Skyros (Greek: Σκύρος) is an island in Greece, the southernmost of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC and slightly later, the island was known as The Island of the Magnetes where the Magnetes used to live and later Pelasgia and Dolopia and later Skyros. At 209 square kilometres (81 sq mi) it is the largest of the Sporades, and has a population of about 3,000 (in 2011). It is part of the regional unit of Euboea.
The Hellenic Air Force has a major base in Skyros, because of the island's strategic location in the middle of the Aegean.
Contents
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Municipality 1
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Geography 2
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History 3
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Historical population 4
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Transportation 5
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Air travel 5.1
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Sea travel 5.2
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Gallery 6
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References 7
Municipality
The municipality Skyros is part of the regional unit of Euboea.[2] Apart from the island Skyros it consists of a few uninhabited islands. The total area of the municipality is 223 square kilometres (86 sq mi).
Geography
The north of the island is covered by a forest, while the south, dominated by the highest mountain, called Rupert Brooke in an olive grove by the road leading to Tris Boukes harbour. There are many beaches on the coast. The island has its own breed of Skyrian ponies.
History
According to Greek mythology, Theseus died on Skyros when he was thrown from a cliff.
Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, was from Skyros (or Scyros, as its name is sometimes transliterated), as told in the play by Sophocles, Philoctetes (line 239).
In c. 475 BC,according to Thucydides, Cimon defeated the Dolopians (the original inhabitants) and conquered the entire island. From that date, it was colonized by Athenian settlers and became a part of the Athenian Empire. It was on the strategic trade route from Athens to the Black Sea. Cimon claimed to have found the remains of Theseus, and returned them to Athens.
In 340 BC the Macedonians took over the island and dominated it until 192 BC, when the king Philip and the Roman Republican forces restored it to Athens.
Rupert Brooke, the famous English poet, is buried on Skyros, having died on board a French hospital ship moored off the island in 1915, during World War I.[3]
Historical population
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Year
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Population
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1981
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2,757
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1991
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1,806
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2001
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2,602
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2011
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2,994
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Transportation
Air travel
Skyros is home to the Skyros Island National Airport, a one-runway airport.
Sea travel
Skyros Shipping Company operates the ferry service to Skyros. During holiday season the ferry runs twice daily from Kymi to Linaria on Skyros. During the winter months the service operates daily.[4]
Gallery
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The main village of Skyros
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Traditional dress (Vraka) of Skyros
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Traditional costumes of Skyros (PFF's archives)
References
[2]
The Official website of the Greek National Tourism Organisation
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^ "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority.
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^ Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (Greek)
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^ http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jbrooke.htm
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^ http://www.greekisland.co.uk/skyros/skyros.htm Greek Island Holidays
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Area
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15,549 km2 (6,004 sq mi)
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Population
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547,390 (as of 2011)
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Municipalities
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25 (since 2011)
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Capital
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Lamia
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Regional unit of Boeotia
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Regional unit of Euboea
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Regional unit of Evrytania
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Regional unit of Phocis
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Regional unit of Phthiotis
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