History

THE SPIRIT OF THE ISLANDS

The Sporades islands, encompassing Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, literally ‘the scattered ones’ are looked upon by many Greek people as three of the prettiest of all the Greek islands. Historical evidence points to the probability that the Sporades islands were once joined to the Pelion peninsula of eastern mainland Greece. Both regions are very beautiful and there are similarities between the two regions; where lush green mountainous landscapes extend down to the coast lines which are lapped by the wonderfully clear Aegean waters. The resulting image: a dreamlike, restful location; with a glorious colourful contrast of the deep pine, silvery olive and fresh cypress greens with the deep and turquoise sparkling blues and greens of the Aegean.

HISTORY IN PERSPECTIVE
The natural beauty and restful atmosphere of the Sporades however is not reflected in the islands’ past; in fact they have suffered a very troubled and unsettled history. Many different peoples have invaded, conquered, ruled over or ‘liberated’ them for their own use and design. At different points in history the populous of the islands have been made to flea, leaving the Sporades more or less deserted; have been attacked and slaughtered; then literally re-invented themselves and were re-established when Greeks from the mainland moved back onto the land to escape their enemies – the Turks; they eventually joined forces, motivated by revolutionary impetus to rise up and defeat their enemies.

The result of this is that unlike other Greek islands and regions, the Sporades have not got the type of expected old ‘Greek’ island traditions that are elsewhere. That is, old traditional dancing, song or music are not specific to the Sporades. They are reflective more of Greek mainland culture and tradition as well as other areas, which is quite understandable when you learn more of the history of this region; since there were so many different impacts, physically and culturally, on the islands.

Of course the fact that they are islands make them very different to mainland Greece in many other ways; and each of the Sporades has a very different character to the next. Like all Greek islands, there is much delight in discovering each one’s physical, cultural and emotional personality.

STONE AGE EVIDENCE

First Human Settlement
There is evidence of human settlement dating back to the Stone Age here on the Sporades; in fact on Alonissos tools and petrified bones were found at Kokkino Kastro on the eastern coast.

There is a strong possibility that this evidence indicates the oldest findings of human settlement in the Aegean as a whole. Newer evidence also of Stone Age settlements, again on Alonissos have been discovered in the Bay of St Peter on Kyria Panagia island; one of the beautiful, small deserted islets off the north Alonissos coast. Other evidence in Skiros and also on the Pelion in east mainland Greece, reflects this deposition. In Skopelos the ancient graves at Sendoukia, inland, are said to date back to Neolithic times.

POLITICAL HISTORY  - Invaders, Conquerors, Attackers, Rulers and ‘Liberators’

The Minoans
The first documented settlers on the Sporades are believed to be of Thracian origin. But it was the Cretans who strongly influenced the islands in many ways, when they colonised the islands in the 16th century BC. With this colonisation also came the cultivation of olives, grain and, very importantly, grapes. These Cretans were of course the great Minoan civilisation, and their mark was ingrained in the historical writings and myths of the Sporades.

The Mycenaeans
The decline of the Minoan empire in Greece between 1450-1500 BC brought a different face of power to the Sporades. The Dolopians next settled the region; they were the new Mycenaeans who came from Thessaly in northern mainland Greece. They took the Sporades and used their position for naval expeditions; with this sea faring nation ruling the region there began a new type of history and consequently you will find that many myths and legends about the islands also date back to this period.

The Chalkidians
Later in the 8th century BC the Chalkidians of the Evia region captured the Sporades; again this conquering force looked greedily to other areas with colonial intentions; one of the main goals was Macedonia; so the Sporades, being in an advantageous position were used as stepping stones to reach their real interest in the north. These Chalkidians continued the sea traditions of the Dolopians, and became quite a force to be reckoned with, enough so that they soon were confronted by the Athenians, whose colonial ambitions were very similar.

The Athenians
This confrontation came to a head when Athens sent Kimon, one of her warriors, to crush the fleets of the Sporades in 476BC. Although in reality the islands were again a conquest of the Athenian alliance; the conquerors presented themselves as liberators to the inhabitants of the region; who accepted this image of Athens and were prepared to abide by the laws of the Athenian Demokratia. In fact the islanders not only felt proud to be part of this powerful alliance; and as members annually paid into the Alliance fund; but they also took the goddess Athena, and all that she encompassed, to their hearts.

The Spartans
The Peloponnesian wars between 434 – 401BC, again involved the Sporades in Greek City State political feuds. This time between the Athenians and the Spartans. Although victorious, the Spartan rule over the islands was relatively brief, and soon the Athenians were again in control. This was not to last however as changes were again about to arise during the Greek wars between the Athenians and the Macedonians in around 400BC.

The Macedonians
The islands came under the influence of Philip of Macedon in 322BC, he took a protective interest in the Sporades with regard the Dolopian pirates who were still in existence and very present in the region. Any peace offering that he extended toward Athens – such as the ‘gift’ of Alonissos – for her rule only was not accepted by the Alliance; due to the fact that Athens claimed all the Sporades as theirs already. He later took Athens itself; and in doing so now ruled the Sporades islands. With this influence however, the islands began to prosper.
In 341BC Athenian allies on Peparithos (now known as Skopelos) and the Macedonian admiral Alkimos began warring again over the islands’ ownership. The Peparitians were left in defeat; but the islands’ troubles continued.

The Romans
The Roman Empire’s arrival in Greece and subsequently in the Sporades in 146BC began a different epoch. The island of particular interest within this period was Alonnisos, which was devastated by it’s own Macedonian ruler, Philip V, in 209BC. Philip’s plan was to stop the Romans from setting up a base of command there. The Romans did rule over the Sporades however, as they did the rest of Greece. However it actually turned into a prosperous and successful period, where traditional links were maintained between the Sporades and Athens.

The Byzantines
The Byzantine Empire were the next to take the leading role in the region of the Sporades; the Byzantines used them as a place of exile for unwanted or unruly noblemen and women. Until 1207AD these nobles set themselves up as the local aristocracy of the island; some literature refers to the western feudal lords who took control of the islands at this time ( after the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders) – so there is some uncertainty in the historical evidence of this epoch.

The Venetians
The Venetians also take their place within the historical essence of the Sporades. In 1207AD, Fillipo Gizzi, the most notorious of the Venetian dynasty, took the islands from the Byzantines as some of the spoils of war in the Fourth Crusade. It is said that he went on to rule the region as a pirate king.

The Ottoman Empire
After this the possession of the Sporades swung back and forth between Constantinople and the Venetians, then later between the Greeks and the Franks. Then in 1453, the Byzantine rule was broken by the Ottoman Empire; the islanders soon viewed the Venetians the lesser of two evils. This rule continued until the 16th century AD when menacing Turkish attacks began.

The Turks
It was in 1538 that the Turkish raids of the Sporades islands again spelled out devastation for the region. The commander of these Turks was Barbarossa (also known as Red Beard) the pirate. Barbarossa is still very much in the minds and stories of the island inhabitants; particularly in Skopelos where islanders re-call the tale of the Turkish pirate and his force slaughtering all of the inhabitants; the same fate is assumed in historical text for the two sister islands of Alonissos and Skiathos.

As with much of Greek soil at the point in history, the islands were taken over by the Turkish. They never actually settled on them however, as the Sporades were known to the Turks as the ‘Demon Islands’ due to the ornery pirates. So a relatively large amount of time passed by where, as far as we know, next to no-one lived on the Sporades islands. In fact it wasn’t until the 17th and 18th centuries that they saw a return of life; suddenly the became a popular place of refuge for mainland Greeks as sanctuary from the Turks.

It was then that the islanders, many of whom were mainlanders who had fled the Turkish rath and now made these islands their home; began to rise up with revolutionary force. Skopilitians and others from the Sporades joined the revolt of irregular militia in the beginning of 1805. During this revolutionary period the island’s population was growing fast, this was augmented by drifting populations from such mainland locations as Thessaly.
It was 1821 that saw the culmination of all this revolutionary movement, as this was the date that the church officially rose the flag in support of what had been until then a radical revolt. Greece then officially waged war on he Turks in the War of Independence, and eventually won in 1827. March 25th 1821 is very much part of contemporary Greece too. The day is a commemorated holiday and celebrated every year with parades, good food and dance; banks and shops generally close especially in country areas or on islands, the Sporades are certainly no exception since they played a key role in the revolution.

The Treaty of London
In 1830 the treaty of London included the islands in the original Kingdom of Greece, and in 1832 the Sporades, as did the whole of Greece, gained their freedom.