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A BRIEF LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF KALYMNOS
Originally, the island was called Kalydna then Kalymna and finally Kalymnos
but to Ovid it was “ Silvis umbrosa Calymne” – shady, wooded Kalymnos.
According to Homer, the island participated in the campaign against Troy with 30 ships, but the first indications of human activity date back to Neolithic times.
The God Apollo was the island’s protector and his temple was its political and religious center. His lyre is engraved at the back of the first silver coins cut in the 6th century B.C.
Twice occupied by the Persians (4th & 5th century) it was finally liberated by the fleet of Alexander the Great and, in the Hellenistic period, due to its geographical position, the island was actively involved in the merciless struggle for dominance betweenAlexander’s heirs. In the late 3rd century B.C. Kalymnos and Kos united under a common government which lasted until the Roman times when it became one of the members of the Province of the Islands.
Christianity reached the island from Asia Minor and churches, ornamented with colourful mosaics, were soon built. But the great earthquake of 554 A.D.caused serious destructrions, not the least significant of which being the sinking of the neck of land that used to join Telendos with the mainland of Kalymnos.Today, the islet of Telendos stands across the bay of Myrties with the legendary profile of “the princess” adorning its southern crags while its sunken ruins await on the seabed to be discovered.
In the middle of the 7th century, bands of looting Arabs forced the inhabitants of the coastal regions to take refuge in the mountains.Later, in mid-byzantine times, more raids by pirates compelled the building of the fortress in Hora with its small but elaborately frescoed churches.
The early14th century, brings the knights of the Order of St John to rule over most of the islands, including Kalymnos and in the middle of the 15th century the knights constructed the Fortress of Hrisoheria to protect the harbour.
1523 sees the islands falling into the hands of Sulleiman the Magnificent. But there is no indication of the presence of the Turks on the island of Kalymnos; no samples of Turkish architecture whether civil or religious.
Not until the beginning of the 18th century did the settlement of Hora, at the foot of the fortress, come into being. The inhabitants now dared to venture forth from their fortress and to build their homes and churches, the most outstanding of which is Panaghia Keharitomeni. Later, in 1850, they moved nearer to the harbour and thus a new capital – Pothia - was gradually born.
From 1912 to 1943 Kalymnos was under the occupation of the Italians who left their stamp on the island with their architecture : two beautiful buildings, the Town Hall and the Prefecture stand along the seafront and others are scattered in the town. The Italians gave way to the Germans who stayed for the next two years, 1943-1945, and only when World War II was over, on the 7th March 1948, was Kalymnos, with the rest of the Dodecanese, officially proclaimed part of the Greek Nation.
According to Homer, the island participated in the campaign against Troy with 30 ships, but the first indications of human activity date back to Neolithic times.
The God Apollo was the island’s protector and his temple was its political and religious center. His lyre is engraved at the back of the first silver coins cut in the 6th century B.C.
Twice occupied by the Persians (4th & 5th century) it was finally liberated by the fleet of Alexander the Great and, in the Hellenistic period, due to its geographical position, the island was actively involved in the merciless struggle for dominance betweenAlexander’s heirs. In the late 3rd century B.C. Kalymnos and Kos united under a common government which lasted until the Roman times when it became one of the members of the Province of the Islands.
Christianity reached the island from Asia Minor and churches, ornamented with colourful mosaics, were soon built. But the great earthquake of 554 A.D.caused serious destructrions, not the least significant of which being the sinking of the neck of land that used to join Telendos with the mainland of Kalymnos.Today, the islet of Telendos stands across the bay of Myrties with the legendary profile of “the princess” adorning its southern crags while its sunken ruins await on the seabed to be discovered.
In the middle of the 7th century, bands of looting Arabs forced the inhabitants of the coastal regions to take refuge in the mountains.Later, in mid-byzantine times, more raids by pirates compelled the building of the fortress in Hora with its small but elaborately frescoed churches.
The early14th century, brings the knights of the Order of St John to rule over most of the islands, including Kalymnos and in the middle of the 15th century the knights constructed the Fortress of Hrisoheria to protect the harbour.
1523 sees the islands falling into the hands of Sulleiman the Magnificent. But there is no indication of the presence of the Turks on the island of Kalymnos; no samples of Turkish architecture whether civil or religious.
Not until the beginning of the 18th century did the settlement of Hora, at the foot of the fortress, come into being. The inhabitants now dared to venture forth from their fortress and to build their homes and churches, the most outstanding of which is Panaghia Keharitomeni. Later, in 1850, they moved nearer to the harbour and thus a new capital – Pothia - was gradually born.
From 1912 to 1943 Kalymnos was under the occupation of the Italians who left their stamp on the island with their architecture : two beautiful buildings, the Town Hall and the Prefecture stand along the seafront and others are scattered in the town. The Italians gave way to the Germans who stayed for the next two years, 1943-1945, and only when World War II was over, on the 7th March 1948, was Kalymnos, with the rest of the Dodecanese, officially proclaimed part of the Greek Nation.
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