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Sifnos
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<h2 id="geography">Geography</h2> <p>Sifnos lies in the Cyclades between <a href="/facts/Serifos/SwDolfw1">Serifos</a> and <a href="/facts/Milos/AY0u0GCz">Milos</a>, west of <a href="/facts/Delos/xqnbmuCT">Delos</a> and <a href="/facts/Paros/6joXaIdN">Paros</a>, about 130 km (81 mi) (80 <a href="/facts/Nautical_miles/V4yJzvKw">nautical miles</a>) from <a href="/facts/Piraeus/VzkzdTHc">Piraeus</a> (<a href="/facts/Athens/mBxlp8X1">Athens</a>' port). The municipality has an area of 73.942 square kilometres (28.549 sq mi)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> and is 15 km (9 mi) long and 7.5 km (4.7 mi) wide. It has a shoreline of 70 km (43 mi), with a permanent population of 2,625. The island is served by the ferries which run on the Piraeus – Kythnos – Serifos – Sifnos – Milos – Kimolos line and via Naxos. There are also infrequent sailings to other islands in the Cyclades. </p><p>To the south of the island, about 350 meters from the coast there is an uninhabited island, Kitriani. </p> <h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>Sifnos was inhabited by human beings from at least 4000 BCE.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> Archeological evidence indicates the island was within the mainstream of Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age <a href="/facts/Cycladic_civilization/LULBxSUz">Cycladic civilization</a>. The island was very wealthy in ancient times, thanks to its gold, silver, and lead, which were being mined there as early as the 3rd millennium BCE.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> Proof of this is <a href="/facts/Siphnian_Treasury/zgs657zj">the treasury</a> which the Siphnians built at <a href="/facts/Delphi/IsyNrtAj">Delphi</a> in the 6th century BCE to house their offerings. According to <a href="/facts/Pausanias_(geographer)/3jMP2VVl">Pausanias</a>, these mines were obliterated by floods in ancient times, a disaster which some attributed to the people of the island suspending their tribute out of greed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> Modern scholars suggest that some of the mines flooded because they had eventually been dug to a depth below sea level,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> while the majority of them, situated far from the sea, were probably exhausted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> Remains of ancient mines, some dating back to prehistoric times, are still to be seen on the island, most notably at Ay. Sostis, and remains of ancient fortifications, dating from the third millennium to the sixth century BCE, have been found at Ay. Andreas, Ay. Nikitas, and Kastro.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> Another indication of Sifnos's wealth is the fact that it was one of the first places in Greece to mint coins, beginning around 600 BCE, although the number minted does not seem to have been great, and the island of Aegina, which used Siphnian silver, seems to have developed a much greater export capacity in this form of the metal.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>During the extensive Greek migrations which occurred beginning perhaps as early as the 12th century BCE, Sifnos was mostly populated by Ionian Greeks from Athens. The island appears only rarely in the subsequent ancient history of Greece. In the sixth century BCE it was invaded by pirates from <a href="/facts/Samos/bBJufQRK">Samos</a>. In the fifth century BCE, Sifnos was an official member of the Greek defensive alliance formed to fight the <a href="/facts/Persian_Wars/avlfmxyh">Persian Wars</a>. In the next century the island was briefly taken over by the <a href="/facts/Persia/24yukge8">Persians</a> but liberated by a fleet sent by <a href="/facts/Alexander_the_Great/8N3gLElj">Alexander the Great</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> The verb "to play the Siphnian"<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> appears in a fragment of <a href="/facts/Aristophanes/xbpAcg6F">Aristophanes</a>, and is explained in the <i><a href="/facts/Suda/qXBhyANI">Suda</a></i> alongside "to <a href="/facts/Lesbos/oQ5x2FMC">Lesbianize</a>" as a reference to transgression.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p><p>Little is known of Sifnos during the Roman and <a href="/facts/Byzantine/njEELXWF">Byzantine</a> eras, though three Roman <a href="/facts/Sarcophagi/7gt0eaA9">sarcophagi</a> remaining in the streets of Kastro and a collection of 80 Byzantine coins in the museum there testify to substantial continued population during those times. In the early 14th century Sifnos came under the power of the Italian or Spanish <a href="/facts/Knights_Hospitaller/Xjkj29TT">Hospitaller</a> <a href="/facts/Januli_I_da_Corogna/HY0QtpvQ">Januli I da Corogna</a>, who proclaimed the island independent from the <a href="/facts/Sanudo_dynasty/LsrHN7jn">Sanudo dynasty</a> which then ruled most of the Cyclades area. The Corognas ruled Sifnos for over a hundred years; around 1440 as a result of a dynastic marriage power over the island passed to a <a href="/facts/Bologna/glE9rlrW">Bolognese</a> family, the <a href="/facts/Gozzadini/5BrnyGfB">Gozzadini</a>, who ruled until 1617, the last of these rulers being Nikolas. Though both these dynasties became thoroughly Hellenized, they retained their Roman Catholic form of religion, and during the 1800s the Sifniotes continued to take pride in their Latin ancestry.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p><p>Little is also known of Sifnos during the Ottoman rule from 1617. It seems likely that, as in most of the Cyclades, Ottoman rule on Sifnos was fairly loose, consisting mainly of the collection of taxes, with the islanders largely administering their own affairs. By the early 17th century Sifnos was a significant commercial center, and from 1821 the island played an important role in the <a href="/facts/Greek_War_of_Independence/bIXHUpJ7">Greek War of Independence</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p><p>Notable figures from Sifnos in modern times include the educator and revolutionary leader Nikolaos Chrysogelos (1780–1858), who served as Greece's Minister of Education, and the chef <a href="/facts/Nikolaos_Tselementes/JSTwQYP5">Nikolaos Tselementes</a> (1878–1958), who wrote a classic cookery book still used in Greece today.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> </p><p>The island's rich clay veins, sunny weather and temperature have made Sifnos a capital of pottery in the <a href="/facts/Aegean_Sea/Vx4Gg5CT">Aegean</a>, with unique jars and pots that are a "trademark" of the island. They are typical of the Sifnian everyday life, such as ashtrays, cooking and food vessels, "masteles", "foufoudes" (kind of chimneys) etc. Locally, 'Sifnios' was a variant word for potter. The oldest potteries were found in central regions such as Artemon and Ano Petali to avoid pirate attacks. </p> <h2 id="beaches">Beaches</h2> <p>The most famous ones are: </p> <ul><li>Cherónnisos (Χερόννησος)</li> <li>Pouláti (Πουλάτη)</li> <li>Fáros (Φάρος)</li> <li>Platís Gialós (Πλατύς Γιαλός)</li> <li>Vathí (Βαθύ)</li> <li>Apokoftó (Αποκοφτό)</li> <li>Vroulídia (Βρουλίδια)</li> <li>Fykiáda (Φυκιάδα)</li> <li>Chrysopigí (Χρυσοπηγή)</li> <li>Kamáres (Καμάρες)</li></ul> <h2 id="churches">Churches</h2> <p>There are 360 churches in the island of Sifnos, as per the days of the year, more than any other island in Cyclades. It is no coincidence, the large number of festivals held on the island almost every month. Many churches and monasteries of the island are historical sites with great religious and architectural interest. The most important one is the monastery of Panagia Chryssopigi. One of the most "popular" churches of the island, is one of the Seven Martyrs, where many couples choose to get married. Still, Panagia Poulati is renowned both for its beauty and the landscape that surrounds it. </p> <h2 id="religious-festivals-panigiria">Religious festivals (Panigiria)</h2> <p>Several religious festivals are held during the summer. </p> <ul><li>In July <ul><li>St. Marina in Flabouro in the evening of the 17th</li> <li>Prophet Helias (2 events both in the evening of the 19th: on the top of the tallest mountain-also known as Prophet Helias the tall and in Troullaki respectively)</li></ul></li> <li>In August <ul><li>Holy Virgin (Panagia) on the 15th. There are many events on the following days. <ul><li>Panagia tou Nigiou, in the evening of the 16th</li> <li>Panagia Platanissa, in the evening of the 16th</li> <li>Panagia to Toso Nero, in the evening of the 17th</li></ul></li> <li>St.Symeon in the evening of the 31st</li></ul></li></ul> <p><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="cuisine">Cuisine</h2> <p>Local dishes: </p> <ul><li>Mastelo: goat or lamb marinated in red wine and <a href="/facts/Dill/r8oX6q9h">dill</a>, cooked in special clay pot – called mastelo – in a wood fired oven. Traditionally served on <a href="/facts/Holy_Saturday/E87ugXRR">Holy Saturday</a> evening, during Orthodox Easter.</li> <li>Revithada: <a href="/facts/Chickpea/gRKRpqWp">chickpea</a> soup cooked overnight in a wood-fired oven, in clay cooking pots called skepastaria. Traditionally served after Sunday church services.</li> <li>Manoura Sifnou: local cheese</li></ul> <h2 id="historical-population">Historical population</h2> <table><tbody><tr><th>Year</th><th>Population</th></tr><tr><td>1951<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a></td><td>2,773</td></tr><tr><td>1981<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a></td><td>2,856</td></tr><tr><td>2001<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a></td><td>2,574</td></tr><tr><td>2011<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a></td><td>2,625</td></tr><tr><td>2021<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a></td><td>2,777</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="subdivisions">Subdivisions</h2> <p>The municipality Sifnos is subdivided into the following districts and villages: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Apollonia_(Sifnos)/ReU3MSXg">Apollonia</a> (Apollonia, <a href="/facts/Vathy_(Sifnos)/NSW6tK6S">Vathy</a>, <a href="/facts/Kamares%2c_Sifnos/eYlyYc5V">Kamares</a>, <a href="/facts/Kastro_(Sifnos)/80jGbD1n">Kastro</a>, Kato Petali, Platys Gialos, Faros, Chrysopigi)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Artemonas_(Sifnos)/g7SchHYC">Artemonas</a> (Artemonas, Agia Marina, Troulaki, Cherronisos)</li></ul> <h2 id="people">People</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Patriarch_Gregory_VII_of_Constantinople/obrsC4Eu">Patriarch Gregory VII of Constantinople</a> (1850–1924)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Patriarch_Hierotheus_II_of_Alexandria/fWrRRE1n">Patriarch Hierotheus II of Alexandria</a> (?-1858)</li> <li>Aristomenis Provelengios [el; de; ru] (1850–1936), poet and politician</li> <li><a href="/facts/Nikolaos_Tselementes/JSTwQYP5">Nikolaos Tselementes</a> (1878–1958), chef</li> <li><a href="/facts/Nikos_Chrysogelos/M9UU8Evb">Nikos Chrysogelos</a> (born 1959), politician</li></ul> <h2 id="gallery">Gallery</h2> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Communities_of_the_Cyclades/PmfyFdkQ">Communities of the Cyclades</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sifnos. <ul><li> Sifnos travel guide from Wikivoyage</li> <li><a href="http://www.sifnos.gr/dimos/">Municipality of Sifnos (in Greek)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>The spelling Siphnos is obsolete in English but still by convention often used to refer to the island in ancient times. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Barber, Robin, Blue Guide Greece. 6th ed., London, A & C Black, 1995, p. 665 <a href="/w/index.php?title=Barber,_Robin&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank">/w/index.php?title=Barber,_Robin&action=edit&redlink=1</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. <a href="http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf" target="_blank">http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Maranti, Anna Siphnos: The Brilliance of Apollo. Athens, Toubis, 2002, p. 18 <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Fitton, J. Lesley, Cycladic Art, London, British Museum, 1989, p. 13, 57. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Herodotus III.57 <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Pausanias X.11 <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Bury, J. D. and Meiggs, Russell, A History of Greece to the Death of Alexander the Great. 4th ed., New York, St. Martin's Press, 1978, p. 135 <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Some Aspects of Lead and Silver Mining in the Aegean Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, VII <a href="http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/geology/someaspectsofleadandsilverminingintheaegean" target="_blank">http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/geology/someaspectsofleadandsilverminingintheaegean</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Barber pp. 665-666. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Maranti p. 20. <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Hammond, N. G. L., A History of Greece to 322 bc, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1967, pp. 82, 88, 199, 226, 608. <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Liddell, Henry George; Robert Scott (1940). "A Greek–English Lexicon: σιφνιάζω". Oxford University Press (via Perseus Project). Retrieved 17 July 2012. <a href="/wiki/Henry_Liddell" target="_blank">/wiki/Henry_Liddell</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Suda On Line: Σιφνιάζειν". The Stoa Consortium. Retrieved 17 July 2012. <a href="http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?login=guest&enlogin=guest&db=REAL&field=adlerhw_gr&searchstr=sigma,510" target="_blank">http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?login=guest&enlogin=guest&db=REAL&field=adlerhw_gr&searchstr=sigma,510</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Henderson, Jeffrey (1975). The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy. Yale University Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-300-01786-1. <a href="978-0-300-01786-1" target="_blank">978-0-300-01786-1</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Bent, J. Theodore (1885). The Cyclades :or, life among the insular Greeks. London. p. 28. hdl:2027/mdp.39015028327800. <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015028327800" target="_blank">http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015028327800</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Hetherington, Paul, The Greek Islands: Guide to the Byzantine and Medieval Buildings and their Art. London, Quiller, 2001, pp. 301-302 <a href="/wiki/Hetherington,_Paul" target="_blank">/wiki/Hetherington,_Paul</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Maranti pp. 27-28 <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Maranti p. 34, 42. <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Sifnos2day.gr Archived 2016-10-29 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://sifnos2day.gr/index.php/en/" target="_blank">http://sifnos2day.gr/index.php/en/</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>"Detailed census results 1951" (PDF). (in Greek and English) <a href="http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00031.pdf" target="_blank">http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00031.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>"Detailed census results 1981" (PDF). (in Greek and English) <a href="http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00079.pdf" target="_blank">http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00079.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>"Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. <a href="http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf" target="_blank">http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>"Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. <a href="http://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/1210503/resident_population_census2011rev.xls" target="_blank">http://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/1210503/resident_population_census2011rev.xls</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>"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. <a href="https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/17286366/MON_PLI_DHM_OIKISN_2021.xlsx" target="_blank">https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/17286366/MON_PLI_DHM_OIKISN_2021.xlsx</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>