Kea is the ancient Hydrossa,
home of the nymphs who lived near the many springs
and fountains which kept the island lush during
pre-historic times. These nymphs were chased off
the island by a fierce lion and from this point on
the island became dry and less-fertile and ruled
by the star Sirius. The inhabitants appealed to
the semi-god Aristaios, son of Apollo and the
nymph Kyrini who rescued the island. The highest
point on the island was designated as a sanctuary
to the rain-god Ikmaios Zeus and from then on
things got better. It is believed that these myths
predate those of the Olympian Gods.
A cemetery and settlement found on the peninsula
of Kefala between Otzias and Agias Nikolaos dated
around 3300 BC is the first example of systematic
burial in the entire Aegean. Another settlement at
Agia Irini dates to the third millennium and
flourished for 1500 years. By 2000 BC this
settlement was fortified and the island became
more Minoan as it became a link between Crete and
Mycenaean due to the size and safety of its
harbor. The town was destroyed at around 1500 BC
and from that point on the settlement of Korissa,
the current port, became more important.
From the 12th Century the island was colonized by
Ionians from the mainland and known as Keos. By
the 6th Century four independent cities were
formed, known as Karthea (top print), Korissia, Ioulis,
Poiessa. These cities had individual political
structures though they would cooperate with each
other in matters of foreign policy and security.
Ioulis was inland while the other three cities sat
on bays and sheltered harbors. They traded with
civilizations as far away as Egypt and developed
their art and culture as well as erecting
sanctuaries to the gods which are still used as
places of worship. The Keians participated in the
ancient Olympics and minted their own coins.
Temples adorned all four cities. They fought the
Persians in the sea victory of Salamis and the
words of Simonides from Ioulis are known to
all:
"At Marathon the
Athenians fought for Greece and scattered the
might of the Mede and all his gold.
Stranger, go tell the Lacedemonians that we lie
here in obedience to their
word"
Keos joined the Athenian league in 487 which
ended their status as an independent state. They
later fell in with the Spartans, and again with
the Athenians in the second Athenian league. When
the city of Ioulis rebelled and attempted to leave
the league, Athens took over the rights to the
mines of Keos. From then on they usually sided
against Athens. During this period a series of
watch towers were built around the island as an
early warning system to protect them from their
enemies. After around 360 the four cities formed a
federation with a common parliament and this state
peaked in the 5th century BC. During this period
Keos gave the ancient Greek civilization such
renown personalities as
Bachylides
, the great lyric poet,
Xenomides
, the historian of myths and traditions,
Pythokleides
, the sophist and music teacher whose most famous
pupil was Perikles, and
Prodicos
, who with Protagoras was considered the father of
linguistics and philology. During this period the
God Apollo was venerated and the temple of Pythios
Apollo at Karthea was praised by Pindaros and
famous throughout Greece.
During the Hellenistic period the island went
into decline as the dangers from piracy forced
them to seek safety under the domination of
powerful tyrants. During the Ptolemean wars, the
island was used as a base for the Egyptians. They
later fell under the influence of the Aeotolians,
the Macedonians, Rhodes and the Romans. By the
first century BC, both Karthea and Poiessa were no
longer independent and after earthquakes and the
decline of the Roman Empire in the 4th century,
Karthea was destroyed and the population of the
island dwindled though the cultural life of the
island was still active.
In Keos they practiced euthanasia, known as the
Keian Momimon, where old people who had exceeded
their age limit, calmly drank poison hemlock to
put an end to their lives.
During the Byzantine period the island took the
name of Kea and many churches were built with the
island under the rule of the Diocese of Athens.
With the fall of Constantinople to the Franks,
Michael Akominatos, the Metropolitan of Athens
took refuge on the island in the monastery of
Prodomos where he stayed until he died. The island
was captured by the Venetians and recaptured by
the Byzantines in 1278. In 1296 it fell to the
Venetians again and built a castle on the ancient
acropolis of Ioulis. The port became a haven for
pirates and by 1470 there were only around 200
inhabitants on the island.
Kea was occupied by the Turks in 1527. The Turks
never settled on the island but they did organize
its repopulation with Albanians at the end of the
16th century. During this period the island
attracted many of the religious and intellectual
personalities who wanted to lay low. With the
island virtually free of Turks, it was a good
place to be. But in 1668 the Turks destroyed the
island because they had sided with the Venetians.
But afterwards the remaining inhabitants were
granted significant rights and by the end of the
century the population was at 3000.
In the 18th century the island of Kea, also
called Tzia, became involved in trade and small
industry. It was occupied by the Russians with the
rest of the Cyclades from 1770-1774 and during
this period many of the ancient monuments were
plundered by the Russian admiral. During the
Russian-Turkish war of 1787-1792, the harbor was
used by Lambros Katsonis as a base of operations
against the Turks. When he and his ship were
trapped in the bay by the Turkish fleet, he hauled
his ship across the narrow isthmus and escaped. In
reprisal many people of Kea were massacred, many
houses destroyed and the bishop hanged. During the
revolution which led to the formation of the
modern Greek state, many distinguished Keians were
members of the Filiki Heteria, the secret
revolutionary society whose goal was independence.
They participated in the sieges and battles of the
Acropolis of Athens, Tripolis, Corinth, Peta and
Messolonghi in body and by supporting the fighters
with weapons, food and money. But the Turkish
reprisal and the massacre of the inhabitants of
the island of Chios brought to Kea a stampede of
refugees and a plague which killed over 2000
people.
Things improved after this as the island again
developed culturally and agriculturally, exporting
acorns, barley, wine, honey and dairy products and
in 1927 Ioannis Gleoudis built the Enamel and
Metalworks factory in Korissa, where its ruins can
still be seen. Though immigration to America has
hurt the island, it has also helped to support it.
In the 1970's the artist Fasianos 'discovered' the
island and this led to other artists 'discovering'
it as well. From there it was 'discovered' by
Athenian yuppies who bought and restored old
houses in Chora. The island is still in the
process of being 'discovered'. |
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Kea 1598
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