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 Location |
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Chios Island is located in the North East Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Turkey (across from Çesme). It is South of Lesvos (Mytilene), and NW of Samos and Ikaria. It's the 5th largest island of Greece; it's 842 sq. km and its coastline is 210 km.
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 Population |
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The total population of Chios, Inousses and Psara (two small islands in the Prefecture of Chios), according to the census of 2001, is about 52,290 people (about 26,589 men and 25,701 women). Besides the local Greek population of the island, there is also a minority of foreigners living there, mainly workers from ex-communist countries such as Albania, Bulgaria, and the ex-Soviet Republics. There is also a number of refugees and illegal immigrants passing through from various countries of the Middle East and Africa (Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, etc) who are trying to enter Europe via Turkey.
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 History |
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According to mythology, Chios was settled by Oinopion (son of king Minos of Crete), who is believed to have taught the Chians how to produce wine. The island was named after Chiona, Oinopion's daughter.
In classical antiquity Chios was one of the wealthiest city-states in Greece and a naval power. It was a state of merchants and bankers, as well as a major center of slave trafficking, with a large local slave population that was the driving force behind its flourishing economy.
During its long history, Chios was involved in many wars and totally destroyed three times: by the Persians, in 493 B.C., by the army of King Mithridates in 86 BC, during his war against Rome, and by the Turks in 1822 AD, during the Greek war of Independence (more than 30,000 people were massacred, while about 47,000 were sold as slaves). The island was also almost leveled by several severe earthquakes. The worst one recorded in recent history was in 1881 (about 3,600 people died).
Due to its wealth and strategic location, Chios attracted many foreign conquerors, and was the target of frequent pirate raids during the Middle Ages. It was conquered by the Persians, the Romans, the Venetians, the Genoese (1317-1329, and 1346-1566), the Turks (1566-1912), and the Germans in World War II. The island of Chios became part of the independent Hellenic Republic in 1912, during the Balkan Wars.
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 Religion |
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This topic is not island-specific. It applies to the nation of Greece.
Orthodox Christianity is the recognized dominant religion of Greece and it is legally protected by the state. This has caused legal discrimination against non-Orthodox Churches, and although the constitution of 1975 removed the power of most of the old laws against Protestants, problems still exist today. There is a lot of fear towards anything outside of the Orthodox Church, especially on the islands. However, repeated rulings of the European Court of Justice in favour of religious minorities in cases of discrimination have led to a relative increase of the freedoms that these religious minorities now enjoy.
Religious Groups Present
The majority of the population is Greek Orthodox. (See table for Greece)
Other religious groups represented on the island include Protestants, Catholics, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and Moslems, while the local Jewish community that once flourished, has now disappeared.
A Catholic community was established on the island at the time of its Genoese and Venetian occupation (when the Catholic Church antagonized the Orthodox), and it comprised numerous churches, convents and religious schools. However, it has considerably declined since then. St. Joseph's, a Catholic girls' school operated by nuns, closed more than 20 years ago, and the Catholic church of St. Nicolas now opens only for Christmas Eve mass, when a priest comes from the island of Tinos just for this occasion.
The island of Chios used to have a large Moslem community during its Turkish occupation (1566-1912). Since then however, all the mosques were shut down and either fell to ruin or were preserved as historic monuments. A mosque may be opened again though so as to serve the needs of the Albanian Moslem immigrants living and working in Chios
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Ancient Religion
The main gods worshipped on the island in antiquity can be separated into three main categories: gods of Greek origin, gods whose cult was imported from Asia Minor, and gods imported from Egypt during the Hellenistic era. A lesser category of figures honored in ancient Chios were deified Heroes such as Oinopion, Homer and Drimacus (the leader of a massive slave revolt).
All the Greek gods of Olympus were worshipped by the Chians except for Hephestus (Vulcan), the blacksmith of the gods, or Aris (Mars), the god of war. The most beloved and honored gods among them were Hermes (Mercury), the patron of merchants, and Dionysus (Bacchus), the god of wine.
In addition, the Chians worshipped some gods who had been 'imported' from Asia Minor and whose cult had a more mystic and gruesome character. Such deities were the Mother of the Gods (identified with the Greek goddess Rhea and the Phrygian Cybelle) and the Great Gods, Kaveiroi, who were also worshipped in Limnos and Samothraki.
During the Hellenistic era, when religion became more syncretistic, the Chians also worshipped some Egyptian gods such as Isis, Serapis, Anubis, and Harpocrates.
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 Saints |
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Most of the Orthodox saints are honored but especially the Virgin Mary and Saint Nicolas (patron saint of Sea-men). The main patron saint of the island is St. Marcella
(a 2nd century Christian martyred for her faith). The patron saints of the city of Chios, the capital of the island, are Aghioi Viktores (Saint Victors), namely Minas, Victor and Vikentios.
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 Prayer |
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Please pray:
* For God to raise more Christian workers to support the existing churches on the island and to do more outreach.
* For salvation and spiritual awareness for the local population
* For the foreigners/ refugees who seek asylum in Greece
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 Miscellaneous |
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* Earliest form of Democracy: Chios had a form of Democracy as early as 6th cent. BC (even before Athens). The Athenians are believed to have used the political system of Chios as a model for their democracy.
* The temple of Apollo in Fana (in the South part of the island) was as great and famous in antiquity as that of Artemis in Ephesus.
* The famous poet Homer is said to have been born here.
* Christopher Columbus lived and worked here as an agent of the Mahona, the Genoese merchant company the exploited the island's resources during the Genoese occupation.
* Some of Greece's (and world) richest ship tycoons come from Chios; the island has a long tradition in shipping.
* Chios is famous for producing mastic gum (a product of the mastic bush cannot grow anywhere else in the world).
* During prehistoric times a volcano existed on the southern part of the island. Its crater has collapsed since, but the black pebbled beach ('Mavra Volia') formed by the lava, is one of the most beautiful and most popular beaches of Chios
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 Celebrations |
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The main celebration is on July 22 honoring St. Marcella. During that, many people make their annual 'pilgrimage' to pay their respects to her monastery on the N.W. of the island (about 45Km from the City of Chios), often walking the whole way. The monastery is built on the site where she is believed to have been murdered by her father for refusing to renounce Christianity.
August 15 is another important day of celebration for all of Greece, as well as for Chios, as it is the day when the Virgin Mary is believed to have died, and her body is believed to have been taken up to heaven.
Also November 11 is a local holiday commemorating the island's liberation and independence from Turkey. It is also the day that the St. Victors, the patron saints of Chios, are celebrated.
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 Resources |
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Links: www.chios.gr
Books: Σαρικάκης Θεόδωρος, «Η Χίος στην αρχαιότητα».
κδόσεις Εριφύλη, Αθήνα 1998
(Sarikakis, Theodoros. Chios in Antiquity. Eryfili Publishing. Athens, 1998.)
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