Tinos ( ) 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 ...

situated 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 ...

. It forms part 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 ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

. The closest islands are

Andros Andros (, ) is the northernmost island of the Greece, Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and ...

Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...

, and

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. At the 2021 census, there were 10,704 inhabitants, most of ...

. It has a land area of and a 2021 census population of 8,934 inhabitants. Tinos is famous amongst Greeks for the Church of Panagia Evangelistria, for the island's 80 or so

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

s, for about 1,000 artistic dovecotes, for 50 active villages and for the Venetian fortifications on the mountain Exomvourgo. On Tinos, both

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

populations co-exist, and the island is also well known for its sculptors and painters, such as Nikolaos Gysis, Yannoulis Chalepas and Nikiforos Lytras. The island is located near the geographical center of the Cyclades islands complex, and because of the Panagia Evangelistria church, with the reputedly miraculous icon of Virgin Mary that it holds, Tinos is also the center of a yearly pilgrimage that takes place on the date of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (15 August, ). Many pilgrims make their way along the from the ferry wharf to the church on their hands and knees as sign of devotion.

History

Anciently, the island was called Tenos (), and was also called Hydroussa/Hydroessa (Ὑδροῦσσα, Ὑδρόεσσα) from the number of its springs, and Ophioussa (Ὀφιοῦσσα) because it abounded in snakes. The sons of Boreas are said to have been slain in this island by

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

. In the invasion of Greece by

Xerxes I Xerxes I ( – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was a List of monarchs of Persia, Persian ruler who served as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC. He was ...

, the Tenians were compelled to serve in the Persian fleet; but a Tenian

trireme A trireme ( ; ; cf. ) was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, ancient Greeks and ancient R ...

deserted to the Greeks immediately before the Battle of Salamis (480 BCE), and accordingly the name of the Tenians was inscribed upon the tripod at

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

in the list of Grecian states which had overthrown the Persians. Pausanias relates that the name of the Tenians was also inscribed on the statue of Zeus at Olympia among the Greeks who had fought at the

Battle of Plataea The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Polis, Greek city-states (including Sparta, Cla ...

. The Tenians afterwards formed part of the

Delian League The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...

, and are mentioned among the subject allies of Athens at the time of the Sicilian expedition. They paid a yearly tribute of 3600 drachmae, from which it may be inferred that they enjoyed a considerable share of prosperity. Alexander of Pherae took possession of Tenos for a time; and the island was afterwards granted by

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the ...

to the Rhodians. Tinos by Giacomo Franco

Following the capture of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

by the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

, Tinos was one of several islands ruled by private Venetian citizens and belonged to Andrea Ghisi, whose heirs held it until 1390 when the last member of the family branch bequeathed both Tinos and

to Venice. It was ruled by Venice until 1715, when Tinos was captured 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 ...

(see Ottoman–Venetian War). It was known as İstendil during Ottoman era. The Ottomans held Tinos until 1821 when the inhabitants joined in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

. During this war the Greek Orthodox Christians persecuted the Catholic Albanians of Tinos and murdered many of them The tumult of the period gave rise to an increase in piracy in the region. In 1825 was the lead vessel of a small squadron in anti-piracy operations in the

Archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

, at Alexandria, and around the coasts of Syria. On 27 July 1826, ''Cambrian''s boats captured a pirate bombard and burnt a mistico on Tinos. Five pirates were killed and several wounded. The date of 15 August also commemorates the 1940 sinking in Tinos's harbour of the Greek cruiser '' Elli'', during peacetime, while she rode at anchor, by the Italian submarine ''Delfino''. The ''Elli'' was participating in the celebrations of the Feast of the Dormition. One of the three torpedoes fired hit the ''Elli'' under the one operating boiler and she caught fire and sank. Nine petty officers and sailors were killed and 24 were wounded. The same submarine attempted to torpedo the passenger ships M/V ''Elsi'' and M/V ''Hesperos'' anchored in the port. This attempt failed and the torpedoes only damaged a section of the port's wharf.

Geography

Tinos has a varied landscape. From the shores of Panormos and Kolimbithra on the North Shore to Kionia, Agios Yannis O Portos, and Agios Sostis on the Southern Shore, Tinos has many beaches. Tsiknias is the highest mountain on the island at and hides the village of Livada. The mountain of Exobourgo is quite distinct, and unlike its more rounded Cycladic neighbors, has a jagged appearance that would be more at home in the Alps. Between Tsiknias and Exobourgo lies the fruitful plain of Falatados. This area is unique on the island as its relatively flat terrain (albeit with an elevation of about ) is rare on the island. This made it a strong candidate for a proposed airport on the island. The Meltemi winds and concerns of local villagers of the towns of Falatados, and Steni have all but halted the project. The landscape around Volax is surreal and unusual with giant boulders some the size of multi-storey buildings. The village of Volax lies at the center of this landscape. To the west, the mountains surrounding Pyrgos contain green

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

. All around the island of Tinos, the islanders have made the most unusual things out of stone. The hills are all terraced with stone walls and every village is connected to its nearest neighbors by stone walkways set between a parallel set of stone walls. The island's mineral resources include marble, Verde antico,

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

and a

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

mine near Volax (also known as Volakas).

Administration

Tinos is a separate regional unit of the

South Aegean The South Aegean (, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the Cyclades and Dodecanese island groups in the central and southeastern Aegean Sea. Administration The South Aegean region was established in ...

region, and the only

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of the regional unit. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Tinos was created out of part of the former Cyclades Prefecture. At the same reform, the current municipality Tinos was created out of the 3 former municipalities: * Exomvourgo * Panormos * Tinos (town)

Province

The province of Tinos () was one of the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

of the Cyclades Prefecture. It had the same territory as the present regional unit. It was abolished in 2006.

Climate

Tinos experiences a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

climate and has warm and dry summers and mild and wet winters. In the island you come across the etesians (also known as meltemi winds) — the strong, dry north winds of the Aegean Sea, which blow from about mid-May to mid-September. They are at their strongest in the afternoon and often die down at night, but sometimes meltemi winds last for days without a break. Meltemi winds are dangerous to sailors because they come up in clear weather without warning and can blow at 7-8 Beaufort.

Transportation

Tinos has three ports, one for passenger speed boats, and two for ferries and highspeed boats which carry passengers and cars to other ports, including

(35 min),

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 ...

, Rafina,

and

Syros Syros ( ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greece, Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and at the 2021 census it had 21,124 inhabitants. The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano S ...

. There is a

heliport A heliport is a small airport which has a helipad, suitable for use by helicopters, powered lift, and various types of vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also hav ...

close to Aghios Fokas beach, some from the town of Tinos. There are regular buses linking the town of Tinos with other villages on the island.

Towns and villages

Notable people

Kösem Sultan Kösem Sultan (; 1589 – 2 September 1651), also known as Mahpeyker Sultan (;), was the Haseki sultan, Haseki Sultan as the chief consort and legal wife of the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I, Valide sultan, Vali ...

(Anastasia), wife of Ottoman Sultan

Ahmed I Ahmed I ( '; ; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide; henceforth, Ottoman rulers would no ...

, Haseki Sultan and

Valide sultan Valide Sultan (, lit. "Sultana mother") was the title held by the mother of a ruling sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans first formally used the title in the 16th century as an epithet of Hafsa Sultan (died 1534), mother of Sultan Suleima ...

of the

, mother of Ottoman Sultans

Murad IV Murad IV (, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; , 27 July 1612 – 8 February 1640) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad I ...

, Ibrahim I and the official Regent of the

. She was the most powerful woman in Ottoman history and one of the most powerful women of the 17th Century. She was the de-facto ruler of the

for 13 years and the only woman to held supreme control over the Ottoman Empire similar to that of a Sultan. * Saint Pelagia * Ieronymos I (Kotsonis), Archbishop of Athens and All Greece * Haralambos “Babis” Marmanis, Author, Scientist, CTO * Yannoulis Chalepas (1851–1938), sculptor * Lazaros Sochos (1862-1911), sculptor * Patriarch Photius of Alexandria * Nikiphoros Lytras (1832-1904), painter * Nicholaos Gysis (1842–1901), painter *

Stelios Perpiniadis Stelios Perpiniadis (; 14 May 1899 – 4 September 1977), better known as Stellakis (Greek: Στελλάκης), was a Greek folk musician who wrote, sang, and played guitar in the ''rebetiko'' style. He was the father of Greek folk musician, Vangel ...

(1899–1977), musician * Errikos Kontarinis (1906–1971), actor * Vangelis Protopappas (1917–1995) actor * Anna Fonsou, actress * Lefteris Valakas, sculptor * Fragiskos Alvertis, basketball player * Alekos Alavanos, politician

Gallery

File:Tinos (15597098751).jpg, Tinos town, view of the port File:Tino - Dapper Olfert - 1688.jpg, Tinos map, Olfert Dapper, Amsterdam, Wolfgangh, 1688 File:Tinos (15573872195).jpg, Saint Nicolas church in Panormos (Pyrgos), Tinos File:Yannoulis Chalepas portrait.jpg, Yannoulis Chalepas File:Tinos kolimbithra bucht 120707 02.jpg, View of Mikri Kolibithra beach File:Tinos 309.jpg, Street of Tinos File:Tinos, Greece (Unsplash).jpg, Tinos, Volax File:Tinos 319.JPG, The congress centre File:Ktikados, Tinos, Greece 2018040618370N00701.jpg, Catholic church at the village of Ktikados File:Tinos (15082052382).jpg, Tinos, Volax landscape File:Lichnaftia, Tinos, Greece 2018041010060N01443.jpg, Dovecote near Lichnaftia, Tinos, Greece File:Tinos (15422595820).jpg, Tinos, Kardiani File:Triantaros Tinos Greece 2018040613200NP0515.jpg, View of Dyo-Choria and Triantaros, Tinos File:Tinos, Greece 2018040613120NP0488.jpg, Tinos panorama

References

External links

The official travel guide of Tínos

Official website of Municipality of Tinos

Official website of Municipality of Exomvoúrgo
{{Authority control Cyclades Municipalities of the South Aegean Provinces of Greece Landforms of Tinos Islands of the South Aegean Members of the Delian League Stato da Màr Populated places in the ancient Aegean islands Places in Greek mythology