Listed 8 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "KALYMNOS Municipality KALYMNOS" .
Calymna (Kalumna, Kalumna: Eth. Kalumnios: Kalimno), an island off
the coast of Caria between Leros and Cos. It appears to have been the principal
island of the group which Homer calls Calydnae (nesoi Kaludnai, Il. ii. 677):
the other islands were probably Leros, Telendos, Hypseremos (Hypsereisma) and
Plate. (Comp. Strab. x. p. 489.) Calymna is the correct orthography, since we
find it thus written on coins and inscriptions. (Bockh, Inscr. No. 2671.) This
form also occurs in Scylax, Strabo, Ovid, Suidas, and the Etymologicum Magnum;
but out of respect for Homer, whose authority was deemed paramount, most of the
ancient writers call the island Calydna, and some were even led into the, error
of making two different islands, Calydna and Calymna. (Plin. iv. 12. s. 23; Steph.
B, s. vv.)
The island was originally inhabited by Carians, and was afterwards
colonised by Thessalian Aeolians or Dorians under Heraclid leaders. It also received
an additional colony of Argives, who are said to have been shipwrecked on the
island after the Trojan war. (Diod. v. 54; Hom. Il. ii. 675.) At the time of the
Persian war it was subject to Artemisia of Halicarnassus, together with the neighbouring
islands of Cos. and Nisyrus. (Herod. vii. 99.)
Calymna is an island of some size, and contains at present 7000 inhabitants.
A full account of it, together with a map, is given by Ross in the work cited
below. The description of Ovid (de Art. Am. ii. 81) - silvis umbrosa Calymne -
does not apply to the present condition of the island, and was probably equally
inapplicable in antiquity; since the island is mountainous and bare. It produces
figs, wine, barley, oil, and excellent honey; for the latter it was also celebrated
in antiquity. (Fecundaque melle Calymne, Ov. Met. viii. 222; Strab. l. c.)
With respect to the ancient towns, Pliny in one passage (iv. 12. s.
23) mentions only one town, Coos; but in another (v. 31. s. 36) he mentions three,
Notium, Nisyrus, Mendeterus. The principal ancient remains are found in the valley
above the harbour Linaria on the western side of the island; but Ross found no
inscriptions recording the name of the town. The chief ruins are those of a great
church tou Christou tes Hierousalem, built upon the site of an ancient temple
of Apollo, of which, there are still remains. Stephanus (s. v. Kaludna) speaks
of Apollo Calydneus. South of the town there is a plain still called Argos, as
in the island of Casus. (Ross, Reisen auf den Griechischen, Inseln, vol. ii. p.
92, seq., vol. iii. p. 139.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
The terrain of this fourth largest of the Dodecanese
is mountainous, except for two fertile valleys. It is along these valleys that
its biggest villages have sprouted Kalimnos
or Pothia and Vathi.
Castles, remnants of fortresses, ar chaeological finds, and old churches
bear witness to the continuous importance of Kalimnos in the history of the Aegean.
Its natural attractions - caves, lovely beaches. unspoilt scenery - make it a
mini earthly paradise Kalimnos is widely known as the spongefishers' island, since
such a large portion of the population is engaged in this age - old occupation.
Once the island's capital was located at Horio,
which benefited from the protection offered by the castle of the Knights of St.
John just above it. Today's capital is Pothia
or Kalimnos, founded around 1850 by the inhabitants of Horio.
Its brightly coloured houses surround the port like the seats in an amphitheatre,
arranged along the hillsides down to the caiques and fishing boats bobbing below.
An old church dedicated to Christ the Saviour adorns the waterfront It is decorated
with frescoes and valuable icons, while its Iconostasis is the work of the well
known sculptor, Yiannoulis Halepas. Kalimnos has other charming villages, like
Vathi, set in a fertile valley full of citrus tress, and Metohi, on the southeast
side of the island. The quiet hamlet of Emborios
lies to the north.
To the west are Massouri,
Mirties, Kamari
and Panormos where one can
try sea-food delicacies such as "fouskes" and "chtapokeftedes". On the road to
Panormos, you will notice
the remains of a three - aisled basilica dedicated to Christ of Jerusalem, which
was erected around the 6th century on the site of an ancient temple where Delian
Apollo was worshipped. To the north of the main town is Pera Kastro, also called
the Castle of the Golden Hands (Hrissoheria) , because the chapel in its interior
has an icon of the Virgin whose hands are covered with gold leaf Northeast of
Pothia. at the foot of Flaska
hill, is the cave of the Seven Virgins or Nymphs (not to be visited). Kalimnos
boasts two other caves, the richly decorated Skalies, about 100 metres from the
village of Skalia in the
north of the island (not to be visited), and Kefalas or Trypas. Kefalas to the
south (which can be visited and one can approach it by boat). At Therma,
only one kilometre or so from Pothia.
there are radioactive springs and therapeutic bathing installations, rooms where
visitors may spend the night, and specially trained personnel to assist them.
Among the lovely beaches on Kalimnos are Massouri,
Mirties and Arginondas
along the west coast and Vlyhadia
in the south.
Calymnus, Calymnos, Kalymnos, Calymna, Kalymna, Calymnae, Calydnae, Calydnos, Calyndian, Calyndians, Calymnian, Calymnians
An island situated to the N of Kos. Kalymnos was settled by Dorians. Together with the adjacent islands it appears in the Catalogue of Ships of the Iliad (2.676-77). After the Persian Wars it became an Athenian ally. Before the end of the 3d c. B.C. it was annexed to Kos, to constitute a deme. Numerous ancient sites testify to its importance in antiquity. The main centers of occupation in Classical times seem to have flourished at Vathy. At Embolas, to the N of the valley of Vathy, is preserved a circuit wall belonging to a town. A Hellenistic tower known as Phylakai is to the SE. The crag of Kastellas is protected by a Hellenistic (?) rubble wall. At Pothaia to the S a sanctuary may have existed. An Ionic Temple of Apollo has been investigated at Christos tes Jerousalem. The cult goes back to the archaic period. A cemetery with chamber tombs has been located at Damos. Sykia, on the W side of the island, has limestone quarries. On the N, in the area between Emporion and Argeinonta, various remains have been reported, such as pottery, coins, and tombs.
D. Schilardi, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Oct 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
TELENDOS (Island) KALYMNOS
A small island located to the W of Kalymnos. The narrow strait between
the two islands must have served as anchorage in ancient times. A tentative theory
suggests that the deme-center of Panormos, a deme of Kalymnos, lay on Telendos,
but we lack evidence. Ruins of a Hellenic fort have been observed in the N part
of the island. On the E side there is a badly preserved rock-cut theater. Other
ruins of Roman and later times are evident throughout Telendos.
D. Sshilardi, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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