Kea (island)
Kea, also known as
Gia (Κέα / Τζια in Greek),
Tzia,
Zea,
Keos (Ancient: Κέως), or in
Latin as
Ceos, is an
island of the
Cyclades archipelago, in the
Aegean Sea, in
Greece. It is the island of the Cyclades complex that is closest to
Attica (about 1 hour by ferry from
Lavrio) and is also 20 km from
Cape Sounio as well as 60 km SE of
Athens. Its climate is
arid and its terrain is hilly. Its capital,
Ioulis, is inland at a high altitude (like most ancient Cycladic settlements, for the fear of
pirates) and is considered quite picturesque. Other major villages of Kea are
Korissia (the port) and
Vourkari (a fishing village). After suffering depopulation for many decades, Kea has been recently rediscovered by
Athens city dwellers as a convenient destination for weekends and
yachting trips. The population in
1991 was only 1,797 and the density below prefectural and Greek average. Kea is 19 km long from north to south and 9 km wide from west to east. The area is 128 km² with the highest point being 560 or 570 m.
The municipality includes the island of
Makronisos to the northwest as well as a couple of ferry and shipping lines.
Kea is the location of a
Bronze Age settlement at the site now called
Ayia Irini, which reached its height in the Late
Minoan and Early
Mycenaean eras (1600-1400 BCE).
In the classical period Kea (Ceos) was the home of
Simonides and of his nephew
Bacchylides, both ancient Greek
lyric poets.
During the
Byzantine period many churches were built and the prosperity of the island rose. Kea was Byzantine until, in 1204, it was captured by the
Venetians in the wake of the
fourth crusade. It was recaptured by the Byzantines in 1278. In 1296 it fell to the Venetians again, who soon built a castle on the ancient acropolis of Ioulis. The port became a haven for pirates and by 1470 there were only around 200 inhabitants on the island.
Kea was occupied by the
Turks in 1527. The Turks never settled on the island but they did repopulate it with
Albanians at the end of the 16th century. During this period the island attracted many of the religious and intellectual personalities who wanted to lay low. With the island virtually free of Turks, it was a good place to be. But in 1668 the Turks destroyed the island because they had sided with the Venetians. But afterwards the remaining inhabitants were granted significant rights and by the end of the century the population was 3000.
| Year | Communal population | Change | Island population | Change | Density |
|---|
| 1991 | - | - | 1,797 | - | 13.93/km² |
*
Chavouna*
Ellinika Kea*
Kato Meria*
Ioulis*
Kea*
Korissia*
Koundouros, Greece*
Otzias*
Pisses*
VourkariKea has a few schools, a few lyceums, a gymnasia, churches, banks, a post office and squares (
plateies).
*
Island website*
Kea island information for travellers*
Kea info and pictures*
An 1885 travel guide to Keos (Zea), an excerpt from
James Theodore Bent's
The Cyclades, or Life among the Insular Greeks*
Map and Aerial photos:**Coordinates:
**
Mapquest - Kea, street map not yet available
*
Communities of the Cyclades
