Best Cyclades Islands

Best Cyclades islands sit in the southern Aegean Sea. Small-group trips with a host or a skipper take place across this island group. This page covers Naxos and its Chora, Paros, Santorini, Mykonos, Milos, Syros, Tinos with Exomvourgo, and Amorgos. Smaller islands follow, among them Kea, Ios, Serifos, Kimolos, Koufonisia and Anafi. Naxos tours and Milos tours have their own pages, as do Greece island hopping tours. For trips beyond the Cyclades, see Greece tours.

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Which are the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands belong to an archipelago of about 2,200 islands, islets and rocks. People live on just 33 of those islands. An archipelago is a wide cluster of islands in one sea. Islets are the smallest of these islands.

Naxos is the largest island among the best Cyclades islands. The whole group sits at the crossroads of Europe, Asia Minor and the Near East. Asia Minor names the land that forms Asian Turkey today. In antiquity, the islands served as stopovers for ships. Sailors of that age tried never to lose sight of land.

The islet of Saliagos lies between Paros and Antiparos. It counts among the oldest inhabited places in the Cyclades. Much later, Western feudal lords carved the islands into fiefs. A fief was land held in return for loyalty to a lord. The Duchy of Naxos carried the greatest weight of all.

Cycladic marble idols travelled far from the best Cyclades islands. An idol here means a small carved human figure. Finds of these idols reach as far as Portugal and the mouth of the Danube. The islands also had a new zenith, or high point, in the Archaic period. That period ran from the 8th to the 6th century BC.

• Tin bronze: The oldest bronze holding tin in the islands came to light at Kastri on Tinos.
• Trade: In the Cycladic civilisation, the islands sent out more goods than they brought in.
• Pumice: Pumice from Santorini, a light volcanic stone, gave worked marble a flawless finish.

On the best Cyclades islands, culture once split along a north-south line. A northern group around Kea and Syros leaned toward the Northeast Aegean. The southern islands seem to have stood closer to the Cretan civilisation. Cretan means of Crete, the large island to the south.

What does the Duchy era add to Naxos among the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands have no member more fertile than Naxos. Naxos also enjoys a good store of water, although the wider region lacks it. Fertile land is soil in which crops grow well and yield large harvests.

Homer called Naxos by the name Dia, meaning the sacred island of the Goddess. Homer was an ancient Greek poet of epic tales. In Byzantine times, the capital of this island among the best Cyclades islands stood at Apalyres. Apalyres was a fortress in the south of Naxos. Byzantine names the eastern Roman state.

Marco Sanudo, a Venetian, conquered Naxos and other Cyclades between 1205 and 1207. Only Naxos put up any opposition to him. A group of Genoese pirates held its castle at the time. Genoese means from Genoa, a port city in Italy. Sanudo burnt his galleys, or oared warships, and told his men to conquer or die.

Sanudo’s dynasty, the Sanudi, gave Naxos a Western system of feudal law. Feudal law tied the holding of land to service for a lord. The code rested on the Assizes of Romania. Native Greeks on one of the best Cyclades islands kept Byzantine law for civil matters. They did so until at least the late 16th century.

• Dukes: Twenty-one dukes from two dynasties ruled the Archipelago until 1566.
• Old report: Around 1420, Buondelmonti claimed Naxos lacked enough men to wed its women.
• Water sports: Naxos has seven sports clubs for windsurfing, kitesurfing and other sea activities.

Naxos, one of the best Cyclades islands, grows vegetable and fruit crops and breeds cattle. Through this farming, no island in the Cyclades is more self-sufficient. Self-sufficient means able to supply its own needs without help from outside. Agriculture is therefore a key part of the local economy.

Which quarters and towers fill the Chora of Naxos, among the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands include Naxos, whose main town is called Chora. Its community counts 8,897 inhabitants at the 2021 census. Chora is the Greek word for a main town. A census counts every resident at one time.

In the Archaic era, Naxos was one of the earliest Greek centres of marble sculpture. The Archaic era is the age before Classical Greece. Marble sculpture is the craft of carving statues from marble, a hard, smooth stone. Naxian work from that era, carved on one of the best Cyclades islands, turns up across Greece.

Naxian ships once served in the Persian fleet, but they switched sides under their commander Democritus. They then fought against the Persians and helped the Greeks to victory in the battle. Later, Naxos was the first city to revolt from the Delian League, in 471 BC. The Delian League was a military alliance led by Athens.

Marco Sanudo moved the capital of Naxos from the interior back to the sea. The interior is the inland part of an island. The Kastro, the castle quarter of this town on the best Cyclades islands, has two gates. The main gate, Trani Porta, means Great Gate, and Paraporti means side gate.

• Last tower: The Crispi tower, also called the Glezos tower, is the only castle tower still standing.
• Nio Chorio: Nio Chorio was the district of the town where mainly poor peasants lived.
• Bourgos: The maze of lanes in Bourgos was built partly to confuse intruders, above all pirates.

On the best Cyclades islands, remains of the Sanudo tower stand in the castle square of Naxos. Its height is thought to have passed 30 metres. Remains are the surviving pieces of a structure whose rest has gone.

Which ancient events tie Paros to the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands include Paros, which took the Persian side in 490 BC. That year, in the first Greco-Persian War, it sent a trireme to Marathon. Its crew of rowers sat in three levels, which gives the trireme its name.

In return, the Athenian general Miltiades laid siege to the capital of Paros. He demanded a fine of 100 talents. A talent was a large ancient unit of weight for silver. Miltiades received his fatal wound at a temple of Demeter Thesmophoros on the island. Demeter was the Greek goddess of grain and harvest.

Ludwig Ross identified the site of that temple through an inscription. Inscriptions are words carved on stone or metal. Paros, one of the best Cyclades islands, seems to have modelled its constitution on the Athenian democracy. A boule, or senate, stood at the head of affairs. A constitution is the set of rules for running a state.

In 410 BC, the Athenian general Theramenes found an oligarchy ruling Paros. Oligarchy means power held by a narrow circle of rich men. He removed it and restored the democracy. The Ottoman Turks conquered this member of the best Cyclades islands in 1537. The Ottomans ruled a large empire from Constantinople.

• Kephalos villages: Prodromos, Marmara and Marpissa share one joint name, the villages of Kephalos.
• Quarry carving: A carved bas-relief at the entrance to one quarry honours Pan and the nymphs.
• Drios harbour: The Ottoman fleet anchored at Drios every year as it sailed across the Aegean.

The best Cyclades islands include Paros, whose famed marble quarries lie on the north side of one mountain. In ancient times that mountain was called Marathi, and later Capresso. A quarry is a pit or cutting that yields building stone.

How do caldera towns and old villages shape Santorini among the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands include Santorini, with a sheer inner caldera coast. At its highest, that coast drops more than 300 metres. The main towns sit on the crest above. A caldera is a large hollow formed when the centre of a volcano falls in.

Pirates threatened the best Cyclades islands in the 15th and 16th centuries, plundering their harvests. To plunder is to steal by force. Islanders on Santorini built their villages at the highest and least reachable points. The houses stood very close together, and the outer walls had no openings.

At Akrotiri, a Bronze Age town on one of the best Cyclades islands, pipes carried running water. Its water closets, early flushing toilets, are the oldest such fittings yet discovered. The pipes ran in twin systems. This shows that the Therans had both hot and cold water supplies. Therans were the people of Thera, the ancient name of Santorini.

A loom workshop at Akrotiri points to organised weaving of cloth for export. Weavers use a loom, a frame that holds threads tight. Export means sending goods to sell in other lands. After the Bronze Age collapse, Phoenicians seem to have founded a site on Thera. The Phoenicians were seafaring traders from the eastern Mediterranean coast.

• Tephra: White tephra, the rock and ash hurled out by the Minoan eruption, lies up to 60 metres thick.
• Later eruptions: Nine eruptions above the sea appear in the historical record, the latest ending in 1950.
• Sailor levy: In 1807, the islanders had to send 50 sailors to Mykonos for the Ottoman navy.

Among the best Cyclades islands, Santorini set up a union of local cooperatives in 1947. Its task was to process, export and promote island farm goods, above all wine. A cooperative belongs to its members, who run it together.

Which turns in history mark Mykonos among the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands include Mykonos, which Andrea Ghisi occupied in 1204. That year Constantinople fell in the Fourth Crusade. A crusade was a religious war launched by western European Christians. Constantinople, today Istanbul, served as the Byzantine capital.

Under Ottoman rule, the Kapudan Pasha, the admiral of the Ottoman fleet, oversaw Mykonos. Self-governance there rested on one governor and a body of appointed syndics. Syndics were local officials who managed the business of the whole community. Self-governance means that a community runs its own daily affairs.

Sailing and trade lifted the economy of Mykonos, one of the best Cyclades islands. It declined again in the late 19th century. The fall grew sharper after the Corinth Canal opened and the First World War began. Mykonians then moved away for jobs in mainland Greece and abroad, above all the United States.

In September 1944, the Greek Sacred Squadron carried out a commando raid against the German garrison. The raid destroyed ammunition and food stores and caused losses in the garrison. On 30 September 1944, Mykonos, one of the best Cyclades islands, was freed. A garrison is the force of soldiers posted to hold a place.

• Old museum: The Archaeological Museum of Mykonos ranks among the oldest museums in Greece.
• Famous vase: Its best-known piece is a large vase made on Tinos, showing the fall of Troy.
• Venetian icon: An icon, or holy painting, of the Virgin and Child came to Mykonos from Venice in 1715.

As a trading centre, Mykonos prospered until the 18th century ended. Wealth drew newcomers to Mykonos, one of the best Cyclades islands, from nearby islands. Pirates raided it as well. A trading centre is a town where merchants meet to buy and sell goods.

What do Plaka and Adamas show about Milos among the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands include Milos, where no cars can enter Plaka, the chief town. The spaces between its walls and buildings are too narrow for them. Plaka had a population of 902 in 2021. A chief town is the leading settlement of an island.

Inside Plaka, motorbikes, mopeds and similar machines are the only usable vehicles. A moped is a light motorbike with a small engine. Adamas, the harbour town, serves as the island’s hub for culture and trade. A harbour town grows up beside a port for ships. A hub is a central point of activity.

Adamas, on one of the best Cyclades islands, keeps a French cemetery from the Crimean War years. Its Holy Trinity church has stood for 600 years. The Trinity is the Christian doctrine that God is one yet threefold. Adamas also holds mining and maritime museums, the latter about seafaring.

Early seekers of obsidian came by boat to Milos, one of the best Cyclades islands. Obsidian is volcanic glass. They beached the boat in a suitable cove and cut pieces from the quarries. By the 6th century BC, the people of Milos had learned to write. Their script was an early Greek form, with traces from Crete and Thera.

• Two bishops: In the early 18th century, Milos had one Greek Orthodox and one Latin Catholic bishop.
• Ottoman officials: A Turkish judge, the kadi, and a Turkish governor, the voivode, ruled the island.
• Plant lore: A survey of Milos found local plants used as insect repellents and against the evil eye.

On the best Cyclades islands, Milos lost a large share of its people in the late 18th century. The reasons for that fall remain uncertain. Growth returned in the early 19th century. By 1821, the population had reached 5,000 people.

How did trade and industry raise Syros among the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands include Syros, which ranked as the leading commercial harbour in Greece until 1860. Ermoupoli, its port town, grew fast in that age. A commercial harbour is a port built for trade and the movement of goods.

From 1830, commerce in silk, fabrics, iron and leather expanded on this member of the best Cyclades islands. Ship building grew too, and a strong banking system took shape. Syros also had one of the earliest post offices in Greece. The island held the first public school and a commercial court of law.

In 1854, cholera and other epidemics brought mourning to Syros, one of the best Cyclades islands. Cholera is a gut infection spread by dirty water. Charitable bodies for public health and social care opened in this period. They included orphanages, poorhouses and a mental hospital. Orphanages took in children who had lost their parents.

The first industrial units on Syros appeared in the decade from 1860 to 1870. An industrial unit is a factory or workshop that makes goods on a large scale. The large port of Ermoupoli also turned the island into a centre for building and refitting ships. To refit a ship is to repair it and fit it out again.

• Faith: In the Latin period, under Venetian rule, the majority on Syros were Roman Catholics who kept Greek.
• Marble steps: The old town of Ano Syros is crossed on foot by a network of marble steps.
• Gyaros: Uninhabited Gyaros and other islets belong to the municipality of Syros as well.

On Syros, one of the best Cyclades islands, the cathedral of Saint George rises over Ano Syros. The church was built during the 13th century. In a cathedral stands the chair of a bishop. Ano Syros is the medieval settlement, and its name means Upper Syros.

Which old names and ports belong to Tinos among the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands include Tinos, whose main town is known locally as Chora. Chora is a common name for the chief settlement of a Cycladic island. Tinos town has served as the capital since the old fortress town on Exomvourgo was destroyed.

On Tinos, one of the best Cyclades islands, the current main town was once called San Nicolò. That Italian name means Saint Nicholas. Of the three ports on Tinos, one handles passenger speed boats. The other two take ferries and high-speed boats that carry passengers and cars. Ferries are ships built to carry people and vehicles across the water.

In ancient times, the Tenians formed part of the Delian League. Tenians were the people of Tinos. They appear among the subject allies of Athens at the time of the Sicilian expedition. Later, Alexander of Pherae held the island for a time, and Marcus Antonius granted it to the Rhodians.

The Ottomans held this island of the best Cyclades islands until 1821. In that year its people joined the Greek War of Independence. The turmoil of the period gave rise to more piracy in the region. Piracy is robbery by armed men at sea. The War of Independence was the Greek revolt against Ottoman rule.

• Heliport: A heliport stands near Aghios Fokas beach, about 2 kilometres from the town of Tinos.
• Flat ground: A relatively flat area at about 300 metres high is rare on the island.
• Airport plan: Meltemi winds and the worries of local villagers have all but halted a proposed airport.

Among the notable people of Tinos, one of the best Cyclades islands, is Kösem Sultan, born Anastasia. She became the wife of Sultan Ahmed I. She was the mother of the sultans Murad IV and Ibrahim I. The Ottoman state called its supreme ruler the sultan.

How did Exomvourgo serve Tinos, one of the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands include Tinos and its mountain of Exomvourgo. Under Byzantine rule, a fortress there served as the capital of the island. The Venetians later named it Castello di Santa Elena, after a chapel on the summit. Castello is the Italian word for castle.

Remains from the Copper Age have been found near Exomvourgo. The Copper Age is the early age when people first worked copper. A large wall from a town of the Ionians stands southwest of the mountain. It dates from 1100 BC. In the fourth century BC, the centre of government moved back to the coast.

In 1390, the Venetian Republic took direct control of the mountain and fortified it further. The Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa took this island of the best Cyclades islands in 1537. The Venetians won it back in 1538. The fortress then grew to 600 metres of defensive walls, with towers facing every way.

The town inside the castle, on one of the best Cyclades islands, held 677 houses and 5 churches. Between 1000 and 2000 people lived there. In 1570, 8,000 Ottoman soldiers with cannons besieged the mountain. The defenders drove the attack back. During a siege, attackers ring a place and cut it off.

• Thin garrison: By 1700, the fortress was in poor repair and held only 14 soldiers.
• Last siege: In 1715, a Turkish force of 65 warships and 25,000 soldiers besieged the fortress.
• Name: The name Exomvourgo comes from Greek words meaning outside the burg, a walled town.

The slopes of Exomvourgo, on one of the best Cyclades islands, hold a church. It is the church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The church now serves as a Catholic monastery. Monks live together in a monastery under shared rules.

What part did Amorgos and Katapola play among the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands include Amorgos, where Katapola is a small port village. The community of Katapola had 568 people at the 2021 census. A port village is a small settlement that grew up beside a harbour for boats.

Ormos Egialis, also called Aegiali, is the second port of Amorgos, one of the best Cyclades islands. Ormos is the Greek word for a bay. In ancient times, the three towns of the island stood on its west coast. That coast holds the bays and natural ports that seaside towns and forts needed.

Near one of the best Cyclades islands, the Battle of Amorgos was fought in the Lamian War. The Macedonian navy, under Cleitus the White, faced the Athenian navy under Euetion. The Lamian War was a revolt of Greek cities against Macedonia. The battle marked the end of Athenian thalassocracy, or rule of the sea, and of its political independence.

Cleitus commanded 240 ships and held a clear advantage in numbers over the Athenian fleet. A fleet means all the warships that sail under one commander. The Athenians were clearly beaten, yet their losses seem to have been light. They were even allowed to tow their wrecks back home. Keeping the wrecks was the usual mark of victory.

• False news: The sight of the fleet towing wrecks sent a false message of victory ahead to Athens.
• Knights: In 1312, the fleet of the Knights Hospitaller defeated a Menteshe fleet at Amorgos.
• Parian Marble: The Parian Marble, a chronicle cut in marble on Paros, records a battle near Amorgos.

On the best Cyclades islands, Amorgos holds remains of ancient civilisations. A civilisation is a settled society with its own crafts and customs. In the early Cycladic period, almost a dozen separate inhabited centres are known on Amorgos. A dozen means twelve.

What does Keros add to a trip around the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands story has an old chapter on Keros, known in antiquity as Keria or Kereia. Just off its west coast lies Daskalio, a tiny islet. Researchers believe it was a religious centre with shrines and votive offerings, or gifts to gods.

Daskalio held a building that was the largest of its period in the Cyclades. Inside it lay the Daskalio hoard. For visitors to the best Cyclades islands, a hoard is a stash of objects kept out of sight. This one held three tools of copper or bronze: a chisel, a shaft-hole axe and an axe-adze.

The offerings on Daskalio included statues broken on purpose. They also included 1,500 stone disks and 700 white pebbles, all brought from elsewhere. Builders terraced the islet with marble quarried on Naxos, which enhanced its pyramid-like shape. Water conduits in its lower levels formed a drainage system that ranks among the oldest in Europe.

Soil samples from the islet held barley, emmer wheat, figs, grapes, almonds and olives. The digs were the work of the Cambridge Keros Project. It joined the University of Cambridge, a Greek office for Cycladic antiquities and the Cyprus Institute. Researchers say the island has a natural pyramid shape, so it is not a true pyramid.

• Metal: The Keros-Syros culture, an early way of life on these islands, saw metal become widespread.
• Kea and Ios: On trips to the best Cyclades islands, Kea and Ios hold well preserved Keros-Syros sites.
• Studies: Specialists then studied the islet’s geology, metalwork, plant remains and animal bones.

Excavations show that remarkable monuments once covered almost all of Daskalio. Researchers say these remains place the islet high among Aegean sites of the Early Bronze Age. For travellers to the best Cyclades islands, the Bronze Age is when bronze tools spread.

How do the harbour and feasts of Koufonisia fit into the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands story reaches Koufonisia, where fishermen in caiques, small boats, form a typical scene. On Pano Koufonisi, a white windmill rises on the eastern side of its port. The island honours Saint George as its patron saint.

After the procession for Saint George, a traditional feast takes place in the village square. Every taverna, or Greek eating house, on the island takes part in it. At the feast of the fisherman, young people dance traditional dances to popular island songs. Fresh fish, snacks and drinks are offered.

Easter brings fireworks that fill the sky over Koufonisia. During the Good Friday procession of the epitaph, a decorated bier, events are held on the main beach. The name day of Agios Nikolaos is marked in a special way. On the best Cyclades islands, a name day honours the saint whose name a person bears.

The Venetians and the Turks fought over rule of the Aegean, chiefly in the 17th century. Residents of Koufonisia joined forces with people from Mani, or with other pirates. After the Second World War, a large number of residents moved to Athens to find work. A ship sailed to Heraclia every eight days.

• Sights: On visits to the best Cyclades islands, Koufonisia counts its ports, fishing shelter and windmills as sights.
• Churches: Agios Georgios, Agios Nikolaos and Profitis Ilias are three churches named among its sights.
• Doctor: In the post-war years, one doctor served the whole of the Lesser Cyclades.

Easter is kept in the traditional way on Koufonisia. The feasts are characteristic of the island and give it a traditional colour. At Christmas, the older residents sing the carols. For guests of the best Cyclades islands, carols are seasonal songs sung at Christmas.

Which story does Irakleia give the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands map places Irakleia, a small island, between Naxos and Ios. It had 148 inhabitants at the 2021 census. Its port is Agios Georgios. Its chora, or main village, sits on top of the island as Panagia.

Panagia means Madonna, a title of the Virgin Mary. The island has two settlements, and Panagia lies in its middle. The biggest caves in the Cyclades are found on Irakleia. People have lived on Irakleia since early antiquity. Across the best Cyclades islands, antiquity means the ancient Greek and Roman past.

Mysterious rock paintings on the island date from about 5,000 years ago. These paintings are named Bousoules, and they possibly served as orientation marks. On walks across the best Cyclades islands, an orientation mark is a sign that shows the way. At Livadi stand the ruins of a fortress built between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC.

In the mid-1890s, the French archaeologist Jules Delamarre found a broken inscription on Irakleia. In it, the ancient island polis, or city-state, decreed a ban on goats. Its people swore an oath at a formal meeting to keep goats off the island. Louis Robert, a French historian, dated the text to the early 3rd century BCE.

• Shrine: The inscription stood on display in a shrine to the Mother of the Gods.
• Later years: By the 20th century, the island stood largely empty of people.
• Goat island: Absentee landlords grazed goats there, and travellers came to know it as the goat island.

In modern times, Irakleia belonged to the Hozoviotissa Monastery on nearby Amorgos. In 2011, a reform placed Irakleia in the municipality that joins Naxos with the Lesser Cyclades. On the best Cyclades islands, a municipality runs local affairs such as roads, water and rubbish.

What do Livadi and the towers of Serifos show about the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands account of Serifos starts at Livadi, its largest settlement and main port. Livadi had 505 inhabitants in 2021. Its white, cube-shaped houses follow the traditional architecture of the Cyclades. The village sits at the southeastern edge of the island.

Livadi lies about 5 kilometres from Chora, the capital of Serifos. The island of Serifos spans 75.207 square kilometres and belongs to the Milos regional unit. It lies about 170 kilometres east-southeast of Piraeus, the port of Athens. In the best Cyclades islands, a regional unit is one level of local government.

Ionians from Athens colonised Serifos in ancient times. After 1204, the island became a minor holding of the Venetian dukes of the Archipelago. One tower, Psaros Pyrgos, is also called the Couch of the Cyclops. In Greek myth, a Cyclops was a giant with a single eye. At least four other ancient towers have been located on Serifos.

Above Ganema and Koutalas, the Castle of the Old Lady keeps scant dry-stone remains. Dry-stone work uses no mortar. Broken pottery and marble on terraces nearby suggest an ancient sanctuary there. The Monastery of the Taxiarchs is dedicated to the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. Across the best Cyclades islands, Taxiarchs is a Greek title for the archangels.

• Aspros Pyrgos: This marble watchtower keeps an interior staircase and stands near Mega Chorio.
• Study: Work began in 2011 to study its fallen blocks for a future rebuilding.
• Visitors: Theodore and Mabel Bent, two British travellers, reached Serifos in December 1883.

Serifos counts nine communities. Among them are Livadi Serifou, Mega Livadi, Koutalas, Sykamia, Kallitsos, Galani and Panagia. Mega Chorio and Chora complete the list. On the best Cyclades islands, the place name Livadi means meadow in Greek, a field of grass.

In a look at the best Cyclades islands, which villages does Kythnos hold?

The best Cyclades islands picture of Kythnos centres on Chora, the main village, also known as Messaria. Chora had 561 people in the 2011 census. In 1791 a Greek school opened there, housed in the monastery of Panagia of Nikous.

On the east side of Kythnos lies Kanala, a growing coastal settlement. It shares its name with a Christian Orthodox shrine there. Aghios Dimitrios, at the southern tip, is a mostly modern place of small holiday houses. In Loutra, the bathhouse beside the hot springs still works today.

Under the Turks, the island bore the name Hamam Antassi, or island of warm waters. In 1806 a pirate raid was repelled, yet groups of locals still left for Asia Minor. Part of that group later returned with customs from abroad. In histories of the best Cyclades islands, Asia Minor means the land that is now Turkey.

In the 19th century, the island lacked a deep-water mooring, which left it hard to reach. On the best Cyclades islands, a mooring is a spot where boats tie up. Pottery flourished, and Kythnian craftsmen worked in Athens each summer before returning for winter. A new mole, or harbour wall, built in 1974 brought great changes to Kythnos.

• Safe haven: During the 1821 Revolution, Kythnos sheltered Greek refugees from Chios, Psara and Aivali.
• Energy: Solar panels and batteries cut the diesel burned for island power by 11%.
• Museum: Chora’s old one-room primary school became home to the island’s archaeological museum in 2023.

Old names for Kythnos include Dryopis and Ofiousa. Local cooking includes poulos, a roll of bread stuffed with salted pork. At Carnival, the tsampouna, or kaida, is the typical instrument heard. On the best Cyclades islands, a tsampouna is a bagpipe made from goatskin.

What story do Vourkari and Korissia tell for the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands harbour story begins at Vourkari, a small village on Kea’s shore. It stands on Agios Nikolaos Bay, which is the largest and safest bay in the Cyclades. Vourkari had 109 residents at the 2021 census.

Vourkari faces the prehistoric settlement of Agia Irini on Kea. That settlement flourished in the Copper Era, the stage when copper tools came into use. An earthquake destroyed it at its height, around 1500 BC. On the best Cyclades islands, the name Agia Irini means Saint Irene in Greek.

The ancient town of Coressia was also known as Coressus and Arsinoe. Only a very small number of its remains survive on the heights west of the bay. Its harbour is large and commodious. On the best Cyclades islands, the old word commodious describes a roomy, handy harbour like this one.

Kea’s local communities include Otzias, Pisses, Koundouros, Kato Meria and Chavouna. In 1868 a passenger steamer struck the reef off Koundouros Bay. About 120 passengers were aboard, and no deaths were reported because land was close. A French ocean liner lies wrecked 800 metres from the island’s harbour, at a depth of 53 metres.

• Byzantine return: The Byzantines took Kea back from the Venetians under Licario in 1278.
• Plague: A plague outbreak in 1823 killed between 1600 and 2000 people on Kea.
• Population: Kea held around 4000 people in the 19th century, then declined until 1981.

The Greek historian Ioannis Psyllas put the population of Kea above 7000 in 1821. After 1981, the island’s numbers began to rise again under the influence of tourism. For the best Cyclades islands, a census means the national count of residents held every ten years.

How do Chora and the tale of Homer shape Ios for the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands story on Ios climbs a hillside footpath from the harbour to Chora. At the 2011 census, the island counted 2,084 people. Of those, 1,754 lived in Chora, the capital town of the island.

Ios has a total coastline of 86 kilometres. Its longest axis links Cape Karatza with the Achlades Peninsula. From prehistoric times, its safe natural harbour gave the island an important role on sea roads to Crete. Today an organised marina sits at the harbour. On the best Cyclades islands, a marina is where yachts tie up.

According to Pausanias, Homer asked the Pythia, the priestess at Delphi, about his origins. She told him that Ios, his mother’s home, was to accept him at his death. On Ios, children fishing on the coast set him a riddle about lice. Homer failed to solve it, then slipped on a muddy road and fell.

Count Pasch van Krienen uncovered three graves, and the third bore inscriptions about Homer. One line said that under the earth lay the sacred head of heroic Homer. He then noticed grammar mistakes on the gravestone and began to doubt it. On 25 January 1884, the alleged tomb drew Theodore and Mabel Bent.

• School: In 1827, local leaders asked the revolutionary government of Greece to open a school.
• Cheese: On the best Cyclades islands, Ios cheeses come mainly from the municipal creamery, using goat or sheep milk.
• Roads: Since the 1990s, European Community funds have paid for new paved roads on Ios.

Critheïs is named as the mother of Homer. Jean-Marie Drot, a writer and cinematographer, founded a museum on Ios. The first elementary school of Ios opened in 1936. On the best Cyclades islands, a cinematographer is the person who shoots a film.

For the best Cyclades islands, what does Sikinos hold in its port and hills?

The best Cyclades islands story on Sikinos has two villages. Allopronia, the port, sits on the southern shore. The chora, or main village, sits higher up in the hills. The beach at the harbour is one of two large sandy beaches there.

Sikinos has three paved roads. One was built to reach the heliport and the other sandy beach. There are also well-kept dirt roads. Much of the island is very hard to reach because of its terrain. On the best Cyclades islands, a heliport is a small landing place for helicopters.

Only a handful of terraces are farmed today, and the majority run on government subsidies. A subsidy is money a government pays to support a trade. Ancient ruins rest across the island, and a share of them lie in remote places. Remote means far from roads and villages.

In antiquity, the island held a town of the same name. Its first name, Oenoe, is said to come from the growing of vines. During the Greco-Persian Wars, Sikinos submitted to Xerxes I, the king of Persia. On the best Cyclades islands, the Greco-Persian Wars were fifth-century BC wars between Greek states and Persia.

• Temple site: The old temple stands in a hollow between the main mountain range and a summit.
• Tavernas: A handful of tavernas, or Greek eating houses, stand in the chora and harbour.
• Visitors: Theodore Bent and his wife reached the temple site in January 1884.

In 2022, the Cyclades office for antiquities, called the Ephorate, won the Europa Nostra Award. The prize honoured its work excavating and restoring the old temple monument. On the best Cyclades islands, Europa Nostra is a European body that rewards heritage work.

Which history and landmarks does Anafi give the best Cyclades islands?

The best Cyclades islands story on Anafi includes a rare name for Apollo. Island inscriptions call him asgelatos, a usage seen nowhere else. Certain scholars read it as a form of Aigletes, meaning radiant. Another scholar, Burkert, links the word to a Sumerian goddess of healing.

After 1204, Marco I Sanudo, Duke of Naxos, granted Anafi to Leonardo Foscolo. In the late 1270s, Licario and John de lo Cavo, an Anafi native, regained it for Byzantium. In 1307 the Dukes of Naxos made it a fief of Januli Gozzadini. On the best Cyclades islands, a fief was land held from a lord.

William Crispo later became regent of the Duchy of Naxos. He left Anafi under the control of his daughter Florence. After resettlement, the Ottoman fleet came once a year to collect tribute. In the War of Independence, the Anafiots sent men in two caiques, small boats, to join the struggle.

On top of Mount Kalamos, the Kalamiotissa church was largely rebuilt after an earthquake in the 1950s. After a storm in 1887, its icon moved to a church at the foot of the mountain. Locals call that church the Lower Monastery. On the best Cyclades islands, an icon is a painted religious image, made for prayer.

• Epithet: Kalamiotissa is a title for the Virgin found nowhere else in Greece.
• Minerals: An 1870 geological survey mentions calamine, a mineral used in galvanising metal.
• Embroidery: Anafi embroideries rest in the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

AJB Wace collected a large share of them and later donated them. From the 1920s onward, Anafi served as a place of internal exile for criminals and political dissidents. On the best Cyclades islands, internal exile meant forced residence far from home, inside Greece.

What do travellers ask about best Cyclades islands, and what are the answers?

A best Cyclades islands question reaches old island capitals too. On Kythnos, Kastro on the northern headland is thought to have been the capital from the 1st century. It stayed so through Byzantine times and into the Frankish era. Frankish means ruled by western crusader lords.

Before a trip to the best Cyclades islands, what is Donousa like?

Donousa is an island of the Lesser Cyclades, also written Denousa or Donoussa. Its people live chiefly in the main settlement, named Donousa like the island and also known as Stavros. Mersini lies on the south-eastern coast. Kalotaritissa sits near the northern coastline, and Charavgi lies in the south.

For the best Cyclades islands, how large is Rineia, and what was its ancient role?

Rineia spans 14 square kilometres. In antiquity, it belonged to the Delian League, which united Greek city-states under Athens. In the 6th century BC, Polycrates, who ruled Samos as tyrant, dedicated the island to the Delian Apollo. Greeks used the word tyrant for a ruler who took power outside the law.

On the best Cyclades islands, what else does the Skarkos site on Ios show?

The Skarkos town plan resembles the one at Poliochne on Lemnos, from the early 3rd millennium BC. Each first floor served as a living room and a store for pottery. At times it was a workshop. Digs there found tools, animal bones and seashells. A millennium covers a thousand years.

For the best Cyclades islands, what story surrounds Kastro on Kythnos?

A narrow track once led to Kastro, and a thick, high wall blocked it. Parts of that wall still stand, with walls marking hundreds of houses. A myth told by Theodore Bent says a young woman, seemingly in pain, begged at the gate. The watchman’s daughter opened it, and hidden Turks entered.

Featured photo: Apenauta at Italian Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.