Where Do the Names of Greek Islands Come From?

Santorini oregon Thira is believed to person been named aft the past Spartan Thiran who archetypal colonized the island. Credit: Greek Reporter

Many Greek islands deduce their names from mythical heroes, past gods and kings, oregon from geological features.

The Greek territory is composed of 6,000 islands and islets scattered successful the Aegean and the Ionian Sea, a genuinely unsocial improvement of the European continent. Every Greek land is different, each with its ain qualities, making them unsocial successful the world.

Santorini (Thira): The sanction comes from the past Spartan Thiran who archetypal colonized the island. It was utilized by passing crusaders, who stopped for refueling adjacent the Church of St. Irene, which already existed connected the island.

Corfu (Kerkyra oregon Korkyra) is related to 2 almighty h2o symbols: Poseidon, deity of the sea, and Asopos, an important Greek mainland river. According to myth, Poseidon fell successful emotion with the beauteous nymph Korkyra, girl of Asopus and stream nymph Metope, and abducted her. Poseidon brought Korkyra to the unnamed land and, successful marital bliss, offered her sanction to the place–Korkyra gradually evolved to Kerkyra. Together, they had a kid they called Phaiax, aft whom the inhabitants of the land were named Phaiakes. This word was transliterated via Latin to Phaeacians. Corfu’s nickname is the land of the Phaeacians.

Crete: Kriti was the sanction of 1 of the nymphs who guarded the aureate apples of the Hesperides garden, the plot of the gods, and according to mythology the nymph named the island. Another mentation suggests that it derives from the ancient Greek connection “κραταιή” (krataie̅), meaning beardown oregon powerful, the reasoning being that Crete was the strongest thalassocracy during past times.

Names of Greek islands deduce from mythology

Anafi: According to Greek mythology, the Argonauts arsenic they were returning location from Colchis were caught successful a tempest and begged past Greek deity Apollo to prevention them. Apollo responded to their calls and saw and land popular up successful beforehand of them; it became their refuge. The locals assertion that the land is truthful named due to the fact that it has nary snakes.

Folegandros: For the root of the sanction of Folegandros determination are 2 versions. According to the archetypal one, the sanction comes from the Phoenician connection phelekgundari (helekgundari) which means rocky land. In the 2nd version, the land received its sanction from the mythological archetypal settler, Folegandros, lad of King Minos.

Naxos: There are 2 main theories astir the island’s name. The archetypal is that it was named successful grant of Naxos, the ruler of the archetypal settlers of the island; the second, that the sanction derives from the past Greek connection naxai, meaning thysai, due to the fact that of the galore sacrifices that took spot determination successful grant of the gods.

Skiathos: According to rumors, the sanction of Skiathos has origins successful the words ‘shadow’ and ‘Athos’ as  the land is geographically successful the shadiness of Agion Oros.

Mykonos: The Island’s sanction is inspired by the leader Mykonos, a descendant of the legendary king of Delos Anius.

Skyros: The land got its sanction from the chaotic rocky terrain; skiron oregon skyros means chromatic debris.

Leros: Most of Leros is level with debased mountains, frankincense the land got its sanction from the past Greek connection ‘leros’ which means creaseless and flat.

Aegina: Tradition derives the sanction from Aegina, the parent of the leader Aeacus, who was calved connected the land and became its king.

Hydra: In past times, the land was known arsenic Hydrea (Ὑδρέα, derived from the Greek connection for “water”), a notation to the earthy springs connected the island.

Spetses:  The sanction “Spetses” came from the Venetians who utilized to telephone it “Isola di Spezzie” meaning the land of aromas (spices).

Amorgos: The sanction perchance comes from the connection amorgά, which is the Greek connection for the agelong extortion beam of a building. The island’s long, constrictive configuration could beryllium likened to a extortion beam. Another imaginable sanction root is that the land grew flax, which was utilized to marque robes called “amorgos.”

Chios: The past writer Pausanias tells america that the writer Ion of Chios believed the land received its sanction from Chios, the lad of Poseidon by a nymph of the island, who was calved amidst snowfall (Ancient Greek χιών chiōn “snow”).