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Mithymna

(Redirected fromMethymna)
For the town on Crete, seeMythimna.
"Methymna" redirects here. For the town of ancient Crete, seeMethymna (Crete).

Mithymna(Greek pronunciation:[ˈmiθimna]) (Greek:Μήθυμνα,also sometimes spelledMethymna) is a town and formermunicipalityon the island ofLesbos,North Aegean,Greece.Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality ofWest Lesbos,of which it is a municipal unit.[2]Before 1919, its official name was Μόλυβος -Molyvos;[3]that name dates back to the end of theByzantine Era,but is still in common use today.

Mithymna
Μήθυμνα
Municipal unit
Mithymna is located in Greece
Mithymna
Mithymna
Location within the regional unit
Coordinates:39°22′N26°10′E/ 39.367°N 26.167°E/39.367; 26.167
CountryGreece
Administrative regionNorth Aegean
Regional unitLesbos
MunicipalityWest Lesbos
Area
• Municipal unit50.166 km2(19.369 sq mi)
Elevation
51 m (167 ft)
Population
(2021)[1]
• Municipal unit
1,933
• Municipal unit density39/km2(100/sq mi)
• Community
1,335
Time zoneUTC+2(EET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+3(EEST)
Postal code
811 08
Area code(s)22530
Vehicle registrationMY
Websitemithymna.gr

Geography

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Aerial photo of Mithymna

It is located NE ofEressos,N ofPlomariand NW ofMytilene.

The town (pop. 1,399 at 2011 census) is on the northern part of the island, just some 6 km north of the popular beach town ofPetra.One of the most noticeable features of the town is the oldGenoesefortresson the hill in the middle of the town. The town'sagorais located on the uphill road to the fortress and is popular among tourists, with many historic shops, cafés and restaurants.

The municipal unit of Míthymna stretches eastward from the town along the northern part of the island; it is the island's smallest municipal unit in land area at 50.166 km².[4]Its population was 2,255 at the 2011 census. The next largest towns in the municipal unit are Árgennos (pop. 240) and Sykaminéa (207).

Molyvos Beach is one of theBlue Flag beachesin Lesbos. The shoreline is pebbled, but the seabed consists entirely of soft sand and remains shallow for a considerable distance. The agora and fortress are visible from the beach.

History

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AsMethymna,the city was once the prosperous second city of Lesbos, with afounding myththat identified aneponymousMethymna(Greek: Μήθυμνα), the daughter ofMacarand married to the personification of Lesbos.

Archaic Period

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View of the port
Coin from Methymna (500-480 BC)
View to the fortress (Castle of Molyvos)
Another view

Very little is known about Methymna in the Archaic period. The story ofArionand the dolphin, which involves theCorinthiantyrantPerianderand is evidently set at the turn of the 7th century BCE, suggests that Methymna was already a prominent city with far-reaching contacts across the Greek world at this period.[5]Herodotustells us that at some point in the Archaic period, Methymna enslaved the city ofArisbaon Lesbos: this will have greatly increased the territory of Methymna, as well as giving it access to the fertile land around the Gulf ofKalloni.[6]We are also told by a local historian,Myrsilus of Methymna,who wrote in the first half of the 3rd century BCE, that Methymna founded the city ofAssoswhich was on the coast of Asia Minor opposite Methymna.[7]However, another local historian,Hellanicus of Lesbos,writing in the mid-5th century BCE, instead simply says Assos was an Aeolian foundation and does not specify a particular city as its founder.[8]This has led some historians to doubt Myrsilus, and instead suggest that this is an example of "local Methymnaean manipulation of the past", although this could equally be true of Hellanicus.[9]

Classical Period

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Methymna had a long-standing rivalry withMytilene,and during thePeloponnesian Warit sided with Athens during the Mytilenaean revolt in 428 BCE when all the other cities of Lesbos sided with Mytilene.[10]When the Athenians put down the revolt the following year, only Methymna was spared from having its territory turned into acleruchy.[11]After 427, Methymna andChioswere the only members of theDelian Leagueto remain self-governing and exempt from tribute, indicating the privileged position Methymna held within the Athenian Empire.[12]Methymna was briefly captured by the Spartans in summer 412, before quickly being retaken by the Athenians: in describing this episode, the historianThucydidesindicates that the Methymnaeans were much more inclined to side with Athens than Sparta.[13]This was likewise the case in 411, when a group of Methymnaeans who were in exile atCymeinAeolisattempted to return to Methymna by force, but were rebuffed by the population.[14]When the Spartan commanderKallikratidasbesieged Methymna in 406, the city stayed loyal to its Athenian garrison and held out until it was betrayed by several traitors.[15]

Our knowledge of the history of Methymna in the 4th century is limited, but its prominence as apolisis firmly attested by the city's silver and bronze coinage.[16]By at least the 340s BCE, the tyrantKleommishad expelled the city's democrats and remained in power for the next decade.[17]We do not know what happened to Kleommis after this, although it is likely that he was expelled when the island fell toPhilip II's generalsParmenionandAttalusin 336.[18]The political history of the following four years are poorly attested: we know that Lesbos changed hands several times between the Macedonian forces ofAlexander the Greatand the Persian forces ofMemnon of Rhodes,that Memnon captured Methymna in 333 BCE, and that when Alexander's admiralHegelochusrecaptured Methymna in 332 BCE its tyrant wasAristonicusnot Kleommis.[19]However, it is not clear whether Aristonicus was made tyrant when the Persians recaptured Methymna in 335, or whether Kleommis was re-installed and Aristonicus only made tyrant in 333. Whatever the case, in 332 Alexander gave Aristonicus over to the newly restored Methymnaean democracy to try, and he was found guilty and put to death by torture.[20]

Hellenistic Period

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In c. 295 BCE, Methymna struck silver drachms for KingLysimachus,indicating that the city was part of his kingdom at this time.[21]However, by the 250s BCE at the latest, Methymna had come under the sway of thePtolemaic Kingdom.[22]During this period, a festival in honour of the Ptolemies, the Ptolemaia, was instituted, and public documents produced by the city were dated by the regnal years of the Ptolemies.[23]Worship ofSarapis,an Egyptian cult patronized by the Ptolemies, was probably introduced to Methymna at this period, and remained an important part of the city's life for several centuries.[24]

In the 2nd century BCE Methymna increasingly pursued a policy of seeking closer ties with the emerging power of Rome. Methymna remained loyal to Rome during theMacedonian Wars,and in 167 BCE it was rewarded when the Romans punished neighbouringAntissafor disloyalty and transferred its territory to Methymna.[25]The territory of Methymna was ravaged by KingPrusias II of Bithyniaalong with several other cities in this region in ca. 156 BCE, but the Romans later compelled Prusias to pay reparations of 100 talents for the damage done.[26]In 129 BCE, an inscription from Methymna shows that the city formed a formal alliance with Rome.[27]A dedication to the Galatian princessAdobogiona(fl. c. 80 - 50 BCE), who was the mistress ofMithridates VI of Pontus,a long-standing enemy of Rome, may indicate a cooling of relations between Methymna or Rome or simply political expediency.[28]

Roman Period

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Methymna gained a particular reputation among Romans forviticultureduring theImperial period.Virgilspeaks of the vines of Methymna as the best and most numerous on Lesbos, whileOvidinvokes them as an example of something which is proverbially numerous and bountiful.[29]The distinctive strong taste of Methymnaean wine is mentioned bySilius Italicus,andPropertiususes this as a point of reference when describing another Greek wine.[30]When Virgil and Silius wished to indicate the exceptional quality of Phalernian wine, Methymnaean wine is among the vintages which they say it surpasses.[31]We also learn fromHoracethat Methymnaean grapes were equally prized for the excellent vinegar which could be produced from them and which he describes accompanying a sumptuous eel dish.[32]The medical writerGalen,who was a native of nearbyPergamon,considered all the wines of Lesbos to be excellent, but ranked that of Methymna the first in quality, that of Eresos second, and that of Mytilene third.[33]In the novelDaphnis and Chloe,thought to be by the Mytilenaean aristocratLongusand set in the region of Lesbos between Methymna and Mytilene, the vine harvest is the most important time of the agricultural year, and the Mytilenaean owner of the land in this region times his annual visit to coincide with the end of this harvest when the year's profit can be established.[34]

Byzantine Period

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View of a street

The first attested bishop of Methymna was Christodoros in 520 CE.[35]In 640, Methymna was mentioned in theEcthesis,pseudographically attributed toEpiphanius of Salamis,as an autocephalous archdiocese, and around 1084, it was made a metropolitan see underAlexius I Comnenus.TheFourth Crusadebrought Latin control, on the strength of which theRoman Catholic Churchmaintains a purelytitular seeof Methymna; there were 40 Roman Catholics in 1908.

In 840 the city was plundered by Cretan Arabs and many of the inhabitants sold into slavery.[36]The fortifications of Methymna were strengthened following this attack, and again at the end of the 11th century, as we learn from a building inscription dating to 1084/5.[37]A few years later in 1089/90 these fortifications helped the inhabitants of Methymna successfully repel an attack by EmirTzachasof Smyrna.[38]These fortifications again kept Methymna safe when the Genoese Lord of Phokaia,Domenico Cattaneo,seized the rest of Lesbos in 1335, but was unable to take Methymna or the equally well-fortified town ofEresos.[39]Along with the rest of Lesbos, Methymna became a possession of theGattelusifamily in 1355. Methymna repelled an Ottoman invasion force in 1450, but its defences were over-powered in a second invasion in 1458 when the admiral Ismaelos seized the city with a force of 150 ships.[40]Using Methymna as a base, the whole island was gradually brought under Ottoman control by September 1462.

Ottoman Period

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As Molova under theOttoman Empire,the city was akazaof thesanjakof Metelin in thevilayetofRhodes.

Modern Period

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After the defeat of the Ottomans in theFirst Balkan War(1912), the Greek navy liberated and incorporatedLesbosin the Greek Kingdom.

Province

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The province of Mithymna (Greek:Επαρχία Μήθυμνας) was one of theprovincesof the Lesbos Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipal units Mithymna,Agia Paraskevi,Eresos-Antissa,KalloniandPetra.[41]It was abolished in 2006.

Historical population

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Year Community population Municipal unit population
1981 1,427 -
1991 1,333 2,359
2001 1,636 2,375
2011 1,570 2,255
2021 1,335 1,933

Notable people

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Elias Venezis

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό"[Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
  2. ^"Τροποποίηση του άρθρου 1 του ν. 3852/2010"[Amendment of Article 1 of l. 3852/2010] (in Greek).Government Gazette.p. 1164.
  3. ^Name changes of settlements in Greece
  4. ^"Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)"(PDF)(in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece.
  5. ^Herodotus 1.23-24.
  6. ^Herodotus 1.151.2, cf. Strabo 13.1.21. Pliny the Elder,Historia Naturalis5.139 instead says that Arisba was destroyed by earthquake.
  7. ^MyrsilosFGrHist477 F 17 = Strabo 13.1.58.
  8. ^HellanicusFGrHist4 F 160 = Strabo 13.1.58.
  9. ^C. Constantakopoulou,Dance of the Islands(2007) 240 n. 51. A further complication is thatAlexander PolyhistorFGrHist273 F 96 =Stephanus of Byzantiums.v. Ἀσσός says that Assos was a colony ofMytilene.However, the editor of Stephanus,Augustus Meineke,commenting on this passage believed this was an error in the manuscript, and thought it originally said Assos was a colony of Methymna.
  10. ^Thucydides 3.2.1, 3.5.1.
  11. ^Thucydides 3.50.2, Diodorus Siculus 12.55.10.
  12. ^Thucydides 6.85.2, 7.57.5, 8.100.5.
  13. ^Thucydides8.23.4-6.
  14. ^Thucydides8.100.2-3.
  15. ^Xenophon,Hellenica1.6.12-15, Diodorus Siculus 13.76.5-6.
  16. ^"ancient coins of Lesbos, Methymna".AsiaMinorCoins.com.
  17. ^Isocrates,Epistles7.8-9 (ca. 346/5?), TheopompusFGrHist115 F 227 = Athenaeus 10.442f-443a,IGII2284 +Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum54.132.
  18. ^P. J. Rhodes and R. Osborne,Greek Historical Inscriptions, 404–323 BC(2003) 416–17.
  19. ^Diodorus Siculus 17.29.2, Arrian,Anabasis3.2.4.
  20. ^Capture at Chios: Arrian,Anabasis3.2.4, Curtius 4.5.19. Execution: Curtius 4.8.11.
  21. ^Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum Kayhan4.
  22. ^P. Brun, 'Les Lagides à Lesbos: essai de chronologie'Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik85 (1991) 99-113 has suggested an earlier date in the 270s, but this has not been accepted by scholars: Ph. Gauthier,Bulletin épigraphique(1992) no. 343.
  23. ^IGXII (2) 498 (ca. 221-205).
  24. ^List of Sarapiastai:IGXII (2) 511 (1st century BC).
  25. ^Livy 45.31.13-14, Pliny the Elder,Historia Naturalis5.139, H. J. Mason, 'The end of Antissa'American Journal of Philology116.3 (1995) 399-410.
  26. ^Polybius 33.13.8.
  27. ^IGXII (2) 510.
  28. ^IGXII (2) 516.
  29. ^Virgil,Georgics2.89-90, Ovid,Ars Amatoria1.57-9.
  30. ^Silius Italicus,Punica7.209-11, Propertius 4.8.38.
  31. ^Virgil,Georgics2.89ff, Silius Italicus,Punica7.209-11.
  32. ^Horace,Satires2.8.49-50.
  33. ^Galen 10.832, 13.405, 13.659 Kühn. At 14.28-29 Kühn he instead places Eresian wine above that of Methymna.
  34. ^Longus,Daphnis and Chloe.
  35. ^Patrologia Latina63 cols. 483-5, A. Kaldellis and S. Efthymiadis,The Prosopography of Byzantine Lesbos 284-1355 AD(2010) no. 10.
  36. ^E. Malamut,Les îles de l'Empire byzantin: VIIIe-XIIe siècles(1988) 101.
  37. ^A. Conze,Reise auf der Insel Lesbos(1865) 21-4.
  38. ^Anna Komnena,Alexiad,vol. 2, p. 110f.
  39. ^Tabula Imperii Byzantini10 s.v. Methymna, p. 229.
  40. ^Tabula Imperii Byzantini10 s.v. Methymna, p. 229.
  41. ^"Detailed census results 1991"(PDF).(39 MB)(in Greek and French)
  42. ^Theophrastus,De Signis4.
  43. ^Stephanus of Byzantium s.v. Μήθυμνα.
  44. ^Myrsilos von Methymna,FGrHist477.
  45. ^Hermeias of Methymna,Brill's New Jacoby558.
  46. ^Chares of Mytilene,FGrHist125 F 4.
  47. ^Theolytus of Methymna,Brill's New Jacoby478.
  48. ^De S. Theoctiste Lesbia in insula Paro, AASSNov. IV 221-33.
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