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History
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The history of Karpathos is a very fascinating one. There are few accounts in the writings of ancient historians; however this does not imply that there no civilizations on Karpathos in the ancient times. From historical references of Homer, Strabo, Ptolemy and other historians, it is believed that Karpathos may have been inhabited as early as 6000 B.C. during the Neolithic Age. During the Minoan and Mycenaean eras, it is believed that Karpathos was a very prominent commercial center in the Aegean Sea. Archaeological findings on the island confirm the existence of early civilization. The history of Karpathos follows very closely the history of the major powers surrounding it, Rhodes and Crete. During the Hellenistic era the Karpathian were part of both the Athenians and the Spartans at various times. They also became part of the empire of Alexander the Great, and took place in the siege of Tyre.
Since the early times, Karpathos has been a victim of various foreign invaders. In the early medieval years, they were under the occupation of the Venetians. In the sixteenth century it was the Turks, then the Russians and the Turks again. In the early part of the twentieth century the Italians had occupied all the Dodecanese Islands, supposedly on a temporary basis, but turned out to be a nightmare for the islanders. During the Second World War, Karpathos was occupied by the Germans for a short time and then in 1948 all the Dodecanese had been granted independence and joined the rest of Greece.
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Main History
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Karpathos was first inhabited around 6000 B.C. by a Mediterranean people who settled there while on their way to Crete from Asia Minor. Until 1450 B.C. the island was part of the Minoan maritime empire of Crete, later came under the influence of the Mycenaean's from the Greek mainland with whom it took part in the Trojan war. For the next 3000 years, Karpathos followed very closely the glory, fate and rebirth of the Hellenistic world.
For eight centuries and before it was conquered by the Romans, the island was famous for its commerce, merchant marine and its artistic achievements. Karpathian artist and sculptors took part in the building of the Parthenon. During Byzantine times, the people of Karpathos had built magnificent churches whose mosaics are still wonders of the world and can be seen in the museums of Rhodes. In the war for independence from Turkey, again the Karpathian were very active. The island was occupied by the Italians in 1912 and in 1944, during the Second World War; its inhabitants revolted and liberated the island from the Axis forces. In 1947, after more than six centuries under foreign occupation, the island was united with Greece.
Under these foreign occupations the island remained so completely isolated that the influence of the conquerors was minimal and the islanders were able to maintain to this day many facets of the Greek culture almost totally uninfluenced. Thus, in Olymbos, one of the islands twelve villages, people speak the old Greek dialect used in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. In the same village, women today wear a variation of the Classical Greek tunic, adapted to the weather conditions that prevail on the island.
Because of the islands limited resources and because of the tyranny imposed by recent conquerors, the Karpathians immigrated to many lands in order to better their life and improve their standard of living. The first known Karpathian to set foot in the United States of America arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in1872. The first immigrant signaled the arrival of other islanders. The wave of arrivals in the first half of the twentieth century so swelled that today one find Karpathians in 30 states and over 300 towns and cities.
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Karpathos In Literature
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The ancient Greek writers gave very little information about Karpathos. Hesiod was the first to mention Karpathos in the "Homeric Odes". The greatest poet of all times, Homer, author of the Iliad, included Karpathos, along with other islands that participated in the Trojan War. The father of history, Herodotus mentioned Karpathos as a stop over place between Greece and Egypt. Apollonius the Rhodian wrote that the Argonauts passed from Karpathos on their homebound trip.
The early ancient travelers gave us more information about Karpathos. Diodorus the Sideliot wrote that the followers of King Minos of Crete were the first inhabitants of Karpathos and many generations later the Peloponnesians set up a colony there. Strabo gave more details and referred to Karpathos as the "tetrapolis" meaning four towns. Ptolemy referred to Karpathos as tripolis, meaning three towns.
Latin writers also include Karpathos in their works. Pliny informs us how the tasteful fish "skaros" was transplanted from Karpathos to the Italian coast. Horatio wrote about the rough Karpathian Sea.
Very little information was written about Karpathos by Byzantine authors. Anna Komnena referred to Karpathos as a Byzantine naval base while the Byzantines attempted to recapture Crete from the Arabs. Around the same time the Arab writers refer to Karpathos as a naval base, used for the control of Eastern Mediterranean trade. More information about Karpathos is provided by the medieval travelers and obtained from the Venetian archives. Nineteenth century travelers, most of them renowned scholars and archaeologists, provided well documented scientific information.
By the end of the nineteenth century, starting with the published of Emmanuel Manolakakis "Karpathiaka", Karpathos became a subject of special study. This period reached its peek with the publication of the monumental historical and folklore works of Michael Michaelides-Nouaros. This work is continued to this day by many Karpathians and other Greek and foreign writers.
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Archaeology
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One of the most reliable means available to us which confirms historical events is archaeology. It is through the research of archaeologist that we have discovered valuable information about ancient civilizations. Historical accounts of Karpathos are too few to make conclusive statements about the ancient civilizations that existed there. In the middle of the nineteenth century various historians and travelers, researched the remains and uncovered various tombs and ceramics which shed light to the uncertain history of Karpathos. Travelers like Wescher; in the late 1800's uncovered a large blue stone with an inscription in northern Karpathos which indicated the existence of Doric culture indicated the existence of a Doric culture in the settlement of Vrykous. Since then many artifacts and ruins have been found on the island by foreign and Greek archaeologists.
Most of the ruins have been located in the areas mentioned in history as being the major settlements in Karpathos. In recent years quite a few Minoan and Mycenaean ceramics were found in the general area of Afiartis. A significant number of ancient remains have also been located in and around Arkassa, Vrykounta, Diafani, Pini (near Volada) and Lefkos.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of any museums on the island, many of these findings remain in personal collections or in museums in Rhodes, Athens and a significant number of artifacts in the British Museum.
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