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History of Ikaria History of Ikaria

Ikaria has been inhabited since 7,000 BC, when Neolithic pre-Greek inhabitants were installed, that Greeks called Pelasgians. Around 750 BC Greeks from Miletus colonized Ikaria establishing facilities in the area now known as Campos, which was then called Ionoi for the wine. In the 6th century BC Ikaria was absorbed by Samos and became part of the maritime empire of Polycrates. At that time the temple of Artemis at Na was built at the northeast corner of the island. This was a sacred place for the pre-Greek inhabitants of the Aegean Sea and an important port in ancient times, the last stop before the dangerous seas around Ikaria were explored. It was an appropriate place for sailors to make sacrifices to Artemis, who among other things was a patron of seafarers. The temple was maintained in good condition until the mid 19th century when it was plundered by the villagers of Ridges Christ, who took the marble in order to build the church in their village. In 1939 excavations were held by the Greek archeologist Leon Politis. During the German and Italian occupation of Ikaria during the Second World War, many of the artifacts unearthed by Politis disappeared. According to local tradition, there are still marble statues beneath the sands of the beach.

In the 14th century AD Ikaria was part of the Genoese empire in the Aegean. At some point in this period Ikarians destroyed their ports to prevent the invasion of unwanted visitors. According to local historians, Ikarians, based on their constructions, built seven towers-watchtowers along the coast. When a hostile or unknown vessel appeared, observers immediately lit fire and ran to a tank that was always filled with water. They pulled a wooden plug which existed at the base of the tank and the water naturally leaked. The guards of other observatories were warned by the fire to do the same simultaneously. Inside each tank in each castle were identical lines to those se see in containers that serve as scoops. Each of these calibration had a different message attached onto; "pirate attack", "approximate unknown vessel" etc. When the water level reached the right message, the "senders" put the plug back in the tank and put out the fire and thus everyone in the other towers could read the size and proximity of each risk.

History of Ikaria During this period the Ikarians rarely built villages. Each house was remote from the adjacent, had only one door and was barricaded inside high walls. The chimney with the smoke might betray their existence, so they maintained smoky rooms which contained no possessions. The tradition says that all slept on the floor and hid their belongings into slots in the walls. Men and women wore almost the same clothes: woven linen skirts for women, some kind of Kilts for men. This lifestyle conducive to longevity.

The Knights of St. John, who had their base in Rhodes, exerted some control over Ikaria until 1521, when the Ottoman Empire incorporated Ikaria on its possessions. The Ikarians lynched the first Turkish tax collector, but somehow managed to escape punishment.

The Turks imposed a very loose administration, did not send any officials to Ikaria for several centuries. The best record we have of the island during these years is from the pen of Bishop J.Georgirnees who in 1677 described the island with 1,000 inhabitants who were the poorest in the Aegean. In 1827 Ikaria broke away from the Ottoman Empire, but was forced to accept the Turkish government for a few more years and remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 17 July 1912 when it expelled a small Turkish garrison during Ikarian struggle for independence. Due to the Balkan Wars, Icaria could not unite with Greece until November of that year. For 5 summer months remained an independent state with its own armed forces, seals and anthem. These five months of independence were difficult. The natives were lacking in supplies, did not have had frequent transport and postal services, and were in danger of becoming part of the Italian Empire in the Aegean.

The island suffered tremendous losses in property and lives during the Second World War and the German and Italian occupation. There are no exact figures on how many people starved, but at the village Karavostamo more than 100 people died of starvation. From then on the island, the majority of residents are sympathetic to communism, and the Greek government used the island as a place of exile for about 13,000 communists from 1945 to 1949. Until now Ikaria is also called as Red Island or Red Rock. The quality of life improved significantly after 1960 when the Greek government began to invest in the infrastructure of the island in order to promote tourism.

Ikaria Island in Aegean
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