Agios Efstratios or Saint Eustratius (), colloquially Ai Stratis (), anciently Halonnesus or Halonnesos (), is a small

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

island in the northern

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 ...

about southwest of

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

and northwest of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

. The municipality has an area of 43.325 km². Together with Lemnos and nearby islets it forms the regional unit of

, part of the Greek archipelagic

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the

North Aegean The North Aegean Region (, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the islands of the north-eastern Aegean Sea, called the North Aegean islands, except for Thasos an ...

Name

In antiquity the island was known as Halonnesus, and under this name was a bone of contention between

ancient Athens Athens is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for perhaps 5,000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of ancient Greece in t ...

and

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

as was noted in '' On the Halonnesus'', attributed to

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

. The island was named after Saint Eustratius (), who lived on the island in the 9th century as an exile, because he was opposed to the

iconoclastic Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

policies of the Byzantine Emperor Leo the Armenian. His grave is still being shown by the inhabitants. The island is mentioned in the by

Cristoforo Buondelmonti Cristoforo Buondelmonti () was an Italian Franciscan priest, traveler, and was a pioneer in promoting first-hand knowledge of Greece and its antiquities throughout the Western world. Biography Cristoforo Buondelmonti was born around 1385 into an ...

in 1420 as Sanstrati. It was also known as "Bozbaba" during Ottoman rule. The Ottoman Census of 1831 states that the island population was composed exclusively of Greeks, and that there were 310 Greek males fit to fight. This register did not include women, orphans, Christians below the age of puberty, high-ranking officials, and the mentally or physically incapacitated, so the actual population would be much higher.

Geography

Another view of the harbour of Agios Efstratios

Agios Efstratios is quiet, isolated and dry, with a population of approximately 300 people. The climate is arid, with little rainfall during the winter months and long, hot summers. The landscape is mostly rocky, with scarce and low vegetation.

Locust Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they b ...

infestation is a recurring problem. Crops are insignificant; the surrounding sea, however, is rich in

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

which are fished by local fishermen. There are numerous beaches on the island such as Agios Antonios, Lemonies, Avlakia and others, most of which are reached by caique. Agios Efstratios Island is linked by boat with Limnos, Agios Konstantinos, Kymi and Kavala.

Recent political history

The island was used to house

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s in internal exile since the 1930s. The first communists were exiled to the island with the

Idionymon ''Idionymon'' (, literally "that which has its own name", also translated as "special illegal act" or ''delictum sui generis''), is a Greek legal term referring to a criminal offense which is treated distinctly from the general categories in the G ...

law of Venizelos, later during the Metaxas Regime and again during the

Greek civil war The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

. After Makronisos it became the largest prison island in Aegean. During the Greek military junta of 1967–74, the island was again used as a prison for political dissidents. Exiles here included Ilias Iliou, Stefanos Sarafis, Dimitris Glinos, Kostas Varnalis, Tasos Leivaditis, Yiannis Ritsos, Menelaos Lountemis, Manos Katrakis, Kostas Gavriilidis and

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' (1969), and '' Serpico'' (1973). He was a three-ti ...

. On 19 February 1968, an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

(7.1 on the Richter scale) demolished most of the houses, which were replaced by concrete prefabricated buildings laid out in a military-like camp formation. Nonetheless, the island retains a very attractive capital, also called Agios Efstratios, while preserving a rather unspoiled Mediterranean environment with pristine beaches. It is mostly a place for relaxation and meditation.

Greece's first green island

Athens News Agency The Athens News Agency (ANA; ) was one of the two major news agencies in Greece, the other being the Macedonian Press Agency, before they merged into the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA). History The Athens News Agency (ANA) is the national n ...

reported that, on 4 June 2009, at a two-day international conference in Athens on "

Climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and Challenges for the Future Generations"International Conference: Climate Change and Challenges for the Future Generations
under the patronage of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, Greece's Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said that Agios Efstratios would soon become the country's first "green" island, entirely powered by

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

sources (RES), its residents relying on solar and wind generated energy and moving around the island on bicycles and in electric cars. Hatzidakis said a €10 million project would be implemented by 2010. At the same conference Professor Philippos Tsalidis, Development Ministry General Secretary for Research and Technology, said that although Greece's energy needs currently required strategic reliance on natural gas, Aghios Efstratios, could serve as a global model for 100% reliance on RES. Agios Efstratios is included in the European Union's

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

network of nature protected areas.

Transportation

Agios Efstratios has one port, which offers year-round ferry connections to the island of

, as well to mainland Greece, namely Lavrio. The ship operating these routes is owned by Hellenic Seaways. There is also a small heliport on the main village outskirts, but it is used mostly for emergency airlift, or coast guard and military helicopters' stopover.

In popular culture

A slightly fictionalized Agios Efstratios appears in the 2013 tactical shooter

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

'' Arma 3'' as the island of "Stratis", part of the

island country An island country, island state, or island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...

of the "Republic of Altis and Stratis". In the game, Stratis is mostly composed of sparse military installations and a small

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

, with most of the civilian settlements on the island having been left abandoned following a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. "Altis", based on

, is north of the island as it is in real life.

Gallery

File:Mons Sanctus I Sanstratos - Cristoforo Buondelmonti - 1420.jpg, A 1400's map where the name Sanstratos is used File:Map of St Strati Island 1848.jpg, Map of Agios Efstratios, 1848 File:Agios Efstratios.jpg, Harbor view File:Άποψη του χωριού.jpg, Village overview File:Αλωνίτσι.jpg, Alonitsi beach

References

External links

Documentary about Agios Efstratios

Municipality of Agios Efstratios Official Page - Δήμος Αγίου Ευστρατίου Επίσημη Ιστοσελίδα

Agios Efstratios Sea Pilot
{{Authority control Landforms of Lemnos (regional unit) Municipalities of the North Aegean Islands of the North Aegean Prison islands of Greece Political repression in Greece Anti-communism in Greece Exiles of the Greek Civil War