Lesvos
Lesvos, or Lesbos, is the third largest island in Greece and the eighth largest in the Mediterranean. Like other places in Greece it has a long and varied history and it has made an important contribution to cultural and scientific developments in the region for more than two millennia.
The island is geographically close to Asia Minor and contacts with the mainland have been very important. The site of ancient Troy is not far away and Lesvos was mentioned by Homer in the Iliad. Early inhabitants of the island were Aeolians, a Hellenistic people who were originally from Thessaly and later spread to other areas including Lesvos and Asia Minor. Over the centuries the island has been under the control of or allied with various other major powers such as the Athenians, Macedonians, Romans, the Genoan Gattilusio family and Ottomans, but it has always been part of the Hellenistic world and in 1912 it was eventually united with the modern Greek state.
Culturally, ancient Lesbos is particularly remembered as being the home of the poet Sappho from Eressos as well as the natural philosopher Theophrastos, also from Eressos, who wrote numerous works on philosophy, natural phenomena and natural history although only a few have survived in their entirety. His Enquiry into Plants is one of the most important ancient texts and is still a useful reference source. He was a pupil of Aristotle who stayed on the island for a short time. More recently, the Nobel Prize winning poet Odysseas Elytis had a very close family association with the island.
Lesvos has always been a predominantly agricultural region and, although the island can boast a high degree of biodiversity, its economy is mainly based on the production of olive oil. It is estimated that there are 11 million olive trees on the island but, like all agricultural products, the income from olive oil is very sensitive to climatic conditions. In 1850 a very severe frost was particularly catastrophic and led to the replanting of much of the olive groves with more hardy varieties. In recent years, the effects of climate change are becoming evident and it remains to be seen what measures can be taken to alleviate them.
As with other Greek islands, tourism also constitutes an important part of the local economy. This has not, however, reached the extent observed in the better known destinations and the island has retained much of its original character. It has therefore become popular with those who wish to avoid the usual tourist attractions.
The eastern part of Lesvos is very green with extensive areas of olive groves and pine forests. The capital of Lesvos, Mytilene, is the largest town and the main access point for the island which is often referred to by Greeks as Mytilene rather than Lesvos. Lesvos is divided into two municipalities. Mytilene is the administrative center for the Municipality of Mytilene which has a population of about 60,000 and covers the south-eastern third of the island and besides the town of Mytilene includes many other towns and villages such as Plomari, a harbour on the south coast renowned for its ouzo distilleries, and Agiasos an inland hillside town with a wide variety of agricultural produce and a rich cultural tradition.
The Municipality of Western Lesvos has a population of about 24,000 and has its administrative hub in Kalloni which is situated in the geographical center of the island at the head of the Gulf of Kalloni. Important towns in this municipality include Mantamados and Molyvos on the northern side of the island. Mantamados is well known for its livestock production and in particular for its dairy products. Molyvos is a popular tourist attraction with an imposing castle looking over to the Asia Minor mainland. To the south of Kalloni the main town is Polichnitos which is the center of an area with many olive groves and a number of smaller villages such as Vrissa, Lisvori and Vasilika. Vatera, with the longest beach in Lesvos, is close to Vrissa and is popular in the summer. Vrissa itself suffered major damage from a recent earthquake and even more recent forest fires and is only now showing signs of recovery.
The western side of the island is more barren than the eastern part and there are fewer olive groves. Nevertheless, livestock farming, chiefly of sheep and goats, produces high quality dairy produce. Significant populated areas include the villages of Antissa, Mesotopos and Vatoussa as well as Eressos, the home of Sappho and Theophrastos, and its nearby popular resort, Skala Eressou, which has a fine sandy beach. On the western point of Lesvos, Sigri, besides serving as a secondary harbour for the island, also hosts a very good museum devoted to the nearby Petrified Forest.
There are a number of useful online sources of more information on Lesvos including the entry in Wikipedia and Matt Barrett’s excellent website. Other sites worth looking at include: