History of Cyclades

The Cyclades (in Greek: Κυκλάδες Kykládes ) is the Greek islands of the southernmost Aegean Sea. The archipelago includes/understands approximately: 2200 islands, small islands and small island-rocks. Only thirty-three islands are inhabited. For the old ones, they formed a circle (in Greek old κύκλος / kúklos ) around the crowned island of Délos, from where the name of the archipelago. Most known are, of north in the south and of is in west: Andros, Tinos, Myconos, Naxos, Amorgos, Syros, Paros and Antiparos, Ios, Santorin, Anafi, Kéa, Kythnos, Sérifos, Sifnos, Folégandros and Sikinos, Milo S and Kimolos, to which one can add small Cyclades: Iraklia, Schinoussa, Koufonissia, Kéros, Donoussa like Makronissos between Kéa and the Attic, Gyaros opposite Andros, Polyaigos in the east of Kimolos and Thirassia, opposite Santorin. They accepted also sometimes the generic name of Archipel .
The islands are in position of crossroads between the Europe and the minor Asia, Europe and the Middle East like between Europe and the Africa. In old times, when navigation was only coastal traffic and that the sailors sought never not to lose sight of the fact the ground, they played a crucial role of stage. Up to one very recent time, this situation made their fortune: the trade was one their principal activities, and their misfortune: their control allowed also the control of trade route and strategic in Égée.

Many authors considered them, even still consider them, like only one entity, a unit. The insular group is indeed rather homogeneous from a geomorphological point of view; more islands are visible from/to each other while they are clearly separated from the continents which surround them. The aridity of the climate and the grounds suggests also the unit. If these physical facts are undeniable, other factors of this unit are more subjective. Thus, in certain authors, one can read, wrongly, that the insular population would have remained, of all the areas of Greece, the only one of origin, not having been mixed with external contributions. But, Cyclades despite everything often knew of the different destinies.

Their natural resources and their potential role of commercial stages enabled them to be populated as of the Neolithic era. Thanks to these assets, they knew a brilliant culture with: cycladic civilization. The protohistoric powers, Minoan then mycénienne, made there feel their influence. Cyclades knew a new apogee at the time antiquated (VIII E - VI E). Persians sought to seize some at the time of their attempts of conquest of Greece. They entered then the orbit of Athens with the leagues of Délos. The kingdoms hellenistic disputed them while Délos became a great power commerciale.
The marketing activities thus continued during the Roman and Byzantine empires. They were however sufficiently prosperous to attract the covetousness of the pirates. The crusaders of the Fourth crusade shared the Byzantine Empire and Cyclades entered the Venetian orbit. The Western feudal lords created a certain number of strongholds whose main thing was the Duchy of Naxos. This one ends up being conquered by the Ottoman Empire which left a certain administrative autonomy and tax in the islands. Economic prosperity continued, in spite of the pirates. Also, the archipelago adopted an ambiguous attitude at the time of the war of independence. Become Greek as of the years 1830, Cyclades since then shared the history of Greece. They knew initially a phase of commercial prosperity, always thanks to their geographical position, before trade route and the means of transport change. They suffered then from the rural migration. The surge of the tourists brought a revival. But, tourism industry is not nowadays the only resource of Cyclades.

Prehistory

Neolithic era

The oldest traces of activity (but not inevitably of occupation) in Cyclades were not discovered in the same islands, but on the continent, in Argolide, in the cave of Franchthi. Excavations put at it at the day, in a layer the 11th millenium before the common era, of the Obsidienne coming from Milo S. the volcanic island thus was at least exploited even inhabited, not inevitably in a permanent way, and its inhabitants were able to sail and trade on a distance of at least 150 km.

A final installation on the islands could be done only by sedentaries having of an agriculture and a breeding which can exploit the few fertile plains. Hunters-gatherers would have had much more difficulties. The oldest habitats are that of the small island of Saliango between Paros and Antiparos, that of Kephala on Kéa and perhaps the oldest layers of Grotta on Naxos. A sexual division of work would have existed. To the women the care would have been reserved for the children, the gathering, the agricultural work “light”, “the small” cattle, the spinning (one found balances of spindle in the female tombs), weaving, basket making and the pottery. Naxos revealed objects of metal of small size. The exploitation of the money mines of Siphnos could also go back to this period. In the same way, the excavations of the cemetery of Aghios Kosmas in Attique revealed objects proving a strong cycladic influence, which had either with the presence of a strong proportion of the population even of a true colony coming from the islands:

Cycladique Old I (CA I) (3200 - 2800) known as also Culture Grotta-Pelos
Old Cycladique II (CA II) (2800 - 2300) known as also Kéros-Syros Culture, often regarded as the apogee of cycladic civilization
Old Cycladique III (CA III) (2300 - 2000) known as also Culture Phylakopi

The study of the skeletons found in the burials, always with cistus, watch an evolution since the Neolithic era. The osteoporosis moves back even if the arthritic affections remain present. Therefore, the food mode had improved. The life expectancy progressed: one notes the maximum ones of forty at forty-five years for the men, but only thirty years for the women. The sexual division of work remained the same one as that noted with the Old Neolithic era: with the women small house works and agricultural, with the men largest work and the “craft industry”. At that time, wood, more abundant than today, allowed the construction of the frames and the ships, rather single fact in their history. The ceramics found in various sites cycladic (Phylakopi on Milo S, Aghia Irini on Kéa and Akrotiri on Santorin) proves the existence of trade route energy of continental Greece in Crete while passing mainly by Cyclades of the west until Cycladique Récent. Vases produced on the continent or in Crete and imported in the islands were found at the time of excavations on these three sites.
It is known that there were specialized craftsmen: founders, blacksmiths, potters and sculptors, but it is impossible to say if they lived of their work. Commercial exchanges existed then between Troade and Cyclades.
These tools were used to work the marble, especially originating in Naxos and Paros, either for the famous cycladic idols, or for the marble vases. It does not seem that the marble was then exploited in mines, like nowadays: it would have been in great quantity with flower of ground.

Literary sources

Thucydide writes that Minos drove out archipelago its first inhabitants, the Carie NS whose tombs were numerous on Délos. Hérodote specifies that Cariens, also called Lélèges, had arrived from the continent. They were completely independent (“they did not pay any tribute”), but provided sailors to the ships of Minos.
According to Hérodote, Cariens would have been the best warriors of their time and would have learned how to the Greeks to put manes at the helmets, to represent badges on the shields and to use belts to hold that-ci.
Cariens would then have been driven out of Cyclades by Doriens, follow-ups of Ionian which made island of Délos a great religious center.

The crétoise influence

One knows about fifteen habitats of Cycladique Moyen (towards 2000 before the common era - towards 1600 before the common era). More studied three are Aghia Irini (IV and V) on Kéa, Paroikia on Paros and Phylakopi (II) on Milo S. the absence of real rupture (in spite of the layer of destruction) between Phylakopi I and Phylakopi II makes it possible to think that the transition was not brutal. The principal proof of an evolution is the disappearance of the cycladic idols of the burials.

With the Recent Minoan, important contacts are attested in Kéa, Milos and Santorin: architectural pottery and elements ( polythyron , well of light, decoration with fresco) Minoan as of the signs of the Linéaire have.
The production of bronze remained as a large majority with arsenic, tin only progressed very slowly in Cyclades, starting from the North-East of the archipelago. The habitat then consisted of small villages of sailors and farmers. The houses, rectangular, of one to three parts, are joint, of size and modest construction, sometimes on floor, organized more or less regularly in blocks separated by paved lanes.

The explosion of Santorin (between the Recent Minoan I has and the Recent Minoan I B) buried and preserved an example of habitat: Akrotiri.
The excavations since 1967 updated at it an agglomeration of one hectare surface, deprived of enclosing wall. The plan was in tightened order, with a more or less orthogonal network of streets paved and equipped with sewer. The buildings had two on three floors, without well of light nor court: the openings on the street gave the air and the light. The ground floor sheltered the staircase and of the parts being used of store or workshop; the parts of the first, a little larger had a central pillar and decorations with frescos. The houses had platform roofs posed on not squared beams, covered with a vegetable layer (algae or foliage) then several layers of argillaceous ground. About at the same time, the site of Aghia Irini on Kéa was him also destroyed by an earthquake. Until worms 1250 before the common era (Recent Helladique III A-B1 or beginning of Recent Cycladique III), the mycénienne influence was felt only on Délos, in Aghia Irini (on Kéa), in Phylakopi (on Milos) and perhaps in Grotta (on Naxos). Certain buildings point out the continental palates, without the evidence being final, but elements typically mycéniens were found in the religious sanctuaries. The archaeological excavations showed that a religious center was installed on the ruins of the habitat going back to Cycladique Moyen. Ceramics shows the diversity of the local productions, and thus the differences between the islands. Thus, it would seem that Naxos (site on the small island of Donoussa) and especially Andros (site of Zagora) had bonds with the Eubée, while Milo S and Santorin was in the sphere of influence dorienne. Zagora, one of the most important urban whole of the time than it was possible to us to study, showed that the type of traditional constructions evolved/moved little of the IX E at the 19th century after J.C. The houses had flat roofs, in schist flagstones covered with beaten ground and corners truncated in order to let more easily pass the beasts of burden.

A new apogee

Starting from the VIII E, Cyclades knew an apogee mainly dependant on their richness (obsidian on Milos, gold on Siphnos, money on Syros, stone sandpapers on Santorin and marble, mainly with Paros. The cycladic cities celebrated their prosperity in the large sanctuaries: treasure of Siphnos or column of Naxiens with Delphes or terrace of the lions offered by Naxos to Délos.

Traditional period

The richness of the cycladic cities then attracted the covetousness of their neighbors. The construction of the Treasury of Siphnos with Delphes was followed little by a plundering of the island by the Samiens into 524 before our era. The tyrant of Naxos Lygdamis dominated a time part of his neighbors at the end of the Life century.

Medic wars

When Darius assembled its forwarding against Greece, it ordered with Datis and Artapherne to seize Cyclades, but the day before the Bataille of Salamine, six or seven ships cycladic (come from Naxos, Kéa, Kythnos, Sériphos, Siphnos and Milos) would have passed on the Greek side.

Leagues of Délos

When the danger mède was pushed back Greek continental territory and that the combat went in the islands and in Ionie (minor Asia), Cyclades entered alliance intended to avenge Greece and to refund damage caused by Persians by plundering their possessions. This alliance was organized by Athens. It is named commonly first Ligue of Délos. The united cities provided starting from 478 - 477 before our era either of the ships (Naxos for example), or especially a silver tribute. The amount of the treasure was fixed at four hundred talents and it was deposited with the sanctuary of Apollo on the crowned island of Délos.

Well quickly, Athens behaved in an authoritative way with respect to its allies, before making them pass under its total domination. Naxos revolted in 469 before our era and was the first allied city with being transformed into prone State by Athens, following a seat. The treasure was transferred from Délos to the Acropole of Athens towards 454 before our era and Santorin, was prone of Athens. Thucydide written thus that soldiers of Kéa, Andros and Tinos took part in the Expédition of Sicily and that these islands were “tributary subjects”.

Cyclades poured a tribute until 404. They then knew a relative period of autonomy before entering the second Ligue of Délos and passing by again under the Athenian cut.

According to Fifth-Curce, after (or at the same time) the Battle of Issos, a Persian counter-attack carried out by Pharnabazus would have involved an occupation of Andros and Siphnos.

The hellenistic period

An archipelago disputed between the kingdoms hellenistic

According to Démosthène and Diodore of Sicily, the tyrant thessalien Alexandre de Phères carried out operations of piracy in Cyclades towards 362 - 360 before the common era. Its ships would have seized some of the islands, from which Tinos, and would have carried a great number of slaves. Cyclades revolted at the time of the third crowned war (357 - 355) which saw the intervention of Philippe II of Macedonia against the allied Phocide in Phères. They then started to pass in the orbit of the Royaume of Macedonia.

In their fight of influence, the leaders of the kingdoms hellenistic often affirmed to want to maintain the “freedom” of the Greek cities, actually controlled by them and often occupied by garnisons.
Starting from 314 before the common era, Antigone One-eyed the thus created the League of Nésiôtes around Tinos and its famous sanctuary of Poséidon and Amphitrite, less politically marked than the sanctuary of Apollon on Délos. Towards 308, the Egyptian fleet of Ptolémée traversed the archipelago, during a forwarding in the Peloponnese, and “released” Andros. The league of Nésiôtes would have risen little by little up to the level of Federal state to the service of Antigonides, since Démétrios Ier Poliorcète would have rested on it for its campaigns navales.
The islands passed then under the domination of the Ptolémées. At the time of the War chrémonidéenne, garrisons of mercenaries had been installed in a certain number of islands of which Santorin, Andros and Kéa. But, overcome with Andros between 258 and 245, Ptolémées yielded them to the Macedonians Antigone Gonatas. However, because of the revolt of Alexandre, wire of Crater, the Macedonians could not completely control the Archipelago which entered a phase of instability. Antigone Dosôn still controlled them when it attacked the Decay or that it demolished Sparte with Sellasia in 222 before the common era. Démétrios de Pharos devastated then the archipelago and was driven out by it by Rhodiens before taking control of it by installing garrisons on Andros, Paros and Kythnos
After Cynocephali, the islands passed to the Rhodiens. If it is not possible systematically to extend this phenomenon to the whole of Cyclades, there remains a good indicator of their potential operation. The populations circulated indeed more at the time hellenistic that at the previous times: from a hundred and twenty soldiers put in garrison at Santorin by Ptolémées, the great majority came from minor Asia; Milo S had at the end of I E a strong Jewish population. The question of the maintenance of the statute of citizen arose, on Siphnos where one counted fifty six in 1991 of them, twenty-seven identified on Kéa in 1956. They all could not be turns of guet. In 314 before our era, the island obtained its independence, even if its institutions were copied from those of Athens. Its membership of the league of Nésiotes placed it in the orbit of Ptolémées, until in 245 before our era. The island knew a true commercial explosion then. The foreign tradesmen, of all Mediterranean settled there, as the terrace testifies some to the foreign gods. There is thus a synagog attested on Délos as of the medium of IIe century before our era. It is estimated that to the II E, Délos would have had a population of approximately: 25000 habitants.
Famous “the agora of the Italians” was an immense market with the slaves. The hellenistic wars between kingdoms were the leading vendors, as well as the pirates (who took the statute of merchants while entering the port of Délos). When Strabon (XIV, 5,2) evokes ten miles slaves sold per day, it is necessary to moderate this matter, this figure which can be a means found by the author to say “much”. Moreover, many these “slaves” were sometimes prisoners of war (or people removed by pirates) whose ransom was immediately paid with the unloading.

This prosperity caused covetousnesses and new forms of “economic exchanges”: in 298 before our era, Délos poured in Rhodos at least: 5000 Drachma S for its “protection against the pirates”; in the middle of the III E, pirates étoliens launched an invitation to tender with the Aegean world to negotiate the sum to be poured in exchange of a protection against their exactions.

The empires Roman and Byzantine

Cyclades in the orbit of Rome

The reasons of the intervention of Rome in Greece starting from the III E are multiple: call using the cities of Illyrie, fight against Philippe V of Macedonia whose naval policy worried Rome and who had been the ally with Hannibal, or support for its adversaries in the area (Pergame, Rhodos or Achaean Ligue). After its victory with Cynocephali, Flaminius announced the “release” Greece. The commercial interests were not either foreign with the implication of Rome. Délos became a free port under the protection of the Republic in 167 before the common era. The Italian tradesmen grew rich then, more or less at the expense of Rhodos and Corinthe (finally destroyed the same year as Carthage). The political system of the Greek city, on the continent and in the islands, was maintained, even developed, at the time of the first centuries of the Empire.

Cyclades, for certain historians, would summer have included in the Roman province of Asia around 133 - 129 before the common era; others place them in the province of Achaïe; with less, that they were not divided between these two provinces. The evidence definitively places Cyclades in the province of Asia only starting from Vespasien and Domitien.

Mithridate, in 88 before our era, after having driven out the Romans of Asia was interested in Égée. Its Archélaüs general subjected Délos and the majority of Cyclades which he entrusted to Athens which had been declared in favor of Mithridate. Délos succeeds in turning over in the Roman bosom. To punish it, the island was devastated by the troops of Mithridate. Twenty years later, it was again destroyed by a raid of pirates who benefitted from instability in the area. Cyclades knew a difficult period then. The defeat of Mithridate by Sylla, Lucullus then Pompée returned the archipelago to Rome. Pumped there in 67 before the common era made disappear the piracy which had developed at the time of the various conflicts. It divided the Mediterranean into various sectors managed by lieutenants. Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus was charged with Cyclades. Pumped the possibility of a flourishing trade brought back thus in the archipelago. However, it would seem that the expensive life, the social inequalities, the concentration of the richnesses (and the capacity) were the rule in Cyclades of the Roman epoch, with their procession of abuse and dissatisfactions, Cyclades became places of exile, Gyaros, Amorgos and Sériphos mainly.

Vespasien constituted the archipelago of Cyclades in Roman province.

As from the 4th century, Cyclades knew the devastations of the war again. The Goths (in 376) plundered the archipelago.

Conflicts and migrations in the interior of the islands

In 727, the islands revolted against the Emperor iconoclast Leon Isaurien. Cosmas, placed at the head of the rebellion was proclaimed emperor. He perishes at the time of the seat of Constantinople. Leon brutally restores his authority on Cyclades by sending the fleet which the USA of the Greek fire.

In 769, the islands were devastated by the Slaves.

At the beginning of the 9th century, the Buckwheats, installed in Crete starting from 829. In 904, Andros, Naxos and other islands of Cyclades were plundered by an Arab fleet which returned of Thessalonique that it had just put at bag. This movement, due to a danger at the base, had also positive effects. On the largest islands, the interior plains were fertile and favourable with a new development. Thus, it was at the 11th century, when Paleopoli was abandoned with the profit of the plain of Messaria on Andros, that the breeding of the silkworm, which made the richness of the island until the 19th century was introduced.

The Duchy of Naxos

Population and economy

Cyclades much had suffered economically and démographiquement from the exactions initially of the pirates turkmenes and barbaresque, then later (17th century) of the Christian pirates. After the defeat of Lépante, Kiliç Ali Pasha, new Captain pasha started a policy of repopulation of the islands. For example, the pope Pothétos d' Amorgos was authorized in 1579 to carry out colonists in the island almost deserted from Ios. Kimolos, plundered by Christian pirates in 1638 was repopulated by colonists siphniotes in 1646. Albanian Christian, which had already migrated towards the Peloponnese at the time of the Despotat de Morée or which had been installed on Kythnos by the Venetian ones, were invited by the Ottoman Empire to come to be installed on Andros.
The absence of redistribution of the grounds to Moslem colonists, as well as the little of interest of the Turks for the sea, without counting the danger of the Christian pirates, also made that there were very few Turks to settle in the islands. Seule Naxos accommodated some Turkish families. Cyclades had limited resources then and depended on imports for their food survival. The large islands (Naxos and Paros mainly) were well heard most fertile thanks to their mountains which retained water and thanks to their plains littorales.
The little which was produced on the islands made, as since prehistory, the object of an intense trade which made it possible to put the joint resources. The wine of Santorin, the wood of Folégandros, the salt of Milos or the wheat of Sikinos circulated in the archipelago. Andros raised worms with Soie and the raw material was spun on Tinos and Kéa. All the productions were not intended for the local market: Milos sent its Meulière as far as France and the straw hats of Siphnos (production introduced by the frank lords) also left to Occident. In 1700, year minimum, the wearing of Marseilles accommodated eleven vessels and thirty-seven boats coming from Cyclades. The city phocéenne thus saw spending this year: : 231000 delivers S of corn; : 150000 oil pounds; : 58660 pounds of silk of Tinos; : 14400 cheese pounds; : 7635 pounds of wool; : 5019 rice pounds; : 2833 pounds of skins of lamb; : 2235 pounds of cotton; : 1881 pounds of wax; : 1065 pounds of sponge.

Cyclades were also the center of the smuggling of corn towards the Occident. The years of good harvests, the benefit were important, but beyond the years of bad harvests, this activity depended on goodwill authorities Othoman which wished either a larger share, or to advance their career while being pointed out by a fight against this smuggling. These fluctuations were sufficiently important so that Venice followed closely the nominations of Othoman “officers” in Archipel.
The marketing activity thus remained important in Cyclades. Part of this activity was related to piracy, beyond smuggling. Tradesmen had specialized in the purchase of the spoils and the supply of provisioning. Others had developed a saving in service intended for these pirates: taverns and prostitutes. The islands where they wintered lived at the end of the 17th century only of their presence: Milos, Mykonos and especially Kimolos which would owe as much its Latin name of Argentière with the color of its beaches or its mythical money mines that to the sums spent by the pirates. This situation brought a differentiation between the islands themselves: on a side dépravées islands (these three islands mainly), other virtuous islands, with at the head Siphnos, very orthodoxe, where opened the first Greek school of Cyclades and 1687 and where the women covered even the face. The cycladic economy again had just suffered.

Cyclades: a stake between orthodoxe and catholic

The Sultan, like everywhere else in his Greek territories, supported the Greek orthodoxe Église. He regarded the oecumenical patriarch as the leader of the Greeks within the Empire. This one was responsible for the good behavior of the Greeks, and in exchange it to him was left broad capacities on the Greek community as well as the privileges which it had obtained under the Byzantine Empire. In the whole of the Empire, the Orthodoxe ones had been organized within a millet, but not the Catholics. Moreover, in Cyclades, Catholicism was the religion of the Venetian enemy. Orthodoxy benefitted then from this protection to try to reconquer the ground lost at the time of the Latin occupation. Only three were Byzantine foundations: Panaghia Chozoviotisa on Amorgos (11th century), Panaghia Panachrantos on Andros (10th century) and Profitis Elias (1154) on Siphnos, all the others belonged to the orthodoxe vagueness of reconquest under Othoman protection. At the beginning of the 17th century, the orthodoxe reconquest was practically total. It is in this context that was placed the catholic counter-attack. The Catholic church was shown indeed very active in the islands at the 17th century, profiting owing to the fact that it was under the protection of the Ambassadors of France and Venice to Constantinople, as well as wars between Venice and the Ottoman Empire which weakened the position of the Turks in the archipelago. The Congregation for the propagation of the faith, the bishops catholic and the missionaries Jesuits and capuchins tried to gain the orthodoxe Greek populations with the catholic faith and to impose the Rite tridentin. They settled in Santorin (1642) and in Tinos (1670). There was also a mission franciscaine founded with 16th in Naxos; and a Dominican convent of founded with Santorin in 1595.}}
At the 18th century, the majority of the catholic missions had disappeared. The catholic missionaries had not succeeded in not achieving their goals, except in Syros, which preserves a strong catholic community still nowadays. In Santorin, they just succeeded in maintaining manpower of the catholic community. In Naxos, in spite of a reduction in the number of faithful, a small catholic core remained. Of course, Tinos, Venetian until in 1715 remained a case with share, with an important catholic community. Where they existed, the catholic communities lived separately, quite separate the Orthodoxe ones: entirely catholic villages on Naxos or district in the center of the principal village of the island. Thus, they also had a certain administrative autonomy they, since they treated directly with the Othoman authorities, without passing through the orthodoxe representatives of the island. This situation also created among catholics the feeling to be besieged by “the orthodoxe enemy”. In 1800 and 1801, notable catholics naxiotes were attacked by part of the orthodoxe population, carried out by Markos Politis. The main objective was trade route between the Egypt, its corn and its taxes (the tribute of the Mamelouk S), and Constantinople
Their career was completed rather abruptly: Téméricourt-Beninville was decapitated at twenty-two years in 1673 at the time of the festivals for the circumcision of one of wire of the Sultan; Creveliers jumped with his bay ship of Astypalée in 1678. }}
The Chevalier of Arvieux brings back to him also the ambiguous attitude of France with respect to Téméricourt-Beninville of which it was pilot in 1671. This attitude, which adopted also the marquis de Nointel, Ambassadeur from France to Constantinople a few years later, was a means of para-diplomatic pressure when it was a question of renegotiating the Capitulations. The Western corsairs disappeared little by little and were replaced by autochtones which were delivered as much to piracy as with smuggling or the trade. Great fortunes of ship-owners are reflected then gently in place.

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

The Othoman domination was badly lived. With time, the advantages of an Othoman domination rather than Latin grew blurred. When the former Master was forgotten, the defects of new appeared with more acuity. The ahdname of 1580 granted an administrative and tax freedom, as well as a great religious liberty: the orthodoxe Greeks could build and repair their churches and especially, they had the right to make sound the bells of their churches, privilege the other Greek grounds under Othoman domination did not have. The ideas of the Lumières reached even Cyclades, via the tradesmen who came into contact with the Western ideas at the time of their voyages. Some of them sent also sometimes their sons to make their studies in the European universities. Moreover, one certain number of popular legends in connection with the release of the Greeks and the reconquest of Constantinople ran to XVIIe and XVIIIe siècles.
They utilized God, his Saints warlike and the last Emperor, Constantin XI Paleologist, who would awake and leave the cave where the angels had transported it and transformed into marble. They would carry out the Greek soldiers to Constantinople. They would be also accompanied in this combat by a xanthos genos , a race of liberators to the fair hair come from North. Therefore the Greeks turned to the Russians, the Orthodoxes not to be only submitted to the Turks, to help them to recover to them liberté.
Russia which sought an outlet on a moderate sea regularly faced the Ottoman Empire to reach the Black Sea initially, even the the Mediterranean. It could use these Greek legends. Thus, Catherine II had fore-mentioned her son, who was to succeed to him, Constantin. Cyclades took part in various important risings, as in 1770 - 1774, at the time of the Révolution of Orloff which brought a short passage of the Russian of Catherine II in the islands. The operations took place mainly in the Peloponnese. Combatants originating in Cyclades left their islands to go to take part in the engagements. In 1770, the Russian fleet continued the Othoman fleet through Égée and the demolished of Chesmé inflicted to him. Then, it went to winter in bay of Naoussa, in the north of Paros. But, touched by an epidemic, it gave up its allies and evacuated Greece in 1771. It would seem however that the Russians remained more or less lengthily in Cyclades: in 1774, Russians seized the islands of the Archipelago, which they partly occupied during four or five years ; Mykonos would have been occupied by the Russians of 1770 to 1774; the Russian ships would have remained in Naoussa (Paros) until 1777.

A new conflict Russo-Turkish (1787-1792) which ended in the treated of Jassy still saw operations in Cyclades. Lambros Katsonis, officer Greek of the Russian navy, operated with a flotilla gréco-Russian from the island of Kéa, from where it attacked the Othoman ships. An turco-Algerian fleet ends up demolishing it on May 18th, 1790 (Julien calendar) with broad of Andros. Katsonis succeeds in fleeing with only two ships towards Milos. It had lost 565 men, the Turks more: 3000.

However, the Greeks had not very lost because the Traité of Kutchuk-Kaïnardji (1774) made it possible the islands to develop their trade, under Russian house. Moreover, the avenger exactions of the Othomans saved the islands relatively.

Cyclades in Greece of XIXe and XXe centuries

Cyclades in the war of independence

Shifts in population

The vicissitudes of the Grande Idea at the 19th century continued to make evolve/move the ethnic and social composition islands. The failure of the insurrection crétoise of 1866-1867 earlier brought many refugees on Milos, who settled, like Péloponnésiens to Syros a few years, at the edge of the sea and created there, with the foot of the old medieval village of the frank lords, the new port, that of Adamas.

In 1922, after the Greek defeat in minor Asia and especially the catch, the massacres and the fire with Smyrna, the Greek population of the area flees with boats of fortune. A good part found initially refuge in Cyclades, before being directed towards Macedonia and Thrace. The islands thus felt they also, even if to a lesser extent, the consequences of the “Grande Catastrophe”.

Years 1950 were one period great changes in Greece. The urban population passed from 37% to 56% between 1951 and 1961, with Athens which absorbed 62% of the total urban growth. From 1956 to 1961: 220000 people left the campaigns for Athens while: 600000 others migrated abroad. During the time 1951-1962, 417 Pariotes left their island for Athens because of the living conditions that they regarded there as deplorable and in the hope to find work in Athens.

Economic transformations (except tourism) of the 20th century

In the middle of the years 1930, the population density in Cyclades ranged between 40 and 50 hab/km ², is on the level of the national average (47 hab/km ²).

In a synthetic article on the economy of Greece in the middle of the years 1930, an American economist quoted Cyclades very little. For agriculture, it raised the wine production of Santorin. It did not evoke them concerning the fishing industry. Its chapter devoted to industry quoted workshops of basket making in Santorin and for Syros an activity of basket making and tannery. Cyclades appeared on the other hand for the mineral resources. The emery of Naxos, always exploited since prehistory, was exploited mainly for export. Siphnos, Sérifos, Kythnos and Milo S provided iron ore. Santorin provides pozzolana (volcanic cement); Milos of sulfur; and Antiparos and Siphnos, of zinc in the form of calamine. Syros remained still one of the ports of shipment of the pays.
The exhaustion of the iron ore on Kythnos was one of the causes of important immigration as from the years 1950

Andros was one of the rare islands of ship-owners to have succeeded in taking the turning of the vapor (fortune of Goulandris for example) and until the years 1960-1970, it provides many sailors to the Greek fleet.

The Second world war: famine and guerilla

See also: Battle of Greece, Occupation of Greece

The Italian attack against Greece had been preceded by the torpedoing of the cruiser Elli, a ship symbolic system for Greece, out of bay of Tinos, on August 15th, 1940.
The German attack of April 1941 involved the total defeat and the occupation of Greece as of the end of this month. However, Cyclades were tardily and more occupied by the Italian troops that by the German troops. The first troops of occupation made their appearance on May 9th, 1941: Syros, Andros, Tinos and Kythnos is occupied by Italians and Germans seized Milos. That made it possible the islands to be used as stage with the political personalities going to take refuge in Egypt to continue the fight. Georges Papandréou and Constantin Karamanlís stopped thus on Tinos before joining Alexandria.
The objective of Churchill in the Eastern Mediterranean was then to seize the Dodécanèse in order to make pressure on the Turkey, neutral, to make it rock in the allied camp. British troops then took gradually the control of this archipelago. The German counter-attack was fulgurating. The Müller general left continental Greece on November 5th, 1943 and progressed from island to island by occupying them to reach Leros on November 12th, 1943 and to push back the British. Cyclades were then definitively occupied by the German troops.

As the remainder of the country, Cyclades had to suffer from the famine organized by the German occupant. Moreover, in the islands, the caïques ones did not have any more the authorization to leave to fish. Naxos before the conflict depended on Athens for the third of its provisioning, conveyed by six caïques. During the war, as one died of hunger in the capital, the island could not count any more on this contribution and four of its ships had been run by the Germans. On Syros, the number of deaths passed from 435 in 1939 to: 2290 in 1942, and the deficit of the births was also felt: 52 births in surplus in 1939,964 died in surplus in 1942.

A place of exile again

Cyclades, Gyaros the first but also Amorgos or Anafi, found at the time of the various dictatorships of the 20th century their old role of place of exile.

As of 1918 and the '' Ethnikos Dikhasmos '', royalists had been off-set. The exile on the islands was the simplest solution. It avoided overloading the prisons on the continent and the islands allowed an easier control of the prisoners: the communications with outside were essentially limited.

The refusal of the governments in years 1950 and 1960 to improve the infrastructures harbor and road on certain small islands of Cyclades was interpreted by the inhabitants like an official will to preserve places of exile still sufficiently world cups, which did not play in favor of Athens in the spirit of the islanders. This situation delayed the tourist development of Cyclades.

The tourist development at the 19th century and 20th century

Greece is for a very long time a tourist destination. It formed already part of the route of the first tourists, the inventors of the word: British of the Large Turn.

At the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, the principal tourist interest was Délos whose ancient importance had rocked the studies the “tourists”. The Guide Baedeker evoked only Syros, Mykonos and Délos. Syros was the principal port where all the ships touched; Mykonos was the obligatory stage before the visit of Délos. Syros had two hotels worthy of this name ( Town hall and Hôtel of England ). On Mykonos, it was necessary to be satisfied with the “house” Konsolina or to count on Epistates of Antiquities, in which case, competition between the potential visitors of Délos was to be hard. The Guide Joanne of 1911 also insisted him on Délos (12 of the 22 pages devoted to Cyclades) but all the other islands were evoked, was this only in one paragraph. However, one can note the tourist development already there: Mykonos had then of a hotel ( Kalymnios ) and two pensions, in addition to that of Mrs. Konsolina (who thus existed always), there was also that of Mrs. Malamaténia.
In 1933, Mykonos accommodated: 2150 people come in holiday and 200 foreigners visited Délos and the museum of Mykonos.

Tourism of mass in Greece took truly its rise only as from the years 1950. After 1957, the incomes which it generated increased by 20% per annum. They competed soon with the incomes of the principal exported raw material, the tobacco, then exceeded them.

Nowadays, tourism in Cyclades is a contrasted phenomenon. Certain islands, as Naxos which has important agricultural and mining resources, or Syros which still plays a commercial and administrative part, do not depend only on tourism for their survival. It is less the case for small not very fertile rocks like Anafi, or Donoussa which counts (2001) 120 inhabitants, six pupils in his elementary school but 120 rooms to be rented, two travel agencies and a bakery only opened the summer.

In 2005, Cyclades count 909 hotels, with: 21000 rooms for: 40000 places. The principal tourist islands are Santorin (240 hotels including 6 hotels five stars) and Mykonos (160 hotels including 8 hotels five stars) then Paros (145 hotels including only one five stars) and Naxos (105 hotels). All the other islands offer less than 50 hotels. With the other end of the chain, Schinoussa and Sikinos lay out only of one hotel two stars in all and for all. The principal type of lodging in Cyclades is the hotel two stars (404 establishments). In 1997, one can measure the tourist pressure thus: Cyclades had 32 beds per km ², or also 0,75 bed per capita. It is on Mykonos, Paros, Ios and Santorin (of north in the south) that the tourist pressure is strongest, not only for Cyclades, but also for the whole of the islands of Égée, with more than 1,5 beds per capita. However, on the level of the archipelago, the tourist pressure is stronger in Dodécanèse. That is explained by the fact that the islands of Cyclades smaller and are populated than the other islands, therefore the individual pressure is stronger than the pressure on the whole of the archipel.
For the season 2006, Cyclades accommodate: 310000 visitors, out of the 11,3 million tourists who come to Greece, is 1,1 million nights on the 49,2 million nights in Greece, i.e. a rate of filling of 61%, on the level of the national average. This figure of 1,1 million nights has remained stable for a few years, whereas the number of tourists going to Greece falls: Cyclades attract always as much whereas Greece attracts less.

The very recent tendency is that foreign tourism is replaced little by little by indigenous Greek tourism. In 2006,60% of the tourists on Santorin were of Greek origin, and they do not differ fundamentally from the foreign tourists (average length of the stay: 6,5 nights for a Greek and 6,1 nights for a foreigner; spend average for a Greek: 725 € and 770 € for a foreigner). The only differences are that the Greeks prepare their stay later (20 days front) that the foreigners (45 days front) and return (50% of the Greeks already made more than two stays against 20% from abroad).

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