Antikythera ( , ; , ) or Anticythera, known in antiquity as Aigilia (), is a

Greek island Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by ...

lying on the edge of 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 ...

, between

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality of

Kythira Kythira ( ; ), also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira, is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands, although it is dist ...

island. Antikythera may also refer to the Kythira-Antikythira Strait, through which Mediterranean water enters the Sea of Crete. Its land area is , and it lies south-east of

. It is the most distant part of the

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

region from its heart in the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

. It is

lozenge Lozenge or losange may refer to: * Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus *Throat lozenge A throat lozenge (also known as a cough drop, sore throat sweet, troche, cachou, pastille or cough sweet) is a small, typically medicated tablet intended to ...

-shaped, NNW to SSE by ENE to WSW. It is notable for being the location of the discovery of the

Antikythera mechanism The Antikythera mechanism ( , ) is an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek hand-powered orrery (model of the Solar System). It is the oldest known example of an Analog computer, analogue computer. It could be used to predict astronomy, astronomical ...

and for the historical Roman-era

Antikythera wreck The Antikythera wreck () is a Roman-era shipwreck dating from the second quarter of the first century BC."''The Antikythera Shipwreck. The Ship, The Treasures, The Mechanism. National Archaeological Museum, April 2012 – April 2013''". Helleni ...

. Its main settlement and port is Potamós (pop. 34 inhabitants in the 2011 census). The only other settlements are Galanianá (pop. 15), and Charchalianá (pop. 19). Antikythera is periodically visited by the Ablemon Nautical Company ferry ''F/B Ionis'' on its route between

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

(Athens) and Kissamos-Kastelli on Crete.

History

The earliest known inhabitants (5th or 4th millennium BC) were likely seasonal hunters who traveled there to exploit the presence of migratory birds. The population of the island then changed frequently as it was settled and abandoned several times, including a period of significant influence by Cretan culture during the Bronze Age. In antiquity, the island of Antikythera was known as Aegilia or Aigilia (), Aegila or Aigila (), or Ogylos (). Between the 4th and 1st centuries BC, it was used as a base by a group of

Cilician pirates Cilician pirates dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 2nd century BC until their suppression by Pompey in 67–66 BC. Because there were notorious pirate strongholds in Cilicia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), the term ...

until their destruction by

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

. Their fort can still be seen atop a cliff to the northeast of the island. The archaeology of the island has been thoroughly surveyed and the data made openly available for further study. Antikythera is one of the few islands in the Aegean which were never ruled by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, as the Ottomans did not consider the small island a worthwhile conquest. Nevertheless, it was noted on Ottoman maps as , a name that has persisted in modern Turkish. Antikythera, known as ''Cerigotto'' in Italian, was administered by the Venetians as part of the

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

, despite being several hundred kilometres away from the main Ionian archipelago. The Venetians held out in Antikythera until 1800 while the rest of the Ionian Islands had fallen to

Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

in 1797. It became a British protectorate in 1815 as part of the

United States of the Ionian Islands The United States of the Ionian Islands was a Greeks, Greek state (polity), state and Protectorate#Amical_protection, amical protectorate of the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1864. The succession of states, successor state of the Septinsular R ...

. The island was then ceded to Greece under the

Treaty of London (1864) The Treaty of London in 1864 resulted in the United Kingdom ceding the United States of the Ionian Islands to Greece. Britain had held an amical protectorate over the islands since the 1815 Treaty of Paris. The federated United States of the ...

. From 1864 to 1912, Antikythera was the southernmost point of Greece, as Crete and the surrounding islands including

Gavdos Gavdos ( ) is the southernmost Greek island, located to the south of its much larger neighbour, Crete, of which it is administratively a part, in the regional unit of Chania. It forms a community with surrounding islets and was part of the forme ...

were then part of the Ottoman Empire. Antikythera is most famous for being the location of the 1900 discovery of the

, from which the

Antikythera Ephebe The ''Antikythera Ephebe'', registered as ''Bronze statue of a youth'' in the museum collections, is a Greek bronze statue of a young man of languorous grace that was found in 1900 by sponge-divers in the area of the ancient Antikythera shipw ...

and

were recovered. The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient

mechanical calculator A mechanical calculator, or calculating machine, is a mechanical device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic automatically, or a simulation like an analog computer or a slide rule. Most mechanical calculators were comparable in si ...

(sometimes described as the first mechanical computer) designed to calculate astronomical positions which has been dated to about 205 BC. Technological artifacts of similar complexity did not reappear until a thousand years later.

Fauna

Antikythera is a very important stop-over site for migratory birds during their seasonal movements, due to its geographical position and certain features (a longitudinal island, with a north–south direction and very low human impact). Furthermore, the island hosts the largest breeding colony of

Eleonora's falcon Eleonora's falcon (''Falco eleonorae'') is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus ''Hypotriorchis''. The sooty falcon is sometimes considered its closest rel ...

(''Falco eleonorae'') in the world. The importance of Antikythera for studying

bird migration Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Animal migration, Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and ...

led to the creation of Antikythera Bird Observatory (A.B.O) by the

Hellenic Ornithological Society The Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS; ) is a Greek non-governmental body dedicated solely to the conservation of wild birds and their habitats in Greece. Established in 1982, it operates as a non-profit organisation and serves as the Greek repr ...

. The island, along with its associated islets, has been recognised as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

. The island also has a large population of wild goats.

Climate Observation Center (PANGEA)

Following an agreement among European Investment Bank, the Kithira-Antikithira Commission of Inland Property, the National Observatory of Athens, the Municipality and the Greek Public, a total fund of 25m euros will be used to install one of the largest Climate Observatory Centers in Europe. The project has also gained the support of Cosmote and Niarchos Foundation.

Notable people

Andreas Anagnostakis Andreas Anagnostakis (Ανδρέας Αναγνωστάκης; 11 August 1826 – 27 March 1897) was a Greek ophthalmologist, physician, and educator. He is best known for inventing the ophthalmoscope, a handheld tool used in diagnostics and st ...

(1826–1897) physician

References

External links

Antikythera audio pronunciationOfficial website of the Antikythira Community

The "Return to Antikythera" Dive Official Website (English)The Antikythera (Archaeological) Survey Project
(Website in Greek)
Antikythira Bird Observatory
(Greek Text) {{Authority control Ionian Islands Islands of Greece Important Bird Areas of Greece Important Bird Areas of Mediterranean islands Landforms of Islands (regional unit) Territories of the Republic of Venice Populated places in Islands (regional unit) Kythira