The first inhabitants of the island were the Cycladítes, who established themselves and lived between 3200 and 2100 BC. Then came the Minoans from Crete, who named the island Mínoa or Minoís, and lived from 2100 BC up until 1200 BC. Around 1100 BC., Arkádes from the Peloponnese arrived and installed on the island, renaming…
The name of Folégandros derives from a phoenician word which means “Rocky Land”. According to others however, the island was named by the Cretan colonists led here by Folégandros, the son of king Mínoa. Last, the ancient geographer Strávon names the island in his scriptures “Sidireíin” (= iron island), because its terrain is rough. The…
According to mythology, the name of the island derived from its first settler, Kímolos, son of god Apollo (Apollo had many kids!!!). The island was also known in antiquity as “Echinoúsa”, i.e. island of Echidnes (= snakes, in Greek), whereas the Venetians called it “Arzientera” (silver). In the 5th century BC., its civilization was rather…
The island of Polýaigos is used as a pasture for many centuries now and it is from that fact that its name comes from. Polýaigos, in greek, means many goats. It is the largest uninhabited island of the Aegean (officially recorded) with only 2 inhabitants, Mr. Pétros and Ms Elefthería, a farming couple. A very…
Milos is a unique island. Its name comes from the ancient word “vílos” meaning sheep, which later became “mílos”. However, some sources say, the island was named after Milos, the head of a royal family who was sent by the goddess Aphrodite to become the first inhabitant of the island. Geologically, Milos is almost an…
The island Sifnos took its name from the son of the Attican hero Sounio and the first inhabitant of the island. According to another version, the word Sifnos comes from the ancient greek word «sifnos», which mean empty / hollow (most likely due to its mines and quarries). The Latin Pliny said that a long…
The name “Sérifos” comes from the ancient Greek word “stérifos”, meaning means “sterile” (other connotations are “deprived”, “I do not have” conceptually leading to the meaning “infertile”). The ancient Greeks called the island like this because it was very dry. The first inhabitants of the island were the Aeolians from Thesalía in the 8th century…
According to mythology, the name Delos was conceived as the island initially was a piece of land floating underwater (which is why the ancient Hellenes called it adelon, i.e. unseen). Later, the god Poseidon working on behalf of Zeus, he brought it on the surface of the sea so that godess Litó would be able…
The name of the island, Sýros, derives from the word “Sour” or “Osoúra” which in the ancient Phoenician language means rocky, whereas Homer in his epic poem “Odyssey” refers to the island as “Syríi”. At the end of the previous century, excavations on the NE side of the island revealed findings dating from 2800 BC.…
Kýthnos island had different names over the centuries, each one with its own meaning. The name Kýthnos derived from the leader of the Drýopes, Kýthno, who initially conquered the island. In the 12th century AD the island was named Thermía, due to the thermal springs that still exist in the bay of Loutrá. The ancient…