Mythology
A year before the Argonautic expedition, the women of Lemnos, driven by a thirst for revenge, conspired to kill all the island’s men in their beds one night; the men had spurned them in favor of women brought back from raids on nearby Thrace. They killed not only the men and their mistresses but also all the male children, fearing that, upon growing up, the boys would seek vengeance for their fathers’ deaths.
Hypsipyle alone among them took pity on her elderly father, Thoas, the king of the land. She placed him in a chest and cast him into the sea, hoping he might escape. He was rescued by fishermen on Oinoe—the island later named Sikinos after the son born to the Naiad nymph Oinoe when she became Thoas’s wife.
This myth is recounted by the epic poet and director of the Library of Alexandria under Ptolemy Euergetes, Apollonius of Rhodes (295–215 BC), in his work *Argonautica*:
Οίη δ’ εκ πασέων γεραρούπεριφείσατο πατρός
Υψιπύλεια Θόαντος, ο δη κατά δήμον άνασσεν.
Λάρνακι δ’ εν κοίλη μιν ύπερθ’ αλός ήκε φέρεσθαι,
αίκε φύγη. Και τον μεν ες Οινοίην ερύσαντο
πρόσθεν, ατάρ Σίκινόν γε μεθ’ ύστερον αυδηθείσαν
νήσον, επακτήρες, Σικίνου άπο, τον ρα Θόαντι
νηιάς Οινοίη νύμφη τέκεν ευνηθείσα.
Of all the women, Hypsipyle alone—daughter of Thoas, who ruled over the people—spared her father. She set him adrift in a hollow chest upon the sea, that he might escape. Fishermen hauled him ashore—first to Oinoe, and later to the island that came to be named Sicinus after him; for the Naiad nymph Oinoe had borne him to Thoas.
A marble inscription discovered by chance on the island reveals that the ancient inhabitants of Sikinos revered the island’s mythical king, Thoas, and bestowed his name upon their children.
It is evident, however, that the captivating myth concerning Sikinos—son of Thoas—was a later invention, crafted to align with the island’s ancient name.
According to an independent myth—later incorporated into the genealogy of Dionysus for various purposes—Thoas (“the swift”), the mythical king of the Lemnian raiders and progenitor of the people of Sikinos, was the son of Dionysus and Minos’s daughter, Ariadne. Rhadamanthus installed him in Lemnos to safeguard Minoan interests in the northeastern Aegean region. He married Myrina—who gave her name to the island’s capital—and fathered a daughter, Hypsipyle. Thus, Sikinos is the uncle of Euneus—the son of Hypsipyle and Jason—who appears in the *Iliad* as the king of Lemnos.
According to some mythographers, Thoas did not escape the massacre on Lemnos, whereas others claim he fled to either Chios or Tauris.
As director of the Library of Alexandria, Apollonius was aware of all the available myths regarding Thoas’s fate. His choice of the Sicinus version may well be linked to the fact that, during the time he was writing, the island was enjoying a period of prosperity under the rule of the Ptolemies of Egypt—who had wrested the Cyclades from Antigonus in 308 BC—and who actively promoted, in every possible way, a direct connection to Dionysus.
At the heart of the myth lies the island’s ancient hallmark—winemaking—as remembered by the elders from the days when, at the small pier of Alopronia, mule trains would continue to load the grapes of Posta onto *kaikia* (traditional wooden boats) from neighboring islands.
History, ancient references to Sikinos.
The earliest known reference to Sikinos appears in 604 BC in an elegy by the Athenian philosopher and lawgiver Solon.
604 BC
The Athenian philosopher and lawgiver Solon
Solon wishes he were from Folegandros or Sikinos rather than Athens, given that his fellow citizens retreated before the Megarians in the battle for control of Salamis. The elegy reveals the humble status of the two islands and attests to their identity for at least 2,600 years.
5th century BC
Scylax of Caryanda. Naval explorer and geographer.
In his work *Periplus*, he includes Sikinos among the Cyclades.
3rd century BC
Cleon of Curium. Mythographer from Cyprus.
He wrote an *Argonautica*. His work, in which he recounted a myth about Sikinos, has not survived.
3rd century BC
Theolytos. Mythographer.
He wrote the *Argonautica*. His work has not survived.
3rd century BC
Apollonius of Rhodes. A poet from Alexandria.
In his work *Argonautica*, he recounts the myth according to which Sikinos was formerly known as Oinoe. In the ancient scholia on the relevant passage of Apollonius, we read that he derived the story from Theolytus.
1st century BC
Asclepiades of Myrlea. Alexandrian grammarian and commentator.
In his work, he identifies Cleon as Apollonius's source for the myth regarding the renaming of Sicinos.
1st century BC
Strabo. Historian and geographer from Pontus.
He wrote *Geographika*. He includes Sikinos among the Cyclades and notes that it is situated between Ios and Folegandros.
1st century AD
Xenagoras. Historian, geographer.
He wrote *On Islands*. He mentions the renaming of the island and notes that it was covered in vineyards.
1st century AD
Pliny. Roman natural philosopher and historian.
He wrote *On Islands*. He mentions the renaming of the island and notes that it was covered in vineyards.
2nd century AD
Claudius Ptolemy. Natural philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and geographer from Alexandria.
He wrote a *Geography* in which he includes Sikinos among the Cyclades.
6th century AD
Stephanus of Byzantium. Historian, geographer, mathematician.
He authored *Ethnika* (or *On Cities and Demes*). He notes that Sikinos is an island near Crete—listed as the tenth by Strabo—and mentions its renaming.
Total area of Sikinos
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Sikinos. The name.
Unlike the ancient sources, which held that the island was formerly named Oinoe, the name “Sikinos” cannot be traced to the repertoire of Indo-European languages and is attributed to the island’s prehistoric inhabitants.
It is likely a word identical in meaning (= wine-bearing) from prehistoric Crete—one of many place names preserved in Archaic Greek from the 3rd millennium BC. The fact that it has remained unchanged since ancient times is confirmed by inscriptions discovered by chance on the island. According to tradition, Sikinos—a Cretan—was the inventor of the satyric dance performed in honor of the god Sabazios (later identified with Dionysus); the worship of this deity on Sikinos is attested by an ancient inscription. The dance was known as *Sikinnis*, and the dancing Satyrs were called *Sikinnistai*. Inscriptions—particularly those found on pottery—record the names of Satyrs such as Sikinos, Euphraios son of Sikinos, Zeneus, and others. This fact confirms the hypothesis that the name of our small island is linked to the worship of Dionysus (Sabazios)—a cult that, along with viticulture, was introduced to the island from Crete, just as it was to other Aegean islands.
Sikinos was also the name of the tutor to Themistocles’ children; at the risk of his own life, on the eve of the Battle of Salamis, he misled the Persians regarding the Athenians’ intentions. The island’s name suffered a mix-up in 1420 when the Florentine traveler C. Bondelmonti—who toured the Cyclades without actually disembarking on Sikinos—renamed it *Sicandros* (clearly confusing it with the name of neighboring Folegandros). His error misled cartographers and travelers of the era until 1700, when the French collector of plants and antiquities J.P. Tournefort—having searched the entire Aegean in vain for *Sicandros*—finally declared it a non-existent, imaginary island.
In the past, a resident of Sikinos was called *Sikinitis*. The current form of the demonym is *Sikiniotis* (masculine), *Sikiniotissa* (feminine), and *Sikiniotikos* (adjective).
Sikinos Before the Sikinians
The history of the island begins on the bed of the Tethys Sea, 250 million years ago. The oldest rocks of the Cyclades—all of which are marine sediments—date back to this era. In terms of geological time (given the Earth’s age of 4.6 billion years), they constitute one of the planet’s youngest regions.
The initial forms of the modern islands can be traced back to 16,000 BC. They were created by the gradual rise in the Aegean Sea level resulting from the melting of glaciers. At that time, Sikinos was a peak of a “Great Island”—a landmass that also included the peaks of Folegandros, Ios, Herakleia, Schinoussa, the Koufonisia, Donousa, Naxos, Paros, Antiparos, Despotiko, Mykonos, Delos, Syros, Tinos, and even Andros. Nearby lay the forms of the remaining Cycladic islands—Sifnos, Serifos, Kea, Kythnos, Santorini, Anafi, and Amorgos—as well as an island comprising present-day Milos, Kimolos, and Polyaigos.
The rising sea level of the Aegean over the ensuing millennia progressively reduced the land area of the islands. Around 10,500 BC, the sea inundated the lowest point of the Ios–Sikinos isthmus, opening the strait. By 8,000 BC, the isthmuses along the Sikinos–Kaloeros–Karavos–Karyotissa–Aderfia–Folegandros chain had also gradually flooded. This marked the end of the Paleolithic Era in the Aegean. The climate had come to resemble the present-day one, and Sikinos had assumed roughly its modern form (though it was larger, particularly along its southern coast, due to the extensive shallows that still existed).
Stone Age in the Aegean Paleolithic Age
Across this vast economic and cultural span of nearly two million years, various human species emerged and vanished. The impressive recent discovery in Crete of numerous stone tools—dating back 130,000 to 700,000 years and associated with *Homo erectus* societies (a human species far older than both “Modern Humans” and Neanderthals)—pushes the timeline of seafaring much further back into the past (given that Crete has been an island for at least three million years). Consequently, prevailing theories regarding early humans—their migrations, cognitive and technical capabilities, and, of course, the first inhabitants of the islands—are being revised.
At the end of the Paleolithic era—conventionally dated to 8,000 BC in the Aegean—the last surviving human species, “Modern Man” (from whom all modern “races” directly descend), continued to subsist on what the wild offered and to live a nomadic existence or dwell in caves. He was a skilled seafarer and made use of the Cycladic islands in various ways. The rise in the Aegean Sea level is now imperceptible, yet it has permanently submerged areas that were once coastal plains—along with their secrets.
Mesolithic Age
ΣIt is to this period in the Aegean—roughly corresponding to the 7th millennium BC—that the oldest settlements discovered to date in the Cyclades (Kythnos), Crete, and mainland Greece are dated. In turn, the people of the region pioneered a new, decisive survival strategy for the species: a productive economy. Gradually, they became the producers of the greater part of their own food, domesticating and cultivating animals and plants that existed in the wild in their environment.
Neolithic Period (6400–3200 BC)
This is the era when human populations in the Aegean region were settling down and developing local distinctions. A productive economy had become widespread, with far-reaching consequences. The new relationship with animals and plants transformed humans from parasites into producers, enabling them to control their existence with increasing effectiveness. Permanent settlement and the emergence of labor created bonds with the land and the locality, which now became a homeland. The art of pottery appeared at the beginning of the 6th millennium BC, followed by metallurgy (involving copper, lead, silver, and gold) by the middle of the period. Specialized trades and social stratifications began to emerge.
Navigation is advancing significantly, and active maritime networks exist in the Aegean. Starting around 5000 BC, villages are gradually established on Antiparos-Paros, Milos, Mykonos, Kea, and Naxos. By the end of the period, settlements appear on Andros, Sifnos, Santorini, and Amorgos as well. Current evidence suggests that settlements on the smaller islands were established last, at the beginning of the Bronze Age.
The first millennia. Aegean Bronze Age (3200–1200 BC)
This is the era of the first so-called “high” culture in Europe: the Aegean—or Minoan-Mycenaean—civilization. Its bearers were the very societies that had taken root and evolved in the region since at least the Mesolithic period. It emerged during the 3rd millennium BC in the Cyclades and Crete, reaching maturity after 2000 BC with the establishment of the palatial state. From 1600 BC onwards, the palatial states of central Greece and the Peloponnese moved to the forefront.
Από το τέλος της Νεολιθικής αυξάνεται σημαντικά ο πληθυσμός στο Αιγαίο, καρπός της νέας οικονομίας. Η επικοινωνία μεταξύ των νησιών και η ροή πληροφοριών και αγαθών είναι πρωτόγνωρη. Πολλαπλασιάζονται οι οικισμοί στα κατοικημένα νησιά και επεκτείνονται και στα μικρότερα, όπως η Σίκινος. Ο τρόπος ζωής παραμένει κατά βάση νεολιθικός, ωστόσο μεταλλουργία και νέες τεχνολογίες προσθέτουν τεράστιες δυνατότητες στο οπλοστάσιο του ανθρώπου για πρόοδο αλλά και επιβολή. Η ναυπηγική έχει σημειώσει μεγάλη πρόοδο με σκάφη μέχρι και των 20 πάγκων (40 κουπιά) και δυνατότητα μεταφοράς δύσκολων φορτίων. Υπάρχουν σαφείς κοινωνικές διαφορές μεταξύ των ανθρώπων, δουλεία και πρόσωπα αρχηγικά. Τα θαλασσινά επαγγέλματα του εμπόρου και του πειρατή, που συνήθως τα ασκεί το ίδιο πρόσωπο, είναι δημοφιλή και χαρίζουν πλούτο και οπωσδήποτε φήμη -αν όχι δόξα με ρόλο σε κάποιο μεταγενέστερο μύθο. Σταδιακά οι οικισμοί συγκεντρώνονται σε απόσταση απ’ τη θάλασσα, σε καλά οχυρωμένες θέσεις.
Οι Σικινιώτες, κάτοικοι ενός νησιού χωρίς φυσικό λιμάνι και μεγάλο σκάφος, καλλιεργούν τα φυτά της εποχής: αμπέλι, ελιά, κριθάρι, σιτάρι, βίκο, φακή, λαχανικά, συκιά, φιστικιά, δαμασκηνιά. Εκτρέφουν κατσίκια, πρόβατα, βούδια, χοίρους και πουλερικά. Έχουν γαδούρια, γνωρίζουν τη μελισσουργία, το σύνεργο και το ζευγάρι. Τυροκομούν και γνέθουν μάλλινα. Έχουν τα πανηγύρια και τη μουσική τους. Μέχρι το 2500 π.Χ. έχουν καλλιεργήσει ολόκληρο το νησί φτιάχνοντας τις πέτρες τοίχους και το χώμα χωράφια, αλλάζοντας ριζικά το τοπίο. Το έργο τους που έθρεψε εκατοντάδες γενεές απογόνων, είναι καθημερινά μπρος στα μάτια μας και μας προκαλεί δέος.
Απ’ το 2000 π.Χ., η Κρήτη ηγεμονεύει στο Αιγαίο με ισχυρό εμπορικό και πολεμικό στόλο που φθάνει μέχρι την Αίγυπτο. Περιορίζει την πειρατεία προς όφελός της, ίσως και προς όφελος άλλων νησιωτών. Στην πραγματικότητα η πειρατεία στο Αιγαίο ουδέποτε σταμάτησε πριν από τη σύσταση του Νέου Ελληνικού Κράτους, απλώς ξανάρχιζε μόλις οι διώκτες της απομακρύνονταν.
Οι αιώνες περνούν και την ηγεμονία των Κρητών στο Αιγαίο διαδέχεται το 1600 π.Χ. εκείνη των Μυκηναϊκών ανακτορικών κρατών της Πελοποννήσου και της Κεντρικής Ελλάδας. Τότε η ναυσιπλοϊα και το εμπόριο απλώνονται σε ολόκληρη τη Μεσόγειο και τον Εύξεινο Πόντο. Η Σίκινος μαζί με τη Μήλο, τη Θήρα και τα μεταξύ τους νησιά, αποτελεί πιθανώς ένα κράτος. Είναι η “εποχή” της Αργοναυτικής Εκστρατείας και του Τρωϊκού Πολέμου, τελευταίου “επεισοδίου” της Εποχής του Χαλκού. Δραματικό γεγονός στην περιοχή αποτελεί η ανατίναξη κυριολεκτικά του νησιού της Θήρας από ηφαιστειακή έκρηξη, το 1500 π.Χ. περίπου.
Τα κείμενα για την ιστορία είναι του Πέτρου Φρονίστα.
ΒΙΒΛΙΑ:
ΓΑΒΑΛΑΣ Ζ., Η Νήσος Σίκινος (έκδοση Συνδέσμου Σικινητών, 1931)
ΜΗΛΙΑΡΑΚΗΣ Α., Κυκλαδικά – γεωγραφία και ιστορία των Κυκλάδων Νήσων (1874)
ΘΕΟΧΑΡΗΣ Δ., Νεολιθικός πολιτισμός (ΜΙΕΤ 2010)
RENFREW C., Η ανάδυση του πολιτισμού – οι Κυκλάδες και το Αιγαίο στην 3η χιλιετία π.Χ. (ΜΙΕΤ 2009)
BROODBANK C., Οι πρώιμες Κυκλάδες (ΜΙΕΤ 2009)
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Town Hall: Sikinos Town – Central Square
We would like to thank Antonis Venieris for the video of Chora, and Dora Kavellari, Marina Angelopoulou and Giannis Divolis for the photographs.
Διάυγεια
Useful information
Area code (+30) 22860
Postal code 84010
Banking transactions are made at ATMs of the National Bank of Greece.
Sikinos has:
Helipad for emergencies
Broadband wireless internet (WiFi)