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ISLANDS OF ATTICA

Agistri Island

A small paradise next to Athens

Geography

Agistri is the smallest island of Argosaronic with total area 14 sq.km. Especially, the island is far away 22 nautical miles from Piraeus and 3,5 nautical miles from Aegina. The highest place of the island has altitude 249 meters in the place of Kontari. Additionally, the population of the island is about 1.200 inhabitants and on summer months is near 5.000. What’s more, the perimeter of the island consists of many small coves and coves with clear blue waters, in most of which the pines reach the sea. Distance between Megalochori and Skala is 2,5 km and Limenaria from Megalochori is 6,5 km. Noteworthy is that Agistri is the third island in Greece in proportion of green (80%), provided that it consists of low green hills, which are covered by pine forest. Finally, the climate of the island is dry and sweet in winter and cool in summer.

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History

The history of the island is lost in the paths of time. Indeed, in ancient times, Agistri was together with Aegina and the surrounding islands, the Kingdom of Aegina, where the mythical king Aiakos ruled. Archaeological findings show that the island was first inhabited at least from the 5th century BC by Peloponnesians who came to the island. In addition, according to Homer, it was the sheltered port of the brave Myrmidons and took part in the Trojan War. Furthermore, in the Homeric epic it is referred to as “Pityonisos” (ie Pefkonisos) and it was also the summer residence of King Aiakos. It is said that Aphaia (=Afanti), the young Vritomarti, hid in its sea caves, in order to escape from the fishermen of Aegina. The goddess Artemis, to help her, gave her flowers to decorate her head, so that they would not recognize her. Thus, the island got the name “Kekryfalia” (= beautifully decorated head). Both Thucydides and Diodorus mention it by this name. Another myth associated with the island is that of the “Telchins”. These are mythical creatures (called children of water and earth), worthy craftsmen and musicians, who were exiled from Rhodes and found refuge in the port of Skala. The inhabitants of the island, because they could not understand what kind of creatures they were, called them “Seals” (seal = fokia, in greek). Even today this port is called “the port of Fokia”. However, it is possible that many seals may have found shelter and food here.

14th century – today : Around the end of the 17th century, but also earlier, in the 14th century, Agistri is said to have received many settlers from the opposite shores of the Peloponnese, mainly Arvanites, who settled west, next to the Lake that exists to this day. Point often overlooked is that the rich tradition of the Arvanites enriched the history of the island in various ways, a fact that explains the rich costumes worn even today by some older women who speak the Arvanite dialect. However, due to pirate raids, the inhabitants left the area a few years later and moved further south, creating a new village, although, retaining the same name, Limenaria, which means village by the lake. What’s more? In the Revolution of 1821, Agistri gave its blood for freedom. Nevertheless, the most important year for the island was in 1835, when with a Royal Decree the Community of Agistri was created, registering 248 inhabitants. Slowly, the population of the island was growing more and more. Especially, until 1960 the transport was done by boats coming from Aegina. In 1960 the island was directly connected to Piraeus and in 1973 it was electrified. On September 1, 2006 the inauguration of the new port in Megalochori took place, which was built to decongest the main port of Skala and the general upgrade of tourism on the island.

ROUTE PLANNER

Agathonisi is connected by ferry to other islands of the Dodecanese and to the North Aegean, all the year. Specifically, it is connected to Samos with a journey time of 35 to 85 minutes. With Patmos - travel duration from 1 hour to 3 hours (depending on the ship). With Rhodes - 6 hours. With Symi - about 4.5 hours.

In Agistri you can move with your private vehicle but also on foot as the distances between the settlements are very short.

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