Milos 182237 210382782 2008-05-05T18:39:25Z LatitudeBot 6771835 robot Adding: [[ru:Милос]] {{Infobox Greek Isles |name = Milos |native_name = Μήλος |skyline = Milo Klima Syrma.jpg |sky_caption = Syrmata |map = GR_Milos.PNG |coordinates = {{coord|36|44|N|24|25|E}} |chain = Cyclades |isles = |area = 160.147 |highest_mount = Mt. Profitis Elias |elevation = 748 |periph = [[South Aegean]] |prefect = [[Cyclades]] |capital = [[Plaka, Milos|Plaka]] |population = 4771 |pop_as_of = 2001 |postal = 840 xx |telephone = 22870 |license = EM |website = [http://www.milos.gr www.milos.gr] }} '''Milos''' (in [[Greek language|Greek]], ''Μήλος'' &mdash; not related to the [[Modern Greek|modern]] word ''μήλο'' &ndash; ''milo'' = "''[[apple]]''", which has the same spelling excluding the trailing [[sigma]]), formerly '''Melos''', and before the [[Athens|Athenian]] massacre and recolonization in [[416 BC]], '''Malos''', is a volcanic [[Greece|Greek]] [[island]] in the [[Aegean Sea]]. The island is famous for the [[statue]] [[Venus de Milo|of Aphrodite]] (now in the [[Louvre]]), and also for statues of the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] [[God (male deity)|god]] [[Asclepius]] (now in the [[British Museum]]) and the [[Poseidon]] and an archaic [[Apollo]] in Athens. The '''[[Communities and Municipalities of Greece|Municipality]] of Milos''' also includes the uninhabited offshore islands of [[Antimilos]] and [[Ananes]]. The combined land area is 160.147 km² and the 2001 census population was 4,771 inhabitants. ==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 town wall and a [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] palace with some important and very interesting wall paintings. "The famous fresco of the flying fish[http://www.ou.edu/finearts/art/ahi4913/aegeanhtml/cyptg.html] found in the ruins of the principal house or palace at Phylakopi, with its delicate coloring and graphic observation of nature in the graceful movement of the fish, seems to be the work of a Cretan artist, who probably was summoned to Milos for the purpose."<ref>CAH pg. 448</ref> Part of the site has been washed away by the sea. The antiquities found were of three main periods, all preceding the Mycenaean 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 [[Phoenicia]]n 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 the Melians sent a contingent to the Greek fleet at [[Salamis Island|Salamis]], it held aloof from the [[Delian League]], and sought to remain neutral during the [[Peloponnesian War]]. But in [[415 BC]] the Athenians launched an [[Battle of Melos|attack]] to 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. [[Thucydides]] made this event the occasion of one of the most impressive of the "speeches" in his history. Written like the others in more complex and difficult Greek than his pellucid narrative, this passage, known as the [[Melian Dialogue]], is a ''locus classicus'' for the contest between ''raison d'état'' and ethical action, and is the fulcrum at which the state of Athens in his history abandoned the noble ideals with which it had entered the war and began to pursue simply its own self-interest. [[Lysander]] restored the island to its Dorian possessors, but it never recovered its former prosperity. There were many [[Jew]]ish settlers in Milos in the beginning of the Christian era, and [[Christianity]] was introduced early. During the "[[Latin Empire|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 4700, is considerably less than it was in 1907 (then 4,864 in the commune, 12,774 in the province). ==Geography== [[Image:Milos.jpg|thumb|Milos, [[Kimolos]] (north), [[Polyaigos]] (East), Antimilos (west)]] 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 mi), from north to south 13 km (8 mi), and its area is estimated at [[1 E8 m²|151 km²]] (58.3 mi²). The greater portion is rugged and hilly, culminating in Mount Profitis Elias 748 m (2454 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 [[harbour]] is the hollow of the principal crater, which, with a depth diminishing from 70 to 30 [[fathom]]s (130 to 55 m), strikes in from the northwest so as to separate the island into two fairly equal portions (''see photo''), with an isthmus not more than 18 km (11 miles) broad. In one of the caves on the south coast, the heat from the volcano is still great, and on the eastern shore of the harbour, there are hot [[sulphur]]ous springs. Antimelos or Antimilos, 13 miles (20 km) north-west of Milos, is an uninhabited mass of trachyte, often called Erimomilos (Desert Milos). Kimolos, or Argentiera, 1.6 km (1 mi) to the north-east, was famous in antiquity for its [[fig]]s and fuller's earth, and contained a considerable city, the remains of which cover the cliff of St. Andrew's. [[Polyaigos]] (also called Polinos, Polybos or Polivo - alternative spelling Polyaegos) lies 2 km south-east of Kimolos. It was the subject of dispute between the Milians and Kimolians. It is now uninhabited. ===Natural resources=== [[Bentonite]], [[perlite]], [[pozzolana]] and small quantities of [[kaolin]] are mined in Milos and sold all over the world. In the past, [[baryte]], [[sulfur]], millstones and [[gypsum]] were also mined. In ancient times the alum of Milos was reckoned next to that of [[Egypt]] (Pliny xxxv. 15 [52]). The Melian earth was employed as a [[pigment]] by ancient artists. Milos was a source of [[obsidian]] during the Neolithic ages for the Aegean and Mediterranean. [[Orange (fruit)|Orange]], [[olive]], [[Mediterranean Cypress|cypress]], tamarisk, juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus) and [[arbutus]] trees grow throughout the island, which, however, is too dry to have any profusion of vegetation. [[Vine]]s, [[cotton]] and [[barley]] are the main crops. ==Demographics== The harbour town is [[Adamas]]; from this there is an ascent to the plateau above the harbour, on which are situated [[Plaka, Milos|Plaka]], the chief town, and [[Kastro (Milos)|Kastro]], rising on a hill above it, and other villages. The ancient town of Milos was nearer to the entrance of the harbour than Adamas, and occupied the slope between the village of [[Tripiti]] and the landing-place at [[Klima]]. Here is a theatre of [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] date and some remains of town walls and other buildings, one with a fine [[mosaic]] excavated by the [[United Kingdom|British]] school at Athens in 1896. Numerous fine works of art have been found on this site, notably the [[Venus de Milo|Aphrodite]] in [[Paris]], the [[Asclepius]] in [[London]], and the [[Poseidon]] and the archaic [[Apollo]] in Athens. Other villages include [[Triovasalos]], [[Pera Triovasalos]], [[Pollonia]] and [[Zefyria]] (Kampos). ===Historical population=== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" |- bgcolor="#efefef" ! Year !! Island population !! Change |- | 1907 || 17,638 || - |- | 1981 || - || - |- | 1991 || 4,390 || - |- | 2001 || 4,771 || +381/+8.68% |} ==Notable people== *[[Antonio Vassilacchi]] (1556&ndash;1629), a painter *[[Diagoras of Melos|Diagoras]] ([[5th century BC]]), a [[Philosophy|philosopher]] *Peter Mikelis, the only Greek victim of the [[battle of Navarino]] ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== {{1911}} *[[I.F. Stone]], 1988, The trial of Socrates, Anthos. *Cambridge Ancient History, Vol.II, 1924, New York, MacMillan *[[Colin Renfrew]] and [[Malcolm Wagstaff]] (editors), 1982, An Island Polity, the Archaeology of Exploitation in Melos, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. *[[Colin Renfrew]] (editor), 1985, The Archaeology of Cult, the Sanctuary at [[Phylakopi]], London, British School at Athens and Thames & Hudson. *Leycester, "The Volcanic Group of Milo, Anti-Milo, &c.," in ''Jour. Roy. Geog. Soc.'' (1852). *[[Joseph Pitton de Tournefort|Tournefort]], ''Voyage''. *Leake, ''Northern Greece'', iii. *[[Prokesch von Osten]], ''Denkwiirdigkeiten'', &c. *Bursian, ''Geog. von Griechenland'', ii.; ''Journ. Hell. Stud'', xvi., xviL, xviii., ''Excavations at Phylakopi''; ''Inscr. grace'', xii. iii. 197 sqq.; *on coins found in [[1909]], see Jameson in ''Rev. Num.'' 1909; 188 sqq. *{{VNUM |1=0102-03=}} ==External links== *[http://www.milos.gr Official website] {{en}} {{el icon}} *[http://www.mileikanea.gr Mileika Nea]{{el icon}} {{The Cyclades}} {{Cyclades}} {{Aegean Sea}} [[Category:Cities and towns in Greece]] [[Category:The Cyclades]] [[Category:Islands of Greece]] [[Category:Subduction volcanoes]] [[Category:Volcanoes of Greece]] [[Category:Volcanoes of the Aegean]] [[br:Melos]] [[ca:Melos]] [[de:Milos]] [[el:Μήλος]] [[es:Milo]] [[eo:Meloso]] [[fr:Milo]] [[gl:Milos - Μήλος]] [[it:Milo (Grecia)]] [[he:מילוס]] [[lb:Mílos]] [[nl:Melos]] [[no:Milos]] [[nn:Mílos]] [[pl:Melos]] [[pt:Milos]] [[ru:Милос]] [[fi:Melos]] [[sv:Milos]] [[zh:米洛斯岛]]