Chios
Chios (Χίος) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea.
The population is about 52,290 (census of 2001), with an area of 910 km². The capital is also called Chios or Chora; it is a port and the island's chief town. The island is famous for its scenery and good climate. Its chief export is mastic but it also produces olives, figs, and wine.
History
Chios was colonized by Ionians but has been occupied by the Persians, part of the Delian League and the Byzantine Empire, before passing through the possession of the Latin emperors of Constantinople, the Genoese and the Ottoman Turks.
During the Turkish occupation, there was a massacre of the islanders after a rebellion in 1822, depicted by Eugène Delacroix in his famous artwork at The Louvre. Chios rejoined the rest of independent Greece after the First Balkan War (1912).
The Turkish massacre of 1822, which annihilated 5/6 of the 120,000 inhabitants of the island, decimated the Mastichohoria, the mastic growing villages in the south of the island. It triggered enormous public outrage in Western Europe, as can be seen in the art of Delacroix, in the writing of Lord Byron and Victor Hugo.
Claims to Fame
- The Korai Library, in Chios, is one of the most important in Greece, containing 95,000 volumes.
- Adamantios Korais, the great Greek intellectual hailed from Chios though born in Smyrna.
- Chios claims to be the birthplace of Homer, Hippocrates the mathematician, and Oenopides. Oenopion, a legendary king, is said to have brought winemaking to the island.
- Chios is home to one of the biggest ship-owning fraternities in Greece, with such shipping families as Livanos, Chandris, Los, Lemos, Pachos, Pateras, Fafalios, Tsakos, Frangos, and Xylas hailing from the island.
- Chios' satellite islands include Oinoussai and Psara, from where Constantine Kanaris fired the first shots in the Greek War of Independence (1821 onwards).
- Some claim Chios is Christopher Columbus's birthplace. Columbus said he was from Genoa, but he never claimed he was from the city of Genoa itself. Chios was a Genoese possession at the time of Columbus birth, and 'Columbus' is a common surname on Chios . Furthermore Columbus appears to have known Chios very well, since he often made references to it in his journals.
- Chios is the birthplace of Ecumenical Patriarchs Joachim II and Joachim IV
- Chios is also the birthplace of some well known poets of modern times as Giorgos Dilvois, Nikos Gialouris, Dimitris Varos and Matheos Moundes.
- Chios Museum of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art, Website
- Chios Archaeological Museum, Website
Climate
Its climate is mainly Mediterranean.
Municipalities
| Municipality | YPES code | Seat | Postal code | Area code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agios Minas | 5401 | Thymiana | 821 00 | 22730-3 |
| Amani | 5402 | Volissos | 821 03 | 22740-2 |
| Chios | 5409 | Chios | 821 00 | 22710-2 through 4 |
| Ionia | 5403 | Kallimasia | 821 00 | 22710-5 through 6 |
| Kampochora | 5404 | Chalkio | 821 00 | 22710-8 |
| Kardamyla | 5405 | Kardamyla | 823 00 | 22720-2 |
| Mastichochoria | 5406 | Pyrgi | 821 02 | 22710-7 |
| Oinousses | 5407 | Oinousses | 821 03 | 22710-52 |
| Omiroupoli | 5408 | Vrontados | 822 00 | 22710-9 |
| Psara | 5410 | Psara | 821 04 | 22740-6 |
See also: List of settlements in the Chios prefecture
External references
- Official Chios website : operated by Chios Prefecture (including tourist guide)
- Chios info : Chios by Holiday.gr
- Association of Rooms to Let & Apartments in Chios
- Travel to Chios: Chios guide
- e-xios.gr: portal for Chios, everything you need
- Chios island Greece: General information including history, villages and famous people
- Chiosnet: Chios Travel Guide
- Chiosonline: Chios Travel Guide
- Interactive travel guide to chios island