Tinos

|----- | colspan=2 align=" center" cellpadding=" 0" bgcolor=white| |----- ! bgcolor=" #ccccff" colspan=" 2" | Statistics |----- | Periphery | Southern of Égée |----- | Chief town | Tinos |----- | Surface | 197 km ² |----- | Population | 5.203 (2001) |----- | Density of pop |26 habitants/km ² |----- | zip code | 842 00 |----- | Indicative telephone | (00) 30-22830 |----- | Internet site | http://www.tinos.gr/ |}

Tinos is an island of the north of the Greek Cyclades in the southernmost Aegean Sea. It is located between Andros and Mykonos. Its principal port and its Tinos capital are dominated by the imposing rock of Exombourgo (640 m). Its inhabitants are called the Tiniotes .

Tinos is an island still rather little known foreign tourists. It is true that its momunents ancient is little known and that its coasts are in majority made up of stones and rollers (it has some sand beaches end nevertheless). The exposure to the winds of north, mainly the meltem in summer, does not play either in its favor. This characteristic even made that in mythology, it was remains it of Éole.
On the other hand, for the orthodoxe Greeks , Tinos are a very important pilgrimage marial (it is called “island of the Virgin”), which attracts an important crowd on March 25th (festival of the Annonciation) and especially on August 15th (festival of the Assomption). It also shelters considerable catholic community, heritage of its history.

Geomorphology

Tinos with the shape of a “pear” turned towards the North-West. It 27 km is long, its littoral makes 114 km and the turn of the island is carried out in 38 miles sailor. Its base, in south-east towards Mykonos makes 12 km. It is separated from this island by a strait of 7,5 km. An arm of the sea of less Thousand sailor separates it from Andros.

Antiquity

The island would have been called at that time “ Idroussa ” because of the abundance of its sources. Athénée refers to a miraculous source not mixing with the wine. Pline the Old writing with proposes island: “With: 1000 pas d'Andros and with: 15000 of Délos is Ténos, with its city; it extends in a length from: 15000 steps; according to Aristote, it was called Hydrussa because of the abundance of its water; according to others, Ophiussa. ”.

Times antiquated and traditional

The first inhabitants of the island are little known: the assumptions Phrygian, phenician, carienne, pélasge or lélège are advanced. The Ionian ones would have colonized Tinos towards 1000 before our era.

The oldest traces of occupation are mycéniennes: one found two geometrical tombs mycéniens or in the area of Kyra-Xéni. The Athenian domination was felt starting from Pisistrate which made build one of the principal aqueducts of the island towards 549 - 542 before the common era (it fed the island until in 1934).

Hellenistic time

According to Démosthène and Diodore of Sicily, the tyrant thessalien Alexandre de Phères carried out operations of piracies 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.

It was little of time after this pirate forwarding that the high city ( polished ) on Xombourgo would have been abandoned and that the low city ( asty ), with the current site of Tinos-city, would have been created.

In 308 before the common era, Cyclades were controlled by Antigone One-eyed the which would have created the League of Nésiotes around Tinos, around its famous sanctuary of Poséidon and Amphitrite, but less politically marked than the sanctuary of Apollon on Délos. This league 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 naval campaigns.

The Ptolémées controlled the archipelago then. But, overcome with Andros into 228, Ptolémées yielded it to the Macedonians Antigone III Doson. After Cynocephali, the islands passed to the Rhodiens then to the Romains. Rhodiens would have given a new dash to the League of Nésiotes. This news caused vocations. Many adventurers armed with the fleets to their expenses, of which Marco Sanudo, nephew of the Doge Enrico Dandolo. In 1207, it controlled Cyclades with his/her companions and parents. Thus, of the cousins of Sanudo, the Andrea brothers and Geremia Ghisi (or Ghizzi), became Masters of Tinos and Mykonos. Indeed, starting from 1248, the Duke of Naxos became the vassal one of Guillaume II of Villehardouin. The feudal system was applied even for the smallest properties, which caused to create important “a local elite”. The “noble francs” reproduced the life seigneuriale which they had left behind them: they built “castles” where they maintained a court. To the bonds of vassalage those of the marriage were added. The strongholds circulated and split up with the wire of the dowries and the héritages.
However, this “frank” feudal system (as one called all that came from Occident at the time) was superimposed with the Byzantine system administrative, preserved by the new lords: the feudal taxes and drudgeries were applied to Byzantine administrative divisions and the exploitation of the strongholds continued according to the Byzantine techniques, perhaps a consequence of the war which made rage between Venice and Genoa. Towards 1520, the old strongholds of Ghisi (Tinos and Mykonos) passed under the direct domination of the Republic of Venice which preserved the island until the Othoman conquest of 1715. This long Venetian domination explains the strong catholic community of the island.

Contemporary time

In 1822, a nun of the Kekrovounio convent made a dream indicating to him where a miraculous icon of the Virgin was hidden, was painted, according to the legend by the Evangelist Luc himself.

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: Tinos is occupied by Italians. 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 the island before joining Alexandria.

As the remainder of the country, Cyclades had to suffer from the famine organized by the German occupant. Thus, on Tinos, one considers that 327 people in the town of Tinos and around 900 in the area of Panormos died of hunger at the time of the conflict.

Geography

The island is divided into three great areas: