Milos Hotel
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Milos
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A few words about Milos:
Milos (ΜΗΛΟΣ in Greek) is a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea.
Geography
Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group,
120 km (75 miles) due east from the coast of Laconia. From east to west it
measures about 23 km (14 miles), from north to south 13 km, and its area is
estimated at 151 km˛ (52 mile˛). The greater portion is rugged and hilly,
culminating in Mount Elia 774 m (2538 ft) in the west. Like the rest of the
cluster, the island is of volcanic origin, with tuff, trachyte and obsidian
among its ordinary rocks. The natural harbor, which, with a depth diminishing
from 128 to 55 m (70 to 30 fathoms), strikes in from the north west so as to
cut the island into two fairly equal portions, with an isthmus not more than
18 km (11 miles) broad, is the hollow of the principal crater. In one of the
caves on the south coast the heat is still great, and on the eastern shore of
the harbor there are hot sulphurous springs.
Antimelos or Antimilo, 89 km (55 miles) north-west of Milos, is an uninhabited
mass of trachyte, often called Eremomilo or Desert Melos. Kimolos, or
Argentiera, 1.6 km (less than 1 mile) to the north-east, was famous in
antiquity for its figs and fuller's earth, and contained a considerable city,
the remains of which cover the cliff of St Andrews. Polinos, Polybos or Polivo
(anc. Polyaegos) lies 2 km south-east of Kimolos. It was the subject of
dispute between the Melians and Kimolians. It has long been almost
uninhabited.
Natural resources
Sulfur is found in abundance on the top of Mount Kalamo and
elsewhere. Milos has long been a major source for fuller's earth bentonite,
used for degreasing wool. In ancient times the alum of Milos was reckoned next
to that of Egypt (Pliny xxxv. 15 [52]), and millstones, salt (from a marsh at
the east end of the harbor), and gypsum are still exported. The Melian earth
was employed as a pigment by ancient artists. Orange, olive, cypress and
arbutus trees grow throughout the island, which, however, is too dry to have
any profusion of vegetation. The vine, the cotton plant and barley are the
main objects of cultivation.
Towns and notable landmarks
The harbor town is Adamanta; from this there is an ascent to
the plateau above the harbor, on which are situated Plaka, the chief town, and
Kastro, rising on a hill above it, and other villages. The ancient town of
Milos was nearer to the entrance of the harbor than Adamanta, and occupied the
slope between the village of Trypete and the landing-place at Klima. Here is a
theatre of Roman date and some remains of town walls and other buildings, one
with a fine mosaic excavated by the British school at Athens in 1896. Numerous
fine works of art have been found on this site, notably the Venus de Milo in
the Louvre, the Asclepius in the British Museum, and the Poseidon and an
archaic Apollo in Athens.
History
The position of Milos, between Greece and Crete, and its possession of
obsidian, made it an important centre of early Aegean civilization. At the
well-known Bronze Age site of Phylakopi, the chief settlement, on the
north-east coast. Excavations of the British school revealed a Minoan palace
and a town wall. Part of the site has been washed away by the sea. The
antiquities found were of three main periods, all preceding the Mycenean age
of Greece. Much pottery was found, including examples of a peculiar style,
with decorative designs, mostly floral, and also considerable deposits of
obsidian. There are some traditions of a Phoenician occupation of Milos.
In historical times the island was occupied by Dorians from Laconia. In the
6th century BC it again produced a remarkable series of vases, of large size,
with mythological subjects and orientalizing ornamentation, and also a series
of terra-cotta reliefs.
Though Milos inhabitants sent a contingent to the Greek fleet at Salamis
Island, it held aloof from the Delian League, and sought to remain neutral
during the Peloponnesian War. But in 415 BC the Athenians, having attacked the
island and compelled the Melians to surrender, slew all the men capable of
bearing arms, made slaves of the women and children, and introduced 500
Athenian colonists. Lysander restored the island to its Dorian possessors, but
it never recovered its former prosperity.
There were many Jewish settlers in Milos in the beginning of the Christian
era, and Christianity was early introduced. During the "Frankish" period the
island formed part of the duchy of Naxos, except for the few years (1341-1383)
when it was a separate lordship under Marco Sanudo and his daughter.
Today's population, about 4500, is considerably less than it was in 1907 (then
4,864 in the commune, 12,774 in the province).
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