Top Historic Sights in Lemnos, Greece
Explore the historic highlights of Lemnos
Myrina Castle
There has been an ancient acropolis of Myrina since the 13th century BC. The medieval castle was first built by the Byzantines in the beginning of the 12th century. A lot of materials came from the acropolis which disappeared. Following the dissolution and division of the Byzantine Empire after the Fourth Crusade, Lemnos was apportioned to the Latin Empire, and given, in 1207, as a fief to the Venetian Navigajoso family ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Lemnos, Greece
Temple of Artemis
The temple of Artemis consists of vaulted structures and the main temple with the altar located in its center. Archaeologists have excavated various figurines of bulls and other interesting findings, which prove the worship of the goddess Artemis in Myrina. The sanctuary, which was revealed during the construction of the Hotel Porto Myrina, is located on the premises of the hotel and is open to the public.
Founded: 500 BCE |
Location:
Lemnos, Greece
East Mudros Military Cemetery
Because of its position, the island of Lemnos played an important part in the campaigns against Turkey during the First World War. It was occupied by a force of marines on 23 February 1915 in preparation for the military attack on Gallipoli, and Mudros became a considerable Allied camp. The 1st and 3rd Canadian Stationary Hospitals, the 3rd Australian General Hospital and other medical units were stationed on both sides o ...
Founded: 1915 |
Location:
Lemnos, Greece
Hephaestia
Hephaestia was a town of Ancient Greece, now an archeological site on the northern shore of Lemnos. It was named in the honor of Hephaistos, Greek god of metallurgy, whose cult was maintained on the island. It was once the capital of the island (8th to 6th centuries BCE), of which only the ruins remain. The Greek theater dates from between the late 5th and early 4th century BCE. It underwent reconstruction from 2000 to 2 ...
Founded: 8th century BCE |
Location:
Lemnos, Greece
Choros Kaveiriou
The ancient temple of Kavirio on Lemnos is situated 3 kilometers from the archaeological site of Ifestia, just opposite to Tigani Bay. It is an ancient sanctuary dedicated to the two gods Kaviri, mythical gods of northern Aegean with mystic ceremonies. The sanctuary of Kavirio, which was assumed to have been built around the 6th or 7th century BC, is older than the one in Samothraki, where this particular god was also wo ...
Founded: 7th century BCE |
Location:
Lemnos, Greece
Panagia Kakaviotissa
The church of Panagia Kakaviotissa has been named one of Greece’s most unique and beautiful churches. It is located close to the village of Thanos, 4 km southeast of Myrina. The chapel is located inside a rock cavity on the top of Kakavos Mountain at an altitude of 260 meters. It was founded in 1416 by some monks who managed to escape the Turkish invasion in Agios Efstratios island. The church used to be a shelter for m ...
Founded: 1416 |
Location:
Lemnos, Greece
Poliochne
Poliochne, often cited under its modern name Poliochni, was an ancient settlement on the east coast of the island of Lemnos. It was settled in the Late Chalcolithic and earliest Aegean Bronze Age and is believed to be one of the most ancient towns in Europe, preceding Troy I. Anatolian features of the earliest layers were affected by cultural influences from Helladic Greece, about the start of Early Helladic II, ca. 2500 ...
Founded: 2500 BCE |
Location:
Lemnos, Greece
Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Photo from Flickr, copyright Mr Phil Price
Historic Site of the week
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre
Built around AD 90 to entertain the legionaries stationed at the fort of Caerleon (Isca), the impressive amphitheatre was the Roman equivalent of today’s multiplex cinema. Wooden benches provided seating for up to 6,000 spectators, who would gather to watch bloodthirsty displays featuring gladiatorial combat and exotic wild animals.
Long after the Romans left, the amphitheatre took on a new life in Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth, the somewhat imaginative 12th-century scholar, wrote in his History of the Kings of Britain that Arthur was crowned in Caerleon and that the ruined amphitheatre was actually the remains of King Arthur’s Round Table.
Today it is the most complete Roman amphitheatre in Britain.