[BACK TO KASTELLORIZO]

Kastellorizo

In ancient times, the island was called Megiste, possibly after the person called Meges whom Homer mentioned in the Catalogue of Ships, or the theory that is more likely, because it is the largest (Megiste) of the surrounding islets. None of the sources link Meges with Kastellorizo. It has been argued by some that the Byzantine name of the island is a corruption of the borrowed name Castello Rosso.

At Vigla, there are the remains of the Cyclopean wall built in the Mycenaean era.

A sarcophagus found on the plateau of Agios Georgios in 1913 yielded a gold wreath, with vine-leaves and grapes, a work of highest artistic value which is now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. According to N. Kyparissis, Inspector of Antiquities, who identified 22 looted tombs at the point where the wreath was found, it cannot date from earlier than the fourth century BC.

On the tiny island of Ro, which belongs to the Kastellorizo group, a tiled tomb of the eleventh century was found, together with other objects of the fourth century AD.

At that time, Megiste was one of the demes of Peraea. It issued its own coins, which bore the head of Bacchus, crowned with ivy, on one side, and the word 'Megisteon'- of the people of Megiste' on the other. However, the coins were actually minted on Rhodes, which is indicative of the dependence on that island confirmed by our knowledge that Peraea passed, little by little, into the sovereignty of Rhodes.

In 1306, the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, under their Grand Master Foulques de Villaret, captured Castellorizo. The Knights used the island as a place of exile and punishment for those of their number who had committed various offences in 1440, the island was captured by Jelal-el-Din, who was cruising the Aegean in command of a fleet of 18 Egyptian galleys and auxiliary vessels. Kastellorizo was laid waste by this raid, and its inhabitants (of whom we know there where 65 families in 1396) borne off as captives into the East. It would seem, too, that the castle of Ai Nikolas, which had in the meantime been repaired by D’ Heredia, was wrecked again at this time. The Pope himself showed an interest in its rebuilding.

The geographical position of Kastellorizo gives its strategic importance and makes it a constant bone of contention. A series of changes of ownership now followed: in 1461, the Catalan company took Castellorizo. In 1470, it passed to the King of Naples. In 1480, fear of an imminent Turkish invasion caused all the inhabitants to leave, and so the Turks were able to capture the town and the castle without opposition. In 1498, the King of Naples won the island back. In 1512, the Spanish flag was hoisted over it, and in 1522, when the Turks captured Rhodes, Kastellorizo sent men to its defense, and it remained in Christian hands.

In 1570, the next masters, the Venetians arrived. It was off Castellorizo, after the fall of Nikosia to the Turks, that a grand summit meeting of the Christian leaders was held. It was ultimately decided that the plan to recapture Nikosia should be abandoned, since the meantime the Turks had already laid siege to Famagusta. In 1635 they took Kastellorizo too, and held it until 1659, when the Venetians recaptured it, devastating the castle in the process.

During this period, the Kastellorizans turned to sea, to make a living. They learned the art of navigation, became captains and ship owners, and made their presence felt on the waves. Their activities in the moving of goods made them prosperous, too. Shortly before the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, the islanders owned more than 30 vessels with a total capacity of 3,600 tons and 60 cannon. The crews of these ships numbered 450 men.

The Turks did not occupy the island continuously, and even when it was in Turkish hands it enjoyed, naturally enough, all the privileges and the self-government that applied elsewhere in the Dodecanese. The islanders paid their annual maktun (poll tax), and reaped all the benefits.

In 1659, Morosini, the legendary Generale of Venice, who had all Greece and the islands talking of his exploits, reached Kastellorizo - another indication of the strategic importance of the island. His report to the Serene Republic of Venice has survived, and it contains many fascinating details about his capture of Castellorizo. The Turkish defenders of the island, having received no help from Rhodes whatever, and running out of supplies, were forced to raise the white flag and surrender. Morosini took 146 prisoners, 115 Turks and 31 Greeks, all of whom entered the services of the Venetian fleet.
 

<click to go back>