The Dodecanese is a group of 15 larger and 96 smaller islands. The main islands of Dodecanese (from the biggest to the smallest) are Rhodes, Carpathos, Kos, Kalymnos, Astypalaia, Kasos, Tilos, Symi, Leros, Nisyros, Patmos, Chalki, Leipsoi, Kastellorizo.
Rhodes (or the butterfly island), the largest of the Dodecanese and the fourth largest Greek island (after Crete, Evia, and Lesbos), is a favorite port when visiting the southeast of Greece and a very good starting point for sailing holidays in the Dodecanese. The island is roughly diamond-shaped and a mountainous range runs from north to south with the highest peak Mt. Ataviros (1205 m), situated in the middle of the west coast.
Rhodes was first inhabited in the Neolithic era. A major milestone in the island’s history, which affected the fate of the other Dodecanese as well, was the founding in 700 BC of the Dorian Hexapolis, a union of its three cities with Knidos, Halikarnassos, and Kos. Its economy and culture continued to flourish until the 3rd century BC when it was the predominant power in the Aegean. When, a thousand years later in 1309, it fell into the hands of the Knights of St. John, it again became the center of power, symbolized by its magnificent medieval town and the imposing castle and palace of the Grand Masters.
The capital, also called Rhodes, occupies the northernmost tip of the island. There are actually three cities on this site – modern, ancient, and medieval. The modern town has a cosmopolitan character, with many late 20th century buildings, and hotels. The ancient town, which was founded in 408 BC according to plans by Hippodamos of Milesios (the first town planner), started from Monte Smith hill where the acropolis stood, and extended as far as what is now the medieval city. All that is left of it today are the ruins of the temples of Zeus, Athena Poliados, and Apollo, the Stadium, the Gymnasium, and the Theatre, which have been restored.
Karpathos is the second largest island of the Dodecanese Islands. Because of its remote location, Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs, and dialect, the last resembling those of Crete and Cyprus. Also, it is the mythological homeland of the Titan Iapetus and the birthplace of Proteus.
Kos has been well populated since Neolithic times. About 700 BC, together with the five other cities of Hexapolis (Knidos, Ialysos, Lindos, Halikarnassos, and Kamiros), Kos was an outpost of the Dorian League. The island was celebrated for the oldest cult site of the healing god Asklepios and for a medical school of which the most famous representative was Hippokrates (5th century BC).
Kos Port is located in a large shallow bay, the west side inside the harbor is for charter yachts only. The east side of the port boasts the Castle of the Knights (1450-80) with a road full of matching palm trees. Kos town is full of bougainvillea, jasmine, and exotic whiffs of the middle east.
Kalymnos is also known as Càlino in Italian and Kilimli or Kelemez in Turkish. It was inhabited originally by Carians, in Antiquity Kalymnos depended on Kos, and followed its history.
The island's Hellenistic Temple of Apollo was excavated by the British archaeologist Charles Newton in the nineteenth century; many of the finds he made, including important epigraphic inscriptions, are in the British Museum's collection. In the Middle Ages, it was under the influence of the Byzantine Empire, and during the 13th century, it was used by the Venetian Republic as a naval base. In 1310 it came under the control of the Knights of Rhodes.
Later (mainly in 1457 and 1460) it was often attacked by the Ottomans, who eventually conquered it in 1522. Unlike Rhodes and Kos, during the Ottoman period, there was no Turkish immigration to Kalymnos. On May 12, 1912, during the Italo-Turkish War, Kalymnos was occupied by Italian sailors of the Regia Marina. Italy took control of the island along with other islands of the Dodecanese (except Kastellorizo initially) until 1947, when the Dodecanese were finally united with mainland Greece, as part of the modern Greek state.
Kalymnos is known and billed as the "Sponge-divers' island". Sponge diving has long been a common occupation on Kalymnos and sponges were the main source of income for Kalymnians, bringing wealth to the island and making it famous throughout the Mediterranean.
Astypalea was believed to be named after Astypalaea, an ancient Greek mythological figure. The island is known in Italian as Stampalia and in Ottoman Turkish as İstanbulya. In Greek mythology, Astypalaia was a woman abducted by Poseidon in the form of a winged fish-tailed leopard. The island was colonized by Megara or possibly Epidaurus, and its governing system and buildings are known from numerous inscriptions. Pliny the Elder records that Rome accorded Astypalaia the status of a free state. It was assigned to the Aegean Roman province of Insulae.
During the Middle Ages, it belonged to the Byzantine Empire. It is presumed that it was conquered by the Latins in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in the early 13th century, but this is not documented. The island, known as Stampalia by the Latins, is mentioned for the first time in 1334, during a devastating raid by the Turkish ruler Umur of Aydin. It was only shortly before this raid that the Venetian nobleman Giovanni Querini had purchased the island, declared himself its lord, and built a castle and a palace there. The Querini held the island until 1522 and added the name of the island to their family name, which became Querini Stampalia.
Astypalaia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1522, and remained under Ottoman control until 1912, with two interruptions: from 1648 until 1668, during the Cretan War, it was occupied by Venice, and from 1821 to 1828 during the Greek War of Independence, when it was part of the provisional Greek republic. On April 12, 1912, during the Italo-Turkish War, a detachment of the Regia Marina landed on Astypalaia, which thus became the first island of the Dodecanese to be occupied by Italy. From there the Italians, on the night between the 3rd and 4 May, landed on Rhodes. The island remained under Italian governance until World War II. In 1947, through the Treaty of Paris, it became part of Greece along with the rest of the Dodecanese island group.
According to a legend in Greek mythology, the island's original name was "Letois", after the goddess and huntress of deer, Artemis, daughter of Leto. It was believed that Patmos came into existence thanks to her divine intervention.
The myth tells how Patmos existed as an island at the bottom of the sea. The myth tells how Patmos existed as an island at the bottom of the sea. Artemis frequently paid visits to Caria, the mainland across the shore from Patmos, where she had a shrine on Mount Latmos. There she met the moon goddess Selene, who cast her light on the ocean, revealing the sunken island of Patmos. Selene was always trying to get Artemis to bring the sunken island to the surface and hence to life. Selene finally convinced Artemis, who, in turn, gained her brother Apollo's help to persuade Zeus to allow the island to arise from the sea. Zeus agreed, and the island emerged from the water. The sun dried up the land and brought life to it. Gradually, inhabitants from the surrounding areas, including Mount Latmos, settled on the island and named it "Letois" in honor of Artemis.
In the Classical period, the Patmians prefer to identify themselves as Dorians descending from the families of Argos, Sparta, and Epidaurus, further mingling with people of Ionian ancestry. During the 3rd century BC, in the Hellenistic period, the settlement of Patmos acquired the form of an acropolis with an improved defense through a fortification wall and towers.
In 1912, in connection with the Italo-Turkish War, the Italians occupied all the islands of the Dodecanese (except Kastellorizo), including Patmos. The Italians remained there until 1943 when Nazi Germany took over the island. In 1945, the Germans left and the island of Patmos remained autonomous until 1948, when, together with the rest of the Dodecanese Islands, it joined independent Greece.
