Spetsopoula () is an island situated to the southeast of

Spetses Spetses (, "Pityussa") is an island in Attica, Greece. It is counted among the Saronic Islands group. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis and Corinthia Prefecture, which is now split into Argolis and Corinthia. In ancient ...

, which is one of the

Saronic Islands The Saronic Islands or Argo-Saronic Islands is an archipelago in Greece, named after the Saronic Gulf in which they are located, just off the Greek mainland. The main inhabited islands of this group are Salamis, Aegina, Agistri, and Poros. Th ...

, in the region of

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 ...

and 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 ...

. It lies from

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 ...

. Its area is about 2 Km². According to 2011 census the island is uninhabited but the previous census (2001) reported a population of 8 inhabitants.

Historical information

The ancient name of the island was Aristera and is referred by Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias. The modern name means small

and owes it in the nearby Spetses. In 1962 the island was purchased by Greek shipping magnate

Stavros Niarchos Stavros Spyrou Niarchos (, ; 3 July 1909 – 15 April 1996) was a Greek billionaire shipping tycoon. Starting in 1952, he had the world's biggest supertankers built for his fleet. Propelled by both the Suez Crisis and increasing demand for oil, ...

. Spetsopoula is linked with the death of Eugenia Livanos, former wife of Stavros Niarchos. She was found dead on the island on 4 May 1970. The island is still owned by descendants of Stavros Niarchos. Spetsopoula is often visited by people of high society, friends of Niarchos family.

Historical population

In wider culture

Spetsopoula is one of the settings of Richard H. White's 2013 novel ''Miro's Knot''. The book describes Spetsopoula as it was in 1967. As of 2024, ''Miro's Knot'' is in development to be made into a feature film.

References

External links

Map of Spetsopoula, Wiki Mapia

All about Spetses and history
{{Authority control Saronic Islands Private islands of Greece Niarchos family Islands of Attica Landforms of Islands (regional unit)