Syros
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Ermoupoli
Ermoupoli, the "Queen of the Cyclades", stands on a naturally amphitheatrical
site, with neo-classical buildings, old mansions and white houses cascading down
to the harbour. The City Hall, where Miaoulis Square lies ringed with cafes and
with seating areas under palm trees, has a grandeur all of its own. The "City of
Hermes" has numerous magnificent churches, the most interesting of which are
Metamorphosis, Koimisis, St Demetrius, Three Hierarchs, Anastasis, Evangelistria
and St Nicolas. The Archaeological Museum has a collection of notable finds and
the Municipal Library contains numerous interesting and rare editions. The
quarter of the town known as Vaporia, where the sea captains lived, is of
special interest. Along its narrow streets stand numerous neo-classical
mansions.
Ano Syros
Ano Syros is the second town of the Island and was built by the Venetians at the
beginning of the 13th century on the hill of San Giorgio, north-west of
Hermoupolis. Ano Syros maintains its enchanting medieval atmosphere. Innumerable
steps between narrow streets and houses with coloured doors lead you to the top
of the town, which makes for some adventurous exploration.[1]
The medieval settlement of Ano Syros is not accessible by car, the town is
serviced mostly by marble steps. The distance from the harbour up to the main
entry point of the town is approximately 3500 metres. The Catholic basilica of
San Giorgio dominates Ano Syros. The church was constructed during the 13th
century. From here the visitor enjoys a panoramic view of the neighbouring
islands of Tinos, Delos, Mykonos, Paros and Naxos.
History
Ancient Times
During Roman times the capital of Syros was situated in the area of contemporary
Hermoupolis. At the end of ancient times, the barbaric raids and the plague of
piracy, which had scourged the Aegean for many centuries, led Syros to decline.
In the Byzantine years Syros constituted together with the rest of the Cycladic
islands, part of the Aegean Dominion. After the overthrow of the Byzantium by
the Venetian/Francs in 1204, Syros came under Venetian domination and was
included in the Ducat of the Aegean. Meanwhile amphitheatric Ano Syros was
inhabited. During the Latin period, the majority of the local community were
Roman Catholics, but maintained the Greek language. During the reign of almost
three and a half centuries of the Ducat of the Aegean, Syros had a singular
feudal regime.
Ottoman Times
In the middle of the 16th century, the Ottoman fleet occupied the island and the
Ducat fell apart. However, the negotiations of the local authorities with the
Ottoman Empire led to the offer of substantial privileges to the Cycladic
islands such as the reduction of taxation and religious freedom.
At the same time, following an agreement between France and the Vatican with the
Ottoman authorities, the Catholics of the island came under the protection of
France and Rome. A privilege that was maintained for centuries. After the second
half of the 17th century a period of economic recovery of the Aegean began,
which reached its height during the transition from the 18th to the 19th
century. The special regime of the islands allowed the development of local
self-government. The decline of piracy since the beginning of the 19th century
had as a result the gradual liberation of the sea routes of the Eastern
Mediterranean.
Due to its crucial geographical position Syros became known as a maritime
way-point. Moreover the special social, religious, and institutional conditions
prevailing on the island led the Syriots to neutrality at the beginning of the
Greek Revolution in 1821. As a result, Syros became a secure shelter during the
Revolution and attracted many Greek refugees from Asia Minor,
Chios,Spetses,psara,Aivali,Smyrna,Kydonia,Kassos and other places. The
newcomers, mainly mariners and tradesmen, gave a new dynamism to the island
which together with its demographic and economic development, was transformed
into an administrative and cultural centre.
In 1822-1865 Ermoupoli was rebuilt in a Neoclassical style, merging Greek
Classism with elements of the Renaissance. Many landmarks such as the City Hall
(designed by the famous German architect Ernst Ziller),the theatre Apollon by
the Italian architect Campo (a miniature version of La Scala di Milano), the
main Library, the General Hospital of Syros (Vardakeio-Proio), (www.vardakeio.gr),Miaoulis
square and more.
Most public buildings, Churches, Schools, stadium and many mansions were built
in the same elegant and neoclassical style, making Ermoupoli at the time, a very
modern city with a unique character. As a result Syros changed almost overnight
from a rather quiet island into a vigorous centre of crafts, industry and
production. Also, due to its large excellent port at Hermoupolis it became a
major centre for ship building and refitting. Neorion was the first shipyard of
Greece. To this very day (2005) it remains a place where many ships are serviced
and refitted.
There is a British Cemetery in Syros at Ermoupoli where various people are
buried including many seaman and servicemen who died in the Cyclades region,
particularly during the Second World War. Many Embassies and Consulates of
countries such as France, England, Italy, The Netherlands and the Scandinavian
Countries connect Syros with other European Capitals.
Because of the Venetian domination from the Middle Ages onwards, the islanders
were once exclusively Roman Catholic. However, due to immigration from other
islands, Catholics now constitute some 40% of the population. The great majority
of the population are Greek Orthodox. They live side by side very peacefully.
Intermarriage between denominations is very common in Syros.
The Pope's Island
The DIOCESE OF SYRA (SYRENSIS).("The Pope's Island") was a Latin diocese,
suffragan of Naxos, comprising the Island of Syros in the Aegean Sea. The island
has an area of about thirty-one square miles and 32,000 inhabitants today. It
was first called Syra, then Syros or Siros, and appears in ancient times to have
been inhabited by the Phoenicians. It was the country of the swineherd Eumaeus
who described it at length (Odyssey, XV, 403 sq.) and of the philosopher
Pherecydes, the teacher of Pythagoras. It possessed two leading cities, Syros
(now the modern Ermoupoli) and another city on the western coast where stands
to-day Maria della Grazia.
The largest villages are Galissas, Finikas, Vari, Mana, Kini and Posidonia. The
island played no role in antiquity nor in the Christian epoch, it was not even a
diocese at a time when even the smallest island possessed its bishop. Devastated
several times during the Middle Ages with the other Cyclades by the Sicilians,
Arabs, Turks, and Venetians, it was definitively conquered by these last in 1204
under the leadership of Marco Sanudo. They kept it until 1522 when the corsair
Barbarossa took possession of it for the Turks. During the Othoman Empire Syros
came under the protection of France and the Vatican. For that reason Syros was
named in history "THE POPE'S ISLAND". After 1821 it was annexed to the Hellenic
kingdom. The Venetians established there a Latin bishopric which was subject to
the Archbishopric of Athens until 1525, afterwards to that of Naxos. The list of
titulars may be found in Le Quien (Oriens christianus, III, 865-868) and in
Eubel (Hierarchia catholica medii aevi, I, 492; II, 267; III, 324). The most
celebrated among them is the Venerable John Andrew Carga, strangled by the Turks
in 1617 because he refused to become a Muslim and because he was helping the
Greek revolutionairies hiding on the Island (Pétridès in "Revue de l'Orient
chrétien", V, 407-422). From the occupation of the island by the Turks in the
sixteenth century, the Greeks established there a metropolitan: Joseph (Le Quien,
op. cit., II, 233) is the earliest known, with Symeon who died in 1594 (Ampelas,
"Histoire de Syros", 411) and Ignatius in 1596 (Miklosich and Mueller, "Acta
patriarchatus constantinopolitani", V, 461). The island became for the most part
Catholic (Ricaut, "Histoire de l'estat présent de l"Eglise grecque", 361;
Hilaire de Barenton, "La France Catholique en Orient", 171-173).
Greek Fight for Independence
Syros took no part in the Greek revolt of 1821 however was inundated with
refugees from Chios, Spetses, Psara, Aivali, Smyrna, Kydonia, Kassos, Asia Minor
and other parts of Greece. They flocked to the Island and founded the town of
Ermoupoli, which rapidly became the leading port of Greece. Ermoupoli was
designed by well known European architects such as Ziller and Campo. Since 1870
the ports of Piraeus and Patras have taken greatly from its commercial
importance. The diocese numbers 9000 Catholics, 21 secular priests and 8
regulars, 7 parishes, 7 churches with a resident priest, 3 without a priest, and
56 chapels. The Capuchins and Jesuits have each an establishment; the Sisters of
Charity, 2 houses, one of which is a hospital; the Sisters of St Joseph of the
Apparition have a boarding school and St George, a De La Salle boys Public
School.
With the foundation of the Greek State the Catholic population of the island
were Hellenized and changed their Latin family names to Greek. The family name
Vuccino to Voutsinos, Russo to Roussos, Vacondio to Vakondios, Daleggio to
Dalezios, Freri to Freris just to mention a few. However, there was no problem
of integration between the old residents of Syros, mostly Roman Catholics and
the newly arrived refugees, mostly Greek Orthodox. The island returned to peace
and tranquility, Syros became known as a cross-roads in the Aegean and as an
international commercial center linking Western Europe and the Mediterranean sea
to the East. In 1822 began the construction of the first buildings and in 1824
the first Orthodox Church Metamorphosis and the largest Greek Sanatorium was
constructed.
Economy
Since 1830 the commerce of fabrics, silk, ship building, leather and iron
developed on Syros and at the same time a powerful banking system was created.
During 1831 Syros played a prominent role in the establishment of the new Greek
Constitution. Under Ioannis Kapodistrias (Giovanni Capo D'Istria) the first
President of the new state, the population of Hermoupolis had reached 13,805
residents and the city had evolved into a seat of Government. It had a
Commercial Court of Law, a Post Office (one of Greece's fisrt), insurance
brokerages, the first Public School, a branch of The National Bank, Art Gallery,
Museum, Library, a Social Club for the elite society etc. However, in 1854
cholera and a series of other epidemics unfortunately plunged Syros into
mourning. A number of charitable institutions for Public Health and Social
Services were established during this period: Orphanages, Poorhouses and a
mental hospital. The tremendous growth and development of Hermoupolis continued
and until 1860 Syros was the most important commercial harbour in Greece.
Together with commerce and ship building, construction and public works were
also developed. The renowned Greek Steamship Company was founded in 1856. The
European architects (mainly Germans and Italians) and also Greeks who
participated in the design and planning of Hermoupolis respected the classical
and ancient Greek architecture and harmonized it with the romanticism of the
West. Ermoupoli enjoys the greatest density in the neoclassical history of
architecture. The prosperity of Syros was connected with an important
development of social and cultural life. The evolutionary cycle was completed
with the creation of the first industrial units during the decade of 1860-1870.
Then followed a period of decline, as sailing gave way to steam, the importance
of the geographical situation of the island was reduced, and Piraeus harbor
finally took the predominant position in Greece.
Beginning at the end of the 19th century and for several decades a temporary
economic recovery took place, due to the development of the textile industry (“Foustanos-Karellas-Velissaropoulos
& Co”). The second world war dealt a serious blow to Syros, as in every economic
centre in Greece. However, already since the eighties, along with the
generalized economic recovery and the rise of the living standards in Greece,
elements of improvement appeared with tourism as its central axis. At the same
time the reopening of the Neorion shipyards, as well as a number of other
activities, indicate that Syros is on an upward trend. Ermoupoli today has 7
elementary schools, 4 Gymnasiums (high schools), 2 technical schools and the
Aegean University with a department of fine Arts and system design, with a
proposed future addition in Applied Arts and Visual Arts. The Syros airport, the
Aegean casino, the frequent passenger boat transportation system and all other
modern amenities are helping to attract many domestic and foreign tourists to
the island year round. Economic recovery is back once again to this modern and
cosmopolitan oasis, with two civilizations and two religions.
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