Why Visit
According to the myths, King Likomed was hiding here young Achilles, pereodetogo girl, so he did not participated in the Trojan war. Here Athenian hero Theseus took refuge. In 468 BC, the island was captured by Athens. It is worth to visit the castle of Lycomedes, dominates the island's main town, the archaeological museum and just take a walk along the city streets, which are lined with houses of cubical forms, which is very unusual for Greece. Also worth a visit are the resorts of Magaz′â and Molos. Skyros is famous for its ceramics, embroideries and carved furniture.
History
Named after the porous stones mined from this island, the history of Skyros starts from the Neolithic times. According to Greek Mythology, Achilles was hidden on this island by his mother Thetis, as she knew that Achilles would meet a tragic end, if he took part in the Trojan War. Thetis asked for the help of Lycomedes, the king of the island, who kept Achilles in his own castle. Achilles soon fell in love with the beautiful daughter of Lycomedes, Deidamea and gave birth to a son, Pyrros. Odysseus, who knew that the campaign of Troy would never succeed without Achilles, devised a cunning plan and managed to bring Achilles to Troy. As predicted Achilles met his end in Troy, and now it was Pyrros who was needed to win in Troy. Odysseus again managed to bring that very young to Troy and tro make him fight bravely.
Another great hero, Theseus is believed to have died on this island, killed by the king of the island Lycomedes, who perceived him as a threat to his throne. Though, under the occupation of Cimon, the remains of Theseus were returned to Athens. The island of Skyros has seen many rulers and civilizations during its term so far. The Pelasgians, who built huge walls as a part of their cities, initially inhabited Skyros. Their walls formed the foundation for the following settlers. At around 475 BC, Cimon took over Skyros and distributed the land among the Athenian aristocrats.
Skyros was controlled by Athens for nearly 400 years. While under the Athenian rule, Skyros was for brief intervals also under the Macedonian occupation around 340 BC. This was followed in 192 BC by the Roman Imperial forces that managed to take control of the island. During this time Philip V of Macedonia returned the island of Skyros back to Athens. After the Roman occupation of the island it was taken over by the Byzantine Empire. Though the island struggled at the hands of the Byzantine Empire, it eventually recovered and by the 2nd century AD had become a Bishopric, having embraced the Christian region.
Skyros changed hands again in 1204 when the Crusaders captured Constantinople and the island was passed under the Venetian rule, who built a strong fortress to protect Skyros from enemies and pirates. At the later end of the 14th century, Skyros was ruled by the Turks, though the lack of any high authority figures made life much more independent during this time. Finally, during the Independence war in 1821 against the Turks, Skyros proved its importance by contributing heavily in terms of manpower and finance and was able to declare its independence to the world in the year of 1829.
Museums - Archeological
Skyros Island is extremely rich in culture, which is shown in the two major museums that are found on the island: the Archaeological Museum and the Manos Faltaits Museum.
The Archaeological Museum of Skyros displays artifacts from archaeological excavations between the Early Helladic to the period of Roman occupation. Built in the year 1967, the museum is located in Chora and contains pottery from the Protogeometric period dated between the 11th and the 9th century BC, coins, pitchers and jewelry taken from the cemetery on the coast of Magazia.
The Manos Faltaits Folklore Museum, established in 1964, is housed in the Faltaits residence. The Faltaits were a noble family of the island and decided to make this contribution to the cultural heritage of the island. The museum houses items depicting every day life in the various periods of the long history of Skyros.
Beaches
Molos, Atsitsa beach, Agios Fokas, Pefkos beach, Acherounes beach, Achili, Agios Petros, Aspous beach, Kalamitsa, Kareflou, Kyra Panagia, Palamari, Theotokos, Gyrismata, Magazia beach
Religious Monasteries and Churches
In the island of Skyros visitors come across a great number of churches and chapels, inspiring monasteries and religious sites of great architectural interest. The Christian religion in Skyros appears from the 2nd century AD and goes on to the Byzantine years.
The monastery of Agios Georgios is the religious symbol of Skyros and the saint protector of the island. It stands on top of the castle overlooking the entire town and the sea. It possesses some rare icons and most of the finest churches are scattered around this monastery including Agios Athanasios.
In the winding streets of the capital lie several churches and picturesque chapels such as Agia Anna and Agios Ioannis. It certainly deserves your attention the church of Agios Mamas which stands at the top of the Mt Kohylas and the chapel of Agios Panteleimonas perched on a green hill, overlooking Pefkos village. At the edge of the coast lies the church of Agios Nikolaos and next to it lie the ones of Agia Paraskevi and Agios Ermolaos.
