Chios

Chios or Khios is an island in the North East Aegean Sea a few Kilometers off the coast of Turkey, (take a look at where Chios is located on the map).

It's the 5th largest island of Greece with a population relatively small (around 50,000) with a considerable amount of immigrants to different parts of the world, Athens and the rest of Greece. The capital is also called Chios or Chora; it is a port and the island's chief town. The island is famous for its scenery and good climate. Its chief export is mastic but it also produces olives, figs, and wine. Its an island that has kept its traditional character intact, due mostly to not being a very popular tourist destination.

Traveling to Chios

One can either take the plane from Athens (Aegean Air or Olympic Airlines) or in the summer some charter planes departing from major european capitals. An alternative would be to take the boat from Piraeus, Lesvos, Kabala, Samos, Rodos or Cesme (Turkey). Look in the chios links section for more details on boat and flights to and from Chios.

Chios' History in brief

Archaeological research on Chios has found evidence that the island has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic age, with cave dwellings at Hagios Galas and the settlement and accompanying necropolis of Emporeio being the primary sites of research for this period. It was noted in antiquity as Homer's birthplace. It was colonized by Ionians and became subject to Persia in 546 BC. Though later a member of the Delian League, it revolted several times against Athens. It prospered successively under Rome, Venice, Genoa, and the Ottoman Empire. During the Turkish occupation (Ottoman Empire), there was a massacre of the islanders after a rebellion in 1822, depicted by Eugène Delacroix in his famous artwork at The Louvre. Chios rejoined the rest of independent Greece after the First Balkan War (1912).

Claims to fame

In Chios grow the best qualities of Mastic (Pistacia lentiscus).

Nea Moni is a monastery with fine frescoes from Constantine IX's reign and a World Heritage Site.

The works of Lord Byron did much to draw the attention of mainland Europe to the catastrophe that had taken place on Chios

Chios claims to be the birthplace of Homer who is traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey

Chios claims to be the birthplace Hippocrates, not Hippocrates of Cos the "Father of Medicine" but, Hippocrates of Chios an ancient Greek mathematician (geometer) and astronomer. He was originally a merchant but, after some misadventures (he was robbed by either pirates or fraudulent customs officials) he went to Athens, possibly for litigation. There he grew into a leading mathematician.

Chios claims to be the birthplace of Oenopion, a legendary king, who is said to have brought winemaking to the island.

Chios is home to one of the biggest ship-owning fraternities in Greece, with such shipping families as Livanos, Chandris, Los, Lemos, Pachos, Pateras, Fafalios, Frangos, and Xylas hailing from the island

Chios' satellite islands include Oinoussais and Psara, from where Kanaris fired the first shots in the Greek War of Independence (1822 onwards).

Some claim Chios is Christopher Columbus's birthplace. Columbus said he was from the Republic of Genoa, but he never claimed he was from the city of Genoa itself. Chios was a Genoese possession at the time of Columbus birth, and 'Columbus' is a common surname on Chios. Furthermore Columbus appears to have known Chios very well, since he often made references to it in his journals

Chios is also the birthplace of some well known poets of modern times as Giorgos Dilvois, Nikos Gialouris, Dimitris Varos and Matheos Moundes.

The Korai Library, in Chios, is one of the most important in Greece, containing 95,000 volumes.

Chios Museum of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art, Website

Chios Archaeological Museum, Website

The town of Vrontados is home to a unique Easter celebration, where competing teams of locals gather at the town's two (rival) churches to fire tens of thousands of homemade rockets at the other church's bell tower while the Easter service is going on inside the churches, in what has become known as rouketopolemos ("the Easter church war")

If you need further info on Chios you can visit the wikipedia