Place - History of Skiathos

The island of Skiathos got its name from them Pelasgians who first inhabited the island during the Hellenistic period and were impressed by the tall trees of the area that created shadows. According to Greek mythology, it was a station for the Argonauts on their journey to Colchis, as well as for the Greek fleet led by Agamemnon against Troy.

In the 7th century the Chalkides, after creating colonies in Halkidiki, they conquered the island and built in the southeast of the port a fortified city with a wall made of huge marble stones.

Skiathos starred during the Persian Wars taking an active part in the struggle of the Greeks against the Persians. In fact, in 480 BC. the inhabitants of Skiathos warned the Greeks who were in Artemisio about the impending descent of the Persians.

He was a member of the First Athenian Alliance based in the island of Delos and founded in 478/7 BC. During this period the island had autonomy and a democratic state, as the parliament, the church of the municipality and the eponymous rulers decided on its serious issues.

In the 14th century from the fear of pirates that was created in the northern part of the island the medieval castle town, in which the Skiathians settled until the Revolution of 1821.

The island was finally liberated in 1829 after many struggles. After the end of the Greek Revolution and the liberation, the Skiathos left the medieval city of Kastro and moved to the ancient coastal city.

He was born in Skiathos Papadiamantis (1855-1910), one of the greatest forms of Greek literature. His work, apart from its literary uniqueness, will be the great stimulus for the acquaintance of Skiathos by Greeks and foreigners and the island never stopped shining with its sweet light "poor saint”Of.

Ο Octavios Merlier, Director of the French Institute of Athens, organizes in September 1933 the first mass visit of foreigners to the still infamous Skiathos. Three hundred and fifty French intellectuals pay tribute to Alexandros Papadiamantis, who had already begun to become known in France. But also George Seferis with Constantino Tsatsos The subsequent President of the Republic (1975-1980) - who had married Ioanna Seferiadis, the poet's sister, had taken an unforgettable vacation in Skiathos in 1930, where of course they were attracted by the legend of Alexandros Papadiamantis. Nobel laureate George Seferis befriends the shipwrights in the shipyards and fishermen of the island whose living language and life strongly remind him of the birthplace of Skala Vourles in Asia Minor where he spent his childhood. One of them Sotiris Stamelos, an eighty-year-old violinist, "a type of the nobility of poverty", in the eyes of the poet becomes the incarnation of Homer and Makrygiannis, an ideal figure of the popular wisdom of the Greek people.

The creation of Xenia of Skiathos, in Koukounaries - the series of small hotels of EOT, in the most beautiful areas of Greece - in the 1960s and the operation of the international airport in 1972 was the occasion for the creation of a important tourist infrastructure which, in conjunction with unique sandy beaches , the uniquely rich vegetation and the hospitable mood of the inhabitants, led Skiathos to develop into one of the most sought after destinations of Greek Tourism, with all the standards of tourism in high demand.

But also for the lovers of conscious and slow traveling holidays and alternative holidays, two hundred kilometers of organized walking paths and dirt roads off road, through dense vegetation routes, lead the anxious traveler to unexplored beaches, many of which 67 emeralds of the island, in beautiful Byzantine chapels, and in landscapes where the spirit and magic of the great Skiathos, Alexandros Papadiamantis is present and active.