Kos

Coordinates: 36°51′N 27°14′E / 36.850°N 27.233°E / 36.850; 27.233
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Kos (disambiguation).

Kos
Κως
UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
853 xx
Area code(s)2242
Vehicle registrationΚΧ, EA
Websitewww.kos.gr

Kos or Cos (

region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is the town of Kos.[2]

Name

The name Kos (

Ancient Greek: Κῶς)[3] is first attested in the Iliad, and has been in continuous use since. Other ancient names include Meropis,[4] Cea,[5] and Nymphaea.[6]

In many

The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the author misunderstands this and treats Lango and Kos as distinct islands.[11]

In Italian, the island is known as Coo.

A person from Kos is called a "Koan" (or "Coan") in English. The word is also an adjective, as in "Koan goods".[12]

Geography

Kos is in the Aegean Sea. Its coastline is 112 kilometres (70 miles) long, extending from west to east.

The island has several promontories, some with names known in antiquity: Cape Skandari, anciently Scandarium or Skandarion in the northeast;[13] Cape Lacter or Lakter in the south;[14] and Cape Drecanum or Drekanon in the west.[15]

In addition to the main town and port, also called Kos, the main villages of Kos island are Kardamena, Kefalos, Tingaki, Antimachia, Mastihari, Marmari and Pyli. Smaller ones are Zia, Zipari, Platani, Lagoudi and Asfendiou.

Climate

Kos has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate.

Climate data for Kos Sewage Plant weather station (37m)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 14.3
(57.7) 		15.5
(59.9) 		17.6
(63.7) 		20
(68) 		25
(77) 		28.5
(83.3) 		30.4
(86.7) 		31
(88) 		28.5
(83.3) 		25.7
(78.3) 		21.1
(70.0) 		17.4
(63.3) 		22.9
(73.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 9
(48) 		10.1
(50.2) 		11.2
(52.2) 		12.9
(55.2) 		16.8
(62.2) 		20.9
(69.6) 		23.5
(74.3) 		24
(75) 		22.2
(72.0) 		19.6
(67.3) 		15.6
(60.1) 		12.3
(54.1) 		16.5
(61.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 214.7
(8.45) 		82.3
(3.24) 		68.2
(2.69) 		40.6
(1.60) 		7.2
(0.28) 		13.8
(0.54) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		5.2
(0.20) 		36.3
(1.43) 		106
(4.2) 		175.6
(6.91) 		749.9
(29.54)
Source: http://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/kos/ (2019 - 2020 averages)

Municipality

Detailed map of Kos, Rhodes and environs

The present municipality of Kos was created in 2011 with the merger of three municipalities, which became municipal units:[2]

The municipality has an area of 290,313 km2, and has a municipal unit of 67.200 km2.[16]

Economy

Kardamena is a popular resort for young holidaymakers (primarily from the United Kingdom and Scandinavia
) and has a large number of bars and nightclubs.

watermelons olives, and tomatoes, along with wheat and corn.[citation needed] Cos lettuce (romaine lettuce) is named after the island, from where it is said to have originated.[18][19]

History

Abduction of Europa
in the House of Europa in the Western Archaeological Zone of Kos town.
Ruins of the Ancient Gymnasion
View of the ancient Odeon (heavily restored)
Nerantzia Castle (Hospitalier period)

Mycenaean Era

In Homer's Iliad, a contingent of Koans fought for the Greeks in the Trojan War.[20]

In classical mythology the founder-king of Kos was

amphictyony listed in the 7th-century Homeric hymn to Delian Apollo; the island was visited by Heracles.[21] Kos was said to be the birthplace of the goddess Leto; the mother of Apollo.[22] Supposedly Leto's father Coeus was the first inhabitant of the island.[23]

The island was originally colonised by the Carians. The Dorians invaded it in the 11th century BC, establishing a Dorian colony with a large contingent of settlers from Epidaurus, whose Asclepius cult made their new home famous for its sanatoria. The other chief sources of the island's wealth lay in its wines and, in later days, in its silk manufacture.[24]

Archaic Era

Its early history – as part of the religious-political

Achaemenid domination but rebelled after the Greek victory at the Battle of Mycale in 479. Archaeological finds have shown the existence of a small shrine to Hemera and Helios; gods of the day and the Sun respectively.[26]

Classical Era

Further information: Ancient Greece and Cos (city)

During the

Social War (357–355 BC), it fell for a few years to king Mausolus of Caria
.

Proximity to the east gave the island first access to imported silk thread. Aristotle mentions silk weaving conducted by the women of the island.[27] Silk production of garments was conducted in large factories by female slaves.[28]

Hellenistic Era

Asclepeion

During the course of the

Philitas
.

Despite the incorporation of Kos to the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the island kept its political autonomy (shown in a 3rd-century BC decree found at Kos and well-studied by experts in Greek history).

prostates
, the exegetes, etc.). The fact that the city could legislate decrees and apply its own laws shows political independence regarding the Ptolemaic Kingdom. The city-state remained in control of its political institutions and civil rights.

Kos also became a center of production of unrefined silk, oars and amphorae.[33] Kos economic development during the period can further be exemplified by the 3rd- and 2nd-century BC construction of a theater, a new market with multiple stoas, a temple to Apollo at Alisarna, construction and expansion of the Asclepeion, fortification works at Alisarna and multiple richly decorated houses.[34] In 240 BC, Ziaelas of Bithynia, Seleucus II Callinicus and Ptolemy III Euergetes provided guarantees for the transformation of Kos Asclepeion into an asylum. This decision made Kos a more attractive destination for merchants and pilgrims.[35]

Kos had a strong reputation for justice from the late fourth century BC and was called on more frequently than any other city in the Hellenistic period to provide judges for the arbitration of disputes between and within other cities. Between 310 and 300 BC, Kos arbitrated a dispute between Klazomenai and Teos, provided a temporary law code for the synoecism of Teos and Lebedus, and accepted requests to send judges to resolve internal disputes at Ilium, Samos, and Telos.[36] In the following two centuries, they accepted further requests to send judges to Naxos, Thasos, Erythrae, Mytilene, and four cities whose names are not preserved.[37] The Koan settlement of the dispute at Telos is recorded in an inscription (IG XII.4.1 132); one of the most detailed surviving records of foreign judges activities in the Hellenistic period.[38][39] This judgement, drawing on Koan religious and financial regulations, allowed a group convicted of political crimes to pay off their fines and be reconciled with the wider community by paying for sacrifices and repairs to temples.[40]

Paul briefly visited Kos according to Acts 21:1
.

Roman Era

Further information:
Roman Greece

Except for occasional incursions by

Philitas and possibly Theocritus came from the area. An inscription lists people who made contributions to build the library in the 1st century AD.[44] One of the people responsible for the library's construction was the Kos doctor Gaius Stertinius Xenophon, who lived in Rome and was the personal physician of the Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero.[45]

Coae vestes

Older research believed that the island was known in antiquity for the manufacture of transparent light dresses, the coae vestes.[46] This view goes back to Aristotle, and it has been challenged by modern research. The term Coae vestes seems to refer to a type of silk garment and not the site of production (the island of Kos). The origin of the term is ultimately unclear.[47]

Byzantine Era

Further information: Byzantine Greece and Knights Hospitaller

The

Council of Constantinople (879).[49][50] Under Byzantine rule, apart from the participation of its bishops in councils, the island's history remains obscure. It was governed by a droungarios in the 8th–9th centuries, and seems to have acquired some importance in the 11th and 12th centuries: Nikephoros Melissenos began his uprising here, and in the middle of the 12th century, it was governed by a scion of the ruling Komnenos dynasty, Nikephoros Komnenos.[48]

Today the ecclesiastical

Patriarchate of Constantinople, rather than the Church of Greece, and is also listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[51]

Genoese Era

Following the 11th century, Kos passed under

Yıldırım Bayezid between 1391 and 1396. Kos faced its first serious Ottoman attack in 1455. The navy under the command of Hamza Bey attacked the island, besieged and destroyed the Andimacheia Castle.[8] The last Hospitaller governor of the island was Piero de Ponte
.

Ottoman Era

Further information: Ottoman Greece

During the conquest of Rhodes in 1522, it was surrendered to the Ottomans due to the terms of the agreement. When Captain Behram Bey arrived in front of Kos and Bodrum, the castle guards handed over the castle to him and left, and this news reached the camp on 17 Safer 929 (5 January 1523). As soon as the island was taken, a qadi, a castellan and guards were sent to the largest and fortified castle, to Nerantzia, which was repaired, the Greek Orthodox people of the island were left in their places and their residence was provided in the suburbs outside the castle.[8]

During the course of the

Russian fleet anchored off the Kos castle. On the night of 5 August 1773, the Russians dispatched a landing party intending to capture the castle. They suffered heavy casualties in the ensuing battle. The Russian ships departed Kos two days later, having failed to achieve their objective.[52]

According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82–1893, the kaza of İstanköy (استانكوی)[53] had a total population of 12,965, consisting of 10,459 Greeks, 2,439 Muslims and 67 Jews.[54] The island was occupied by the Kingdom of Italy on May 20, 1912.[8]

Italian Rule

Further information: Italian Islands of the Aegean

Kos was transferred to the

Paris peace treaty
.

Contemporary

Closed Controlled Access Centre of Island (CCAC) exists on Kos, it is able to host 2,140 people.[57]

Geology

The island is part of a chain of mountains from which it became separated after earthquakes and subsidence that occurred in ancient times. The remnants of these mountains include the islands of Kalymnos and Kappari which are separated by an underwater chasm approximately 70 metres (230 ft; 38 fathoms) deep, as well as the volcano of Nisyros and the surrounding islands.

There is a wide variety of rocks in Kos which is related to its geographical formation. Prominent among these are the Quaternary layers in which the fossil remains of mammals such as horses, hippopotami and elephants have been found. The fossilised molar of an elephant of gigantic proportions was presented to the Paleontology Museum of the University of Athens.

Demographics

Turkish population

Main article: Turks of the Dodecanese
Gazi Hasan Pasha Mosque in Kos

In the late 1920s about 3,700 Turks lived in Kos city, slightly less than 50% of the population, who were mainly in the west part of the city.[58] Today, the population of the Turkish community in Kos has been estimated at 2,000 people.[59][60] A village with significant Turkish population is Platani (Kermentes) near the town of Kos.

Religion

Cathedral of Kos

The people of Kos are predominantly Orthodox Christians – one of the four Orthodox cathedrals in the Dodecanese is located in Kos. In addition, there is a Roman Catholic church on the island and a mosque for the Turkish Muslim community. The synagogue is no longer used for religious ceremonies as the Jewish community of Kos was targeted and destroyed by occupying German forces in World War II. It has, however, been restored and is maintained with all religious symbols intact and is now used by the Municipality of Kos for various events, mainly cultural.

Main sights

Castles

The Byzantine Antimachia Castle

The island has a 14th-century fortress at the entrance to its harbour, erected in 1315 by the Knights Hospitaller, and another from the Byzantine period in Antimachia.

Ancient Agora

View of the municipal market, built in 1934–1935 by architect Rodolfo Petracco.

The ancient market place of Kos was considered one of the biggest in the ancient world. It was the commercial and commanding centre at the heart of the ancient city. It was organized around a rectangular yard 50 metres (160 ft) wide and 300 metres (980 ft) long. It began in the Northern area and ended south on the central road (Decumanus) which went through the city. The northern side connected to the city wall towards the entrance to the harbour. Here there was a monumental entrance. On the eastern side there were shops. In the first half of the 2nd century BC, the building was extended toward the interior yard. The building was destroyed in an earthquake in 469 AD.

In the southern end of the market, there was a round building with a Roman dome and a workshop which produced pigments including Egyptian Blue. Coins, treasures, and copper statues from Roman times were later uncovered by archaeologists. In the western side excavations led to the findings of rooms with mosaic floors which showed beastfights, a theme popular in Kos.[61]

Synagogue

The synagogue Kahal Shalom designed by architects Armando Bernabiti and Rodolfo Petracco in 1935.

The synagogue Kahal Shalom of Kos, on 4, Alexandrou Diakou street in the historic city center, was built in 1935.[62] It was designed by architects Armando Bernabiti and Rodolfo Petracco, and was built by the construction company 'De Martis-Sardelli'.[63] The synagogue complex includes the synagogue and the adjacent rabbi's residence, today housing the offices of the organization 'Hippocrates'. The Jewish community of Kos dates from antiquity. An older synagogue was destroyed in the earthquake of April 13, 1933. Following the deportation of nearly 100 members of the Jewish community on Sunday July 23, 1944, the synagogue was abandoned and later purchased by the Municipality in the 1980s. The synagogue has been used as a cultural center by the Municipality of Kos, for lectures and exhibitions. In 2022 the Municipality of Kos and the Central Board of Jewish Communities, commissioned architect Elias V. Messinas to restore the interior of the synagogue, and make possible a dual use of the building for religious services, and cultural activities.

Culture

The ancient physician

Asklepieion, where Herodicus
taught Hippocrates medicine.

People

Transport

In popular culture

Gallery

  • Ancient Agora
    Ancient Agora
  • Mosaic depicting Asclepius and Hippocrates (3rd century), Archaeological Museum of Kos
    Mosaic depicting Asclepius and Hippocrates (3rd century), Archaeological Museum of Kos
  • Town hall
    Town hall
  • St Paraskevi church, Kos town
    St Paraskevi church, Kos town
  • Street of Kos town
    Street of Kos town

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
  3. ^ Liddell et al., A Greek–English Lexicon, s.v.
  4. ^ Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War. Vol. 8.41.
  5. ^ Pliny cites Staphylus of Naucratis for this name in the Natural History 5:36 Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, but Peck apparently misinterprets Staphylus as a name of Kos
  6. ^ "Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Cos". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  7. ^ Sonnini, Charles Sigisbert (1801). Travels in Greece and Turkey: Undertaken by Order of Louis XVI, and with the Authority of the Ottoman Court. T. N. Longman & O. Rees. p. 212.
  8. ^ a b c d "İSTANKÖY". TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  9. ^ A handbook for travellers in Greece; describing The Ionian Islands; Continental Greece, Athens, and The Peloponnesus; The Islands of The Aegean Sea; Albania; Thessaly; and Macedonia: With a map of Greece, plans, and views. John Murray. 1872. p. 364.
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  12. ^ Administrator. "Kos Island Today". www.kosisland.gr. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  13. ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  14. ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  15. ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  16. ^ "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2015.
  17. ^ "Kos weather". Met Office. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Cos". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 27 September 2020. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) "Etymology: The name (Greek Κῶς) of an island in the Ægean." "In full cos lettuce. A variety of lettuce introduced from the island of Cos."
  19. ^ Rupp, Rebecca (13 August 2015). "From Ancient Egypt to Outer Space, the Delicious History of Lettuce". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019.
  20. Eurypylus
    , and the Calydnae isles", under the leaders Phidippos and Antiphos, "sons of the Thessalian king". It is unclear whether Homer is describing cultural affiliations of his own time or remembered traditions of Mycenaean times.
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  23. ^ "Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals, BOOK XII, chapter 61". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
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  25. ^ The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (eds. Richard Stillwell, et al.), s.v. "Kos".
  26. Clarendon Press. p. 419
    .
  27. ^ A Treatise on the Origin, Progressive Improvement, and Present State of the Silk Manufacture at Google Books
  28. ^ Introduction to the New Testament, p. 83, at Google Books
  29. ^ Sartre 2006, pp. 55–56.
  30. ISBN 22-51-62021-4; cf. the review by Otta Wenskus (on JSTOR)
    .
  31. ISSN 0026-7074
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  32. S2CID 161506640
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  34. ^ Sartre 2006, pp. 274–275.
  35. ^ Sartre 2006, pp. 267–269.
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  37. ^ Scafuro 2021, p. 251.
  38. ^ Scafuro 2021.
  39. ^ Greek text at: "IG XII,4 1:132 – PHI Greek Inscriptions". PHI Greek Inscriptions. Retrieved 26 January 2023.; English translation at: Gray, B. D. "Inscription 87: Telos and Kos". Attalus.org. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
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  42. ^ "Ant." xiv. 7, § 2
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Sources

External links

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