Alonissos

Alonissos, is an island in Greece which is located in the Aegean Sea and belongs to the island complex of the Sporades. Its total area reaches 64.5 km. and the length of its shores is about 67 km. Maximum length about 20 km and width from 3 to 4.5 km. Patitiri bay is the port of the island, where it is connected by ferry to Volos, Skiathos, Skopelos and Thessaloniki. Seven monasteries are mentioned.

Designation

The name Alonissos was given to Otto in 1838, at the suggestion of the then Ministry of the Interior, to replace the previous name Liadromia or Heliodromia, as stated in the Administrative Division of Greece of 1828. Alonissos. Nevertheless, this did not change and the name remains as it is for the specific island, where according to the ancient Greeks it was called “Ikos”. The previous name (h) Liadromia, many claim that it comes from the corruption of “Diadromia”, corresponding to Diaporia, with the difference that the former is said to be female, while the latter is neutral.

History

Traces of prehistoric habitation dating back to the Paleolithic era have been found in Alonissos. In many parts of the southeastern part of the island, including the Kokkinokastro Peninsula and the small island of Mikro Kokkinokastro, the sites of Leptos Gialos, Glyfa, etc., are found to date from the Middle Paleolithic to the Mesolithic. Remains of installations exist on the islet of Mikro Kokkinokastro and elsewhere, while a tomb of the geometric period was found on the north side of the island, in the place of Agios Konstantinos, from which probably comes an intact winemaker with written decoration. In historical times it was “Cypolis” according to Skylakatos Karyandeas. One city was located on the Kokkinokastro Peninsula, where part of a classical wall survives. The other city is located at Agios Ioannis, near the Old Village of Alonissos, where there are no visible traces of buildings, but a cemetery of classical times has been identified and partially excavated. Several more comas, fortified farmhouses with round towers and other agricultural facilities of classical, mainly but also Hellenistic times, are located in various parts of the central and northern side of Alonissos, such as in Raches, Kastraki, Karbitses and others. At the end of the Hellenistic period, it seems that Ikos has fallen into decline. According to the testimony of Philostratus, around the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd century AD. the whole island was a vast vineyard that was in the possession of the Peparithian vine grower Hmnaios.