What’s in a Name? How 14 Greek Islands Got Theirs

With implicit 6,000 islands and islets scattered done the Greek seas, the Greek islands are a distinguishing diagnostic of Greece’s morphology and an integral portion of the country’s civilization crossed the ages.

The islands connection divers landscapes filled with an endless database of earthy wonders; from beaches stretching implicit galore kilometres, sheltered bays and coves, awesome mountainscapes, to spectacular geological formations specified arsenic volcanic rocks, lagoons, waterfalls and caves.

Like the names of cities each astir the world, which thin to beryllium derived from the sanction of their founder, an aboriginal leader; oregon a statement of the flora, fauna oregon geographical features; the names of Greek islands are not conscionable random.

Many Greek islands were named aft mythical heroes, past gods and kings, providing a reminder of Greece’s past past and affluent mythology culture.

Some large and others small, each Greek land has its ain past and a communicative to archer astir however it got its name.

Paxos

The beauteous Ionian land of Paxos takes its sanction from the connection “passion”. According to the myth, Poseidon fell desperately successful emotion with the oversea nymph Amphitrite aft helium saw her dancing 1 day.  She told him that helium could lone marque her his if helium gave her a onshore of her own. So the deity of the oversea raised his cosmic trident, chopped disconnected a portion of Corfu, wherever helium lived with his love, Amphitrite.

Folegandros

The Cycladic land of Folegandros was primitively called “Polykandros” due to the fact that it had a precise ample population. Its mythological archetypal settler was Folegandros, lad of Minos, who brought a ample colonisation of Cretans to the island, astatine the aforesaid clip giving it his name.

Andros

Andros oregon Andreas was a celebrated soothsayer – truthful large that Rhadamanthus, member of Minos, gave him an island.

The omniscient king of Crete, Rhadamanthus was considered the astir conscionable antheral successful the satellite and connected relationship of his inflexible integrity, erstwhile helium died helium was made a justice of the Underworld.   Rhadamanthus was pleased with Andros’s services truthful decided to acquisition him an full island, which was thereafter named for him.

Samos

Rich successful past and earthy beauty, the land of Samos took its sanction from the Phonenician connection “sama” which means “high”, according to the Greek geographer and historiographer Strabo, astir apt due to the fact that of the mountains which screen it.

Tinos

During past times Tinos was known arsenic Ophioussa, taken from the words “ophis” which means snake successful past Greek, due to the fact that of the large fig of snakes that populated it; and “Ydroussa”, oregon hydria meaning h2o places, due to the fact that of its abundant water.  Today Tinos draws its modern time sanction from King Tino, the archetypal nonmigratory of the land and main of a radical of Ioanians from Karia of Asia Minor who archetypal inhabited the island.

Naxos

The land of Naxos successful past times was called Dias, due to the fact that it is the largest of the Cyclades and truthful took the sanction of the top of the past Gods. When the land was colonised by the leader Naxos, Son of Endymion the person of the moon, it was named successful honour of its ruler.  Other myths attest that the island’s sanction was derived from the past Greek connection “naxai”, due to the fact that of the galore sacrifices that took spot determination successful honour of the gods.

Ithaca

Located successful the Ionian sea, Ithaca is regarded arsenic the location of Homer’s Odysseus.  The sanction of the agelong and constrictive land is derived from the connection “ithys”, which means consecutive and long.  Similarly from the connection “ithys” comes the connection “ichthys”, for the fish, due to the fact that it is besides agelong and narrow.

Zakynthos

Zakynthos was truthful named aft Zacynthos, who was the lad of the legendary King Dardanos of Troy.  When the Trojan run ended, Zacynthos and his radical near Troy and settled connected an land that they thenceforth named aft him.

Chios

Famous for its exports of mastic, the land of Chios owes its sanction to Chioni who, according to mythology, was Goddess of Snow and the girl of Poseidon.  According to the myth, the land was primitively a godforsaken , nevertheless erstwhile Chioni was calved it began to snowfall and with the snowfall autumn the island’s ungraded became fertile.

Mykonos

In Greek mythology, the fashionable land of Mykonos was said to beryllium named aft its archetypal ruler, Mykons, a section leader who was said to beryllium the grandson of the deity Apollo.  The land is besides said to person been the determination of a large conflict betwixt the Greek gods Zeus and Titan and wherever Hercules killed the invincible giants aft luring them from the extortion of Mount Olympus. According to the legend, the ample rocks scattered implicit the land are said to beryllium the petrified testicles of the giants.

Crete

The largest of the Geek islands, the sanction of the land of Crete, means beardown and mighty. Crete was the largest sea-kingdom successful the satellite and the centre of Europe’s archetypal precocious civilisation, the Minoan civilisation.  The island’s archetypal guardians were the Kouretes from whom the Cretans took their name.

Kefalonia

Kefalonia took its sanction from the leader Cephalus, the archetypal ruler of the island, who was an Athenian person and lad of Dionysus.  After exiling himself from Athens aft accidentally murdering his wife, Procis, Cephalus settled connected the land wherever helium was ruler.  He ne'er managed to retrieve from his grief aft the decease of Procris however, and truthful yet committed termination by falling from a cliff into the sea.

Ikaria

The communicative of Ikaria begins connected Crete, wherever Daedalus worked arsenic a craftsman for King Minos, constructing a labyrinth to support the feared Minotaur trapped and nether control.  Wanting the monster to stay a concealed to the inhabitants of the island, the king locked up Daedalus and his household truthful the information could ne'er beryllium revealed.

Formulating an flight plan, Daedalus gathered vertebrate feathers and made 2 sets of wings for himself and his son, Icarus, truthful that they could alert away.  Unfortunately, arsenic helium soared to freedom, Icarus flew excessively adjacent to the prima which melted the wax that fastened his wings.  He fell into the oversea and the land adjacent to wherever helium fell was named Ikaria, aft him.

Amorgos

It is said that the sanction of the atmospheric land of Amorgos was derived from the amorgis plant, from which the ancients made an fantabulous flax which was utilized to marque linen fabric. Hence, successful past times, the ‘aliko amorgides’, tunics of Amorgos, were peculiarly popular.

Others accidental that Amorgos took its sanction from the colour of the oversea that surrounds it, with “mourga” meaning lipid sediment oregon black. The waters surrounding the land are precise deep, from 256 metres connected the eastbound broadside up to 724 metres heavy connected the confederate side.

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