About Lesvos

Lesvos is the third largest of the islands in Greece behind Crete and Evia. Despite being green and beautiful it remains virtually unaffected by mass tourism. Homer refers to Lesvos in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Lesvos is where Menelaos, Diomedes and Ulysses met, after the siege of Troy, to decide on the way of their return. Sappho was born in Eressos around 615 BC. Sappho is not only one of the few women poets we know of from antiquity, but also is one of the greatest lyric poets from any age. Put simply, there is no other Greek island quite like Lesvos. Lesvos was Aristotle’s inspiration to write books on biology that were the founding of the science that we know today. Lesvos was the birthplace of Theophrastus who is the father of botany.

There are many easy to find websites that will help you discover more about Lesvos. So I thought I would list here some of the more unusual and interesting sites that you can use to explore the life of this wonderful Island.

First (and clearly most important)….

You can read more about Lesvos in my Blog.

 

Julie Smit & Jan van Lent live in Eftalou. Julie writes a charming and witty blog about life on Lesvos in both Dutch and English.

In one of Julie’s blogs she says – “In my years here I have learned a lot – about the food, the celebrations, the people and daily life, the rhythm of the seasons (especially summer and winter) and history. The most wondrous part of life here is Nature which keeps surprising me with what she brings, not only the oceans of plants but its marvellous vistas. Take a walk on any evening along the seashore towards the setting sun and the colours of the sea will never bore you. On windless days along the gulf of Kalloni the views are always breathtaking. A dramatic moon coming up, snow on Mt. Lepetymnos or just the sun scattering her light across the olive trees, and I never stop saying: wow, so beautiful.”

scatterlight

If you want to see the island through Julie’s eyes then you must pay SMITAKI a visit. Julie and Jan have also produced a beautiful book Scatterlight Donkeys & Foxballs Ice Cream published in February 2011, this is not a tour guide but a must-have for all lovers of the island.