The Lesser Cyclades or Small Cyclades () is an island complex in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, inside the archipelago of the

Cyclades The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...

. It is located to the south-east of

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

and comprises 32 islands and rocks. The main islands are

Ano Koufonisi Koufonisia () are a small island complex and a former community in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Naxos and Lesser Cyclades, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an ar ...

Kato Koufonisi Koufonisia () are a small island complex and a former community in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Naxos and Lesser Cyclades, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an ar ...

, Irakleia,

Schoinoussa Schoinoussa or Schinoussa ( ; anciently Σχινοῦσσα) is an island and a former community in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Naxos and Lesser Cyclades, of which it is a municipal un ...

Donousa Donousa (, also Δενούσα ''Denousa''), and sometimes spelled Donoussa, is an island and a former community in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Naxos and Lesser Cyclades, of which it ...

and

Keros Keros (; anciently, Keria or Kereia ()) is an uninhabited and unpopulated Greek island in the Cyclades about southeast of Naxos. Administratively it is part of the community of Koufonisia. It has an area of and its highest point is . It was ...

. The largest of them is Irakleia with an area of 18 km² and the most populated is Ano Koufonisi with a population of 399, according to the 2011 census. Only four of them are inhabited, Ano Koufonisi, Irakleia, Donousa and Schoinoussa. The islet of

Kato Antikeri Kato or Katō may refer to: Places *Kato, Guyana, a village in Guyana *Katō, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan *Katō District, Hokkaido, a district located in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan *Katowice, a city in Southern Poland, ...

has also two inhabitants. Administratively, the islands belong to the

Naxos and Lesser Cyclades Naxos and Lesser Cyclades () is a municipality in the Naxos regional unit, South Aegean region, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Naxos (city). The municipality consists of the Cycladic island of Naxos and the islands of the Lesse ...

municipality apart from the islets of Ano and Kato Antikeri that belong to

Amorgos Amorgos (, ; ) is the easternmost island of the Cyclades island group and the nearest island to the neighboring Dodecanese island group in Greece. Along with 16 neighbouring islets, the largest of which (by land area) is Nikouria Island, it compr ...

municipality.

History

During the last ice age most of the islands of the

were united into a big landmass. After the sea level rose in ca. 9,000 B.C. the Aegean flooded the landmass to form the many small islands: this is when the archipelago acquired its modern form. The Lesser Cyclades have been inhabited since the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...

. The islands flourished during the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, when the

Cycladic culture Cycladic culture (also known as Cycladic civilisation) was a Bronze Age culture (c. 3100–c. 1000 BC) found throughout the islands of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea. In chronological terms, it is a relative dating system for artifacts which is ...

appeared. The island of

was one of the major sites of Cycladic culture and has given its name to Early Cycladic II period of Cycladic culture, known as

Keros-Syros culture The Keros-Syros culture is named after two islands in the Cyclades: Keros and Syros. This culture flourished during the Early Cycladic II period (ca 2700-2300 BC) of the Cycladic civilization. The trade relations of this culture spread far and ...

. The islands continued to be populated thereafter. On the islands, particularly on

and Irakleia, ruins from

classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

and the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

can be found. The islands suffered from piracy both in medieval and modern times, which lead the islands to be at turn depopulated and colonised again by shepherds from

. Since the 11th century most of the islands of the Lesser Cyclades were given as property to the Hozoviotissa Monastery in Amorgos. The monastery even today retains large areas in the islands as its property. The islands today have been developed as a popular tourist destination. Mikres Kyklades de

Main islands

References

External links

Webpage about the Lesser Cyclades
{{The Cyclades Landforms of Naxos (regional unit) Landforms of the South Aegean Archipelagoes of Greece Cyclades