335 by a Latin troop under the Genoese lord of Phokaia , Domenico Cattaneo, in league with Nicolò I of Naxos, a fleet under the command of Philanthropenus recaptured the island for the emperor. The occupation of the fortress only surrendered in November 1336. A renewed attack by the Turks prevented monetary payments. Philanthropenos remained governor and probably died on Lesbos in the 1340s.

Map of the island of Lesbos, made around 1417 to 1420, Cristoforo Buondelmonti : Liber Insularum Archipelagi

In 1354, Lesbos went to the Genoese patrician Francesco Gattilusio as a dowry from Irene-Maria, sister of Emperor Johannes V , as thanks for his help with weapons in the fight against John VI. Kantakuzenos . However, it remained Byzantine territory. The rule of Gattilusio ended in 1462 with the conquest of the island by the Ottomans under Mehmed II. As early as 1450, a naval operation against Kallone had come about. In 1462 about a third of the residents were deported to Constantinople. Lesbos was now called "Midillü" by the Turks after the capital of the island Mitylene, today in Turkish Midilli Adası .

Ottoman period (1462-1912)

Former mosque

Ottoman sailors on the ship Barbaros Hayreddin , named after Hızır , 1913

Little research has been done into the Ottoman period. "Castro", as the capital was often called in the 19th century, had around 10,000 inhabitants around 1800, "of which the Turks make up the 5th part," as William Wittman reports.

In 1463, after the Turkish conquest of the Peloponnese, Venice conquered the islands of Tenedos and Lesbos, in 1473 a Venetian fleet attacked Lesbos, whereupon Ottoman forces began a counter-attack, which led to the conquest of the then Venetian Negroponte in 1470 and the Albanian Shkodra in 1479 .

Hızır, better known as Khair ad-Din Barbarossa , who was born there around 1478, also came from the lesbian capital . His father Yakub, a former Janissary or Sipahi soldier, a Greek who converted to Islam, had settled on the island after 1462. There he married Catalina, the widow of a Greek priest. Together they had two daughters and four sons, of whom the later dreaded corsair Hızır was the youngest. He helped his father in the family's own pottery for a long time, but around 1500 Hızır and his four years older brother Oruç left the island for north-west Africa, where Hızır managed to gain their own rule. When he got into trouble, he began to capture for the Ottomans and in 1525 and 1534 he succeeded in conquering Algiers and Tunis .

With Solomon Abenayisch (1520 (?) - 1603) was a Sephardic Jew dux of Lesbos. He was born as Alvaro Mendes. He was a major advocate of anti-Spanish naval policy.

From 1825 a mosque was built in Mytilene, the Yeni Cami , which means nothing more than New Mosque . It was commissioned by the governor (nazır) Kulaksızzade Mustafa Ağa. After the Turks had to leave the island in 1912, Greek refugees were housed there.

A rather notorious lesbian from Ottoman times was Cemal Pascha , who was born in May 1872 in what was then Midilli-Mytilini. He was the son of a military doctor. As a young officer, he joined the Young Turk movement, which pursued the fundamental renewal of the Turkish state. Together with Ziya Gökalp and Mehmet Talaat , he was one of the founders of the Committee for Unity and Progress , which set itself the goal of taking over state power. In 1908 the movement took power in the course of the Young Turkish Revolution . With the coup of 1913, Cemal rose to a triumvirate along with Talaat Bey and Enver Pascha . Cemal became Minister of the Navy in 1914, and as military commander and governor general of Syria, he was jointly responsible for the 1915 government-ordered genocide of the Armenians , whom he is considered to be the “overseer of the genocide”. Cemal was sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes in 1919 and murdered in 1922.

Greece (from 1912/23)

Conquered, by then Ottoman territories by the armistice of 1912

Averoff , launched in 1910 in Livorno, Italy , single-handedly pushed away the outdated Ottoman fleet. Thus, under the command of Pavlos Koundouriotis, many Aegean islands were occupied.

Greek troops land in Mytilene in 1912

The island was conquered almost without resistance by Greek troops under Pavlos Koundouriotis in the course of the Balkan Wars at the end of 1912 , and after the First World War it was finally awarded to Greece by the Treaties of Sèvres and Lausanne . Only a few Turks lived on Lesbos at that time. During the exodus of Greeks from Asia Minor after 1923 , Lesbos was a nearby refuge and tens of thousands settled there. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos was elected with an overwhelming majority in a by-election on the island in May 1916. After the parliamentary election on November 14, 1920, which was disappointing for him and his party, he emigrated to Paris. The campaign in Asia Minor, which his successors continued, ended with the loss of the East Thrace and Asia Minor provinces won in Sèvres and the expulsion of the Greeks residing there and in the rest of Asia Minor. The Turks on Lesbos had to look for a new home in Ayvalık (Quince City).

Mytilene Airport was completed in 1932 . It went into operation in 1948.

During the Second World War , the Wehrmacht began an attack on Yugoslavia and Greece on April 6, 1941 . Greece surrendered on April 23, 1941. Wehrmacht troops occupied Athens on April 27, and Lesbos on May 4, 1941. In January 1942 the local command office 982 was installed in Mytilini for the area of ​​these islands; Milos, Limnos, Chios and the Northern Sporades were also subordinate to the “Commander Salonika-Aegean” . The supply situation was catastrophic at the end of 1941. Lieutenant General Curt von Krenzki wired to Berlin that no bread had been served for 40 days. In January 1942 a communist liberation movement emerged, but it was more the work of local dignitaries, an officer, a Venizelos deputy, then a large landowner and the owner of a soap factory. Their moderate social reform program led them to join the People's Liberation Army. A total of 42 people were executed during the 40 months of German occupation that ended on September 10, 1944; the first three at the port of Mytilene, the later - to avoid the public - at Tzamakia beach. A memorial was erected there in 1945. Since 2016 an additional plaque has been marking the place as a place of "historical remembrance".

Refugee crisis (from 2015)

→ Main article : "Greece" in the article Refugee crisis in Europe from 2015

Several hundred refugees arrived on the island (also on some of the neighboring islands, especially Kos ) every day from the spring of 2015, many of them from Syria. They were brought to the island by 'people with boats' from Turkey. In September 2015, around 11,000 people were waiting to be allowed to travel on to mainland Greece. The island gained international media attention as a symbol of the refugee crisis in Europe .

After the Balkan route had largely been closed and Turkey had taken measures to prevent illegal migration from Turkey to the EU , significantly fewer refugees landed on Lesbos by summer 2019. However, in July and August 2019, around 12,000 people landed on boats on the Greek islands. The Moria refugee camp on Lesbos was overcrowded by four times its capacity from August. In September, Yannis Balpakakis resigned from his position, who had headed the camp since 2016. At the end of January 2020, there were already 19,000 people in Moria, which was only designed for 3,000 refugees. This makes Moria Europe's largest refugee camp. To keep more boats away, a floating protection system was announced off the east coast of the island.

In the course of the Syrian civil war , the Turkish government opened the borders for refugees in February and March 2020 after the breach of the EU-Turkey agreement , which led to an increase in the number of refugees to Lesbos as well. Greece then closed its land borders with Turkey. Incoming refugees, journalists, police officers and members of aid organizations who were on Lesvos after the opening of the borders were attacked with impunity . On March 1, Athens suspended the right to asylum for 30 days and the local police department informed the refugees who had since arrived that they were "unwanted migrants" and would be deported.

At the beginning of September 2020, two major fires broke out in the camp, which was almost completely destroyed.

economy

Lesvos has a peculiarity against the patriarchal background of Greek society, the house dowry (prika). It is still common in the Cyclades and the East Aegean. This means that at the wedding, a woman not only receives the usual trousseau from her parents , but a house that the couple moves into to raise a family. This brings an improvement in status for many families, for which labor migration is a crucial prerequisite. In the rest of Greece, however, the woman moved into the man's house or into that of his parents' house until the end of the Second World War ( patrilocality ). Fears that the Eastern Greek tradition could attract dowry hunters or prevent poor women from marrying, up to and including the question of whether girls might be less desirable as a result, turned out to be irrelevant, although the institution is no longer legally protected today. This has to do with the fact that every family starts from the beginning in their own house, so that economic efforts can more easily turn to the next generation. In the event of a separation, the man still leaves the house. In the course of the life cycle, a similar procedure can be followed, but then at the site of the labor migration. Most of the time, the migrants return to Lesbos.

Abandoned olive press in Panagioúda

Lesvos has been dominated by agriculture for thousands of years. The main source of income is the high quality olive oil with a protected geographical indication within the EU. According to a botanical investigation of the East Aegean islands - Lesvos was hardly examined - in 1942 the export consisted almost exclusively of olives. At the end of 2017 there were 11 million olive trees on the island. The predominant varieties are Valanolia or Kolovi , a variety that occurs primarily on Lesbos and accounts for around 70% of production. The Adramitiani or Aivaliotiki variety comes from around a fifth of the tree population. These grow almost exclusively around Mytilene and provide both oil and table olives . As early as 1900, 10 million olive trees covered the island to a large extent, with the massive emigration between 1940 and 1981 causing a decrease in the population of 35%, and at the same time the number of farms decreased even more. At the same time, pure self-sufficiency increasingly became an export product. In 2016/17 there were 54 oil mills on the island.

Ouzo exhibition

Other sources of income are cheeses, including feta , kaseri and ladotyri with protected designation of origin , ouzo production, and fishing and salt extraction in the Gulf of Kalloni .

The island's distilleries account for around 50% of total Greek ouzo production . Around 15 to 20% of local production is sold or consumed on the island. The rest is exported to Athens, Thessaloniki and the world market. The products of distilleries Barbayanni and Ouzo Plomari from Plomari are among the best known and highest quality high.

Another source of income until 2016 was tourism , which was favored on the one hand by the international airport Mytilini and on the other hand by the good accessibility by ferry. The tourist strongholds include Plomari, Petra, Molyvos and Eresos. Since 2015 the Molyvos International Music Festival has taken place in Molyvos every year in August . Lesbos is said to have been a popular tourist destination for lesbians. While the authorities viewed this development critically in the past and sometimes refused entry to passenger ships, today there is even an annual festival to celebrate lesbian love in Eresos in the west of the island - according to ancient legends, the birthplace of Sappho. Due to the high number of refugees seeking access to Europe via Lesbos, the number of tourists in 2016 decreased by around 70% compared to the previous year.

Culture

education

Museums, libraries, archives

Hall in the Archaeological Museum of Mytilene

kitchen

Sports

The AEK Kalloni played for three years, from 2013 to 2016, the first football club from Lesbos in the Super League , the first Greek league.

literature

• Ulrike Krasberg : The dowry and the position of women on the Greek island of Lesbos , in: Ethnologia Europaea 25 (1995) 131–140.
• Johannes Koder : Lesbos . In: Lexicon of the Middle Ages (LexMA). Volume 5, Artemis & Winkler, Munich / Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-8905-0 , Sp. 1908.
• Anthony Kaldellis: Lesbos in Late Antiquity: Live Evidence and New Models for Religious Change , in: William Caraher, Linda Jones Hall, R. Scott Moore (Eds.): Archeology and History in Roman, Medieval and Post-medieval Greece. Studies on Method and Meaning in Honor of Timothy E. Gregory , Ashgate, 2008, pp. 155-167.
• Warwick Wroth: Catalog of the Greek Coins of Troas, Aeolis, and Lesbos , London 1894, pp. 150-216 / 220 (nearby islands are shown on the last pages).
• Alexander Conze : Journey on the island of Lesbos , Carl Rümpler, Hanover 1865. ( digitized )
• Ευρυδίκη Σιφναίου (Eurydikē Siphnaiou): Λέσβος. Οικονομικἠ και κοινονικἠ ιστορἰα (1840-1912), Trochalia, Athens 1996 (economic and social history).

Web links

Commons : Lesbos  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Lesbos  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Lesvos Museum and Petrified Forest page
• Museum of olive oil production on Lesvos
• The hot springs of Polichnitos

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Andrea Backhaus: Lesbos: "Moria is hell". Zeit Online, March 27, 2020, accessed June 7, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Moria refugee camp destroyed by fire , deutschlandfunk.de, published and accessed on September 9, 2020.
3. ↑ Ελληνική Στατιστική Αρχή [ΕΛΣΤΑΤ] (Ed.): Στατιστική Επετηρίδα της Ελλάδος (Statistical Yearbook of Greece) 2009 & 2010 . Piraeus 2011, p. 47 .
4. ^ Burkhard Biel: Contributions to the flora of the Aegean islands of Lesvos and Limnos, Greece . In: Willdenowia . No. 32 , 2002, ISSN  0511-9618 , p. 209-219 ( bgbm.org [PDF]).
5. ^ ^{A b c d} C. Kosmas, NG Danalatos, St. Gerontidis: The effect of land parameters on vegetation performance and degree of erosion under Mediterranean conditions . In: Catena . No. 40 , 2000, pp. 3-17 .
6. ↑ Alexandra Spyropoulou, George Tsirtsis: Modeling the effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change on a small catchment in an Aegean Island . Mytilini 2008 ( PDF Online - Studying, Modeling and Sense Making of Planet Earth).
7. ^ Nigel Spencer: Early Lesbos between East and West: A 'Gray Area' of Aegean Archeology , in: The Annual of the British School at Athens 90, Centenary Volume (1995) 269-306.
8. ↑ Χ.Β. Χαρίσης, P. Durand, Μ. Αξιώτης, Τ.Β. Χαρίσης: Ίχνη παλαιολιθικής εγκατάστασης στη Λέσβο, in: Αρχαιολογία και Τέχνες 76 (2000) 83-87.
9. ↑ Nena Galanidou, Constantin Athanassas, James Cole, Giorgos Iliopoulos, Athanasios Katerinopoulos, Andreas Magganas, John McNabb: The Acheulian Site at Rodafnidia, Lisvori, on Lesbos, Greece: 2010–2012 , in: Katerina Harvati, Mirjana Roksandic.) (Eds.) : Paleoanthropology of the Balkans and Anatolia , Springer, 2016, pp. 119–138, here: p. 135 ( academia.edu ).
10. ↑ Vangelis Tourloukis, Katerina Harvati: The Palaeolithic record of Greece: A synthesis of the evidence and a research agenda for the future , in: Quaternary International, February 9, 2017, pp. 1–18, here: pp. 2–4 ( academia.edu ).
11. ↑ Kyriacos Lambrianides, Nigel Spencer: Unpublished material from the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut and the British School at Athens and its contribution to a better understanding of the Early Bronze Age settlement pattern on Lesbos , in: The Annual of the British School at Athens 92 (1997 ) 73-107, here: p. 105.
12. ↑ Mariya Ivanova: Fortified settlements in the Balkans, in the Aegean Sea and in Western Anatolia, approx. 5000-2000 BC. Chr. , Waxmann, Münster 2008, pp. 214–216.
13. ^ Winifred Lamb: Excavations at Thermi in Lesbos , Cambridge University Press, 1936, Paperback 2014.
14. ^ Thermi on Lesbos , The Bronze Age on the Aegean Islands , Foundation of the Hellenic World.
15. ↑ Mariya Ivanova: Fortified settlements in the Balkans, in the Aegean Sea and in Western Anatolia, approx. 5000-2000 BC Chr. , Waxmann, Münster 2008, p. 225 f.
16. ↑ In the literature, the stated area varies, 5 ha near Ourania Kouka: Settlement organization in the North and East Aegean during the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) , p. 143; on the other hand, 4 ha near Mariya Ivanova: Fortified settlements in the Balkans, in the Aegean Sea and in Western Anatolia, approx. 5000–2000 BC. Chr. , P. 217.
17. ↑ Ourania Kouka: Settlement organization in the North and East Aegean during the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) . In: International Archeology . tape 58 . Marie Leidorf Verlag, Rahden 2002, ISBN 978-3-89646-330-2 , p. 129 ff . (Dissertation: University of Heidelberg, 1996).
18. ↑ Klaus Tausend, Sabine Tausend: Lesbos - Between Greece and Asia Minor , p. 95 f.
19. ↑ Klaus Tausend, Sabine Tausend: Lesbos - Between Greece and Asia Minor . Antiquity and the Mediterranean: the ancient world on both sides of the Levant. Festschrift for Peter W. Haider on his 60th birthday. Ed .: Robert Rollinger , Brigitte Truschnegg. Franz Steiner, 2006, ISBN 978-3-515-08738-4 ( limited preview in Google book search).
20. ^ Gernot Wilhelm , German Orient Society. International Colloquium: Hattuša-Boğazköy . Otto Harrassowitz, 2008, ISBN 978-3-447-05855-1 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
21. ↑ ^{a b} Tausend 2006, p. 89 f.
22. ^ Itamar Singer : Purple-Dyers in Lazpa. In: Billie Jean Collins, Mary R. Bachvarova, Ian C. Rutherford (Eds.): Anatolian Interfaces. Hittites, Greeks and their Neighbors. Proceedings of an International Conference on Cross-Cultural Interaction, September 17-19, 2004, Emory University, Atlanta , Oxbow Books, Oxford 2008, pp. 21-43, univ-paris1.fr (PDF). Consenting to this: Harry A. Hoffner : Letters from the Hittite Kingdom. Society of Biblical Literature, Houston 2009, p. 294.
23. ↑ Loretana de Libero: Die archaische Tyrannis , Habil. 1995, Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 1996, pp. 314–329.
24. ^ Eberhard Erxleben : The clergy on Euboea and Lesvos and the methods of Attic rule in the 5th century , in: Klio 57 (1975) 83-100.
25. ^ Anthony Kaldellis: Lesbos in Late Antiquity: Live Evidence and New Models for Religious Change , in: William Caraher, Linda Jones Hall, R. Scott Moore (eds.): Archeology and History in Roman, Medieval and Post-medieval Greece. Studies on Method and Meaning in Honor of Timothy E. Gregory , Ashgate, 2008, pp. 155–167, here: pp. 164 f.
26. ↑ Section The Genoese Colonies in Greece. The Zaccaria of Phokæa and Chios , in: William Miller: Essays on the Latin Orient , Cambridge 1921, pp. 283-297, here: pp. 293-295.
27. ^ William Wittman: Travels to Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt in the years 1799, 1800 and 1801. Translated from the English in excerpts , Weimar 1805, p. 193 f.
28. ↑ Mehrdad Kia: The Ottoman Empire. A Historical Encyclopedia , Vol. 1, Santa Barbara and Denver 2017, p. 217.
29. ↑ Peter F. Sugar: Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, 1354-1804 , University of Washington Press, 1977, p. 267.
30. ↑ Mehrdad Kia: The Ottoman Empire. A Historical Encyclopedia , Vol. 1, Santa Barbara and Denver 2017, pp. 68-70.
31. ↑ https://archive.is
32. ^ Stephan D. Yada-Mc Neal: Slaughterhouse Greece. German, Bulgarian and Italian war crimes in Greece 1941–1945 , Norderstedt 2020, p. 382.
33. ^ Mark Mazower : Greece under Hitler. Life during the German occupation 1941-1944 , Frankfurt 2016, p. 42.
34. ↑ Lesbos , Europe Memorial Sites, 1935–1945.
35. ↑ Michael Martens : Crisis Meeting on Lesbos , FASZ, June 21, 2017.
36. ↑ Volker Pabst: "The increasing number of refugees in the Aegean is urging Greece's new government to act" , NZZ.ch of September 3, 2019.
37. ↑ tagesschau.de: Refugee camp on Lesbos: Moria leader gives up. Retrieved September 11, 2019 . 
38. ↑ Greece has announced a floating barrier to ward off refugees , in: Telepolis, January 30, 2020.
39. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: After the border opened in Turkey: Greece suspends right of asylum for one month - DER SPIEGEL - politics. Retrieved March 8, 2020 . 
40. ↑ Violence on Lesbos - Reporting amid the state of emergency. Accessed March 8, 2020 (German). 
41. ↑ Giorgos Christides, DER SPIEGEL: Right-wing violence on Lesbos: We were beaten, hunted, harassed - DER SPIEGEL - Politics. Retrieved March 8, 2020 . 
42. ↑ Lesbos. Greece wants to deport migrants back to Turkey , editorial network Germany, March 14, 2020.
43. ↑ Moria refugee camp destroyed by fire , deutschlandfunk.de, published and accessed on September 9, 2020.
44. ↑ Ulrike Krasberg : The dowry and the position of women on the Greek island of Lesbos , in: Ethnologia Europaea 25 (1995) 131–140.
45. ^ DOOR entry, Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
46. ↑ Apart from PC Candargy: Flore de l'île de Lesbos , published in the Bulletin de la Société botanique de France 44 (1897) and 45 (1898).
47. ↑ Werner Rauh : Climatology and vegetation conditions of the Athos peninsula and the East Aegean islands Lemnos, Evstratios, Mytiline and Chios , in: session reports of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences 12 (1949) 3-107.
48. ↑ Venetia Kantsa: The Golden Green Juice. Discussing Olive Oil Marketing Approaches in Lesvos, Greece , thesis, School of Economics, Business Administration & Legal Studies, Thessaloniki 2018, p. 17 f. ( online ).
49. ↑ Venetia Kantsa: The Golden Green Juice. Discussing Olive Oil Marketing Approaches in Lesvos, Greece , thesis, School of Economics, Business Administration & Legal Studies, Thessaloniki 2018, p. 37.
50. ↑ Venetia Kantsa: The Golden Green Juice. Discussing Olive Oil Marketing Approaches in Lesvos, Greece , thesis, School of Economics, Business Administration & Legal Studies, Thessaloniki 2018, p. 39.
51. ^ Elias M. Demian: Industrial Symbiosis in the Greek Islands - The case of Lesvos . Lund 2007, Master Thesis, p. 30.
52. ↑ Marianthi Milona (author); Werner Stapelfeldt (Ed.): Greece. Greek specialties. Könemann Verlag, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3-8290-7422-0 , pp. 328–331.
53. ↑ Αρχική. Retrieved October 20, 2019 (Greek). 
54. ↑ International Women's Festival on Lesbos .
55. ↑ Fewer and fewer people are vacationing on Lesbos , video, in: welt.de , March 26, 2017, accessed on March 26, 2017