The legendary beginnings of a contemporary myth
Mykonos ’ history is long , often turbulent and varied . With its tale of rags to riches ( and vice versa ), from ancient times to party times , the island of winds has always been at the epicenter of action .
Antiquity
Classical mythology connects Mykonos to Hercules . As the story goes , during the battle of the Titans , the legendary hero , who fights on the side of his father Zeus , succeeds in defeating the local Giants and imprisons them under the Mykonian rocky terrain .
The name of the island in this narrative indicates a “ stone pile ” or “ stony place ”. Likewise when ancient Strabo recounts the murder of the Giants , he – rather prophetically – writes “ all under a Mykonos ”, which loosely translates to “( we are ) all in the same boat ”. This description seems to fit today ’ s multicultural , cosmopolitan Mykonos like a glove .
According to a later tradition , the island is named after the hero Mykonos , son of Delos ’ king Anios , who is in turn the son of god Apollo and the nymph Rhoio , a descendant of Dionysos . Mykonos is initially colonized by Egyptians , Icarians , Phoenicians and Minoans , and then by the Ionians . In antiquity the island ’ s inhabitants who belong to the Delian League – Delos was the cradle of civilization at the time – extol the Dodecatheon deities , and especially Dionysos and his mother ( and Zeus ’ s tragic lover ) Semeli . To honor them , Mykonians perform ceremonial sacrifices of goats , boars and lambs , while their coins typically depict Dionysos and his head . This dominant worship of Dionysos and the presence of the ancestral gods in their currency is linked to the people ’ s mythological lineage .
Middle Ages
Later in history the island is conquered by the Romans and subsequently by the Byzantines . The later fortify Mykonos against the Arab raids of the 7th century and keep it under their dominion until the 12th century . After the fall of Constantinople , at the end of the 4th Crusade in 1204 , the island is occupied by Andrea and Jeremia Ghisi – relatives of Dandolo , Doge of Venice . In 1292 it is looted and pillaged by the Catalans , and , subsequently , in 1390 , handed over to the Venetians , by the last of the Ghisi dynasty . In 1537 , while still under Venetian rule , the island suffers a catastrophic blow by Barbarossa , the infamous pirate and Suleiman the Magnificent ’ s admiral .
Eventually , under the rule of Kapudan Pasha , head of the Ottoman fleet , the island becomes in effect self-governed . Its populace increases as immigrants flee from nearby islands and Crete at times of starvation and epidemics which often follow periods of conflict , until the late 18th century .
Mykonians are at the time considered accomplished sailors . They are also successful in trade and shipping , while piracy is another fruitful métier .
Many islanders are instrumental during the “ Orlof Insurrection ” ( 1770-74 ). This uprising ends favorably for them as well as for Catherine the Great , as they manage to secure profitable trade treaties between the Ottomans and the Russian Empire .
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