Makronisos

Makronisos (Μακρόνησος)
	Aerial view of Makronisos island
Waters	Mediterranean Sea
Archipelago	Cyclades
Geographical location	37 ° 42 ' N , 24 ° 7' E Coordinates: 37 ° 42 ' N , 24 ° 7' E
length	13 km
width	2.5 km
surface	18.427 km²
Highest elevation	Trypiti ; 280 m
Residents	9 (2011) ; <1 inh / km²

The Greek island of Makronisos ( Greek Μακρόνησος , also Nisos Eleni Νήσος Ελένη 'Helena Island') is just over 4 km from the Greek mainland east of the port city of Lavrion and Cape Sounion . It belongs to the area of the municipality of Kea and is the westernmost island of the Cyclades . In the 20th century it was a prison island for political prisoners.

geography

The barren island is 12.5 km long and up to 2.5 km wide. The area is 18,427 km². In Trypiti in the north, the island reaches a height of 280 meters.

history

In ancient times the island was called Helena , because Helena is said to have landed here after the fall of Troy . According to Strabo , it is also the Homeric Kranae , which was later called Helena , because it was here that Paris and Helena first met in love. Today it is believed, however, that Homer named the present island Marathonisi Kranae .

A prison camp existed here from 1912 to 1914 during the Balkan Wars . After the displacement of the Orthodox population of Asia Minor, a refugee camp was located here.

Makronisos served as a place of exile during the 20th century and was nicknamed " Pond of Siloam " (κολυμπήθρα του Σιλωάμ). During the Greek Civil War , the island became a prison camp from February 1947 to 1949. Almost 70,000 people were interned on the island (30,000 civilians, 38,000 soldiers and officers). In 1957 the last political prisoners left the island, in 1961 the last military personnel. The former inmates include the communists Giannis Ritsos , Mikis Theodorakis , Manos Katrakis , and Apostolos Santas .

During the military junta period from 1967 to 1974 there was a prison camp here.

Since 1989 the island has been a protected national monument.

Population numbers

Population development of Makronisos
year	1940	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2011
Residents	36	4484	12	12	4th	-	5	9

literature

Mikis Theodorakis: The Archangel's Ways. Autobiography 1925–1949, edited and translated by Asteris Kutulas . Insel, Frankfurt 1995, ISBN 3-458-16689-0 (pp. 314 to 428 description of imprisonment and conditions on Makronisos in 1949)
Giorgos Christides, Solveig Grothe: The island of the exiles. one day , July 2nd, 2018

Web links

Commons : Makronisos - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Τα βουνά των Κυκλάδων
↑ Ελληνική Στατιστική Αρχή [ΕΛΣΤΑΤ] (Ed.): Στατιστική Επετηρίδα της Ελλάδος (Statistical Yearbook of Greece) 2009 & 2010 . Piraeus 2011, p. 47 .
^ Pausanias , Journeys in Greece , 1, 35, 1; 8, 14, 12.
↑ Homer, Iliad , 3, 445.
↑ Strabon, Geographica , 399; 485.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d The island of the exiles . In: Der Spiegel , July 2, 2018.
↑ Population of Makronisos 1940–2001, Greek Statistical Office ELSTAT, Digital Library (Greek)
↑ Results of the 2011 census, Greek Statistical Office (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)

[1] Τα βουνά των Κυκλάδων

[2] Ελληνική Στατιστική Αρχή [ΕΛΣΤΑΤ] (Ed.): Στατιστική Επετηρίδα της Ελλάδος (Statistical Yearbook of Greece) 2009 & 2010 . Piraeus 2011, p. 47 .

[3] Pausanias , Journeys in Greece , 1, 35, 1; 8, 14, 12.

[4] Homer, Iliad , 3, 445.

[5] Strabon, Geographica , 399; 485.

[spiegel-6] The island of the exiles . In: Der Spiegel , July 2, 2018.

[7] Population of Makronisos 1940–2001, Greek Statistical Office ELSTAT, Digital Library (Greek)

[VZ2011-8] Results of the 2011 census, Greek Statistical Office (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) ( Memento from June 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB)