1. 1. St. Nikolaos.Music: Fragosiriani ~ Markos Vamvakaris ~ Classic Greek Orchestral Click to continue
2. 2. CycladesGREECESYROS ISLAND
3. 3. Syros History The name Syros probably comes from the ancient name "Sour" or "Osoura" which meant rocky inancient Phoenician language. Homer mentions Syros island in Odyssey as "Syrii". Archaelogicalfindings that came to light in the late 19th century at "Chalandriani" site, northeast on the islandare thought to be of the 2800 BC era, the second period of the Protocycladic civilisation. The findings include graves, statuettes and various artifacts which are now found at the NationalArchaeological Museum in Athens, at the Goulandris Cycladic Art Museum and the local SyrosArchaeological Museum. Syros has been the birthplace of ancient philosopher, physicist and astronomer Pherekydes, mid6th century BC. During these times, 2 cities existed on Syros. One located as today Hermoupolis(Ermoupoli) and more specifically at the Pefkakia-Psariana location and another one at todayGalissas (ancient Galissos). Later, by the 5th to 4th century BC, Syros became a member of the Athenian Alliance and after ashort period of tension during the 3rd century BC, Syros thrives again in the 2nd century BC.During the 1st century BC, Syros develops to an important naval hub. For the centuries to follow,Syros is a permanent target of the Pirates and its population decreases significantly. During the 8th century AD, Ano Syros starts to get built. On 1207 it is conquered by the Venetians,and during the 360 years of occupation, the local people have been converted to the Catholicdoctrine. In 1566, Syros is conquered by the Turks, but during the whole duration of Turkish occupation,Syros is under the protection of France and the Pope himself. In 1617 the Turkish fleet destroysSyros. During the 16th and until the 18th century, Syros population has been around 2500 Catholic and150-200 Orthodox Christians. During the 19th century, Syros had the biggest commercial, industrial and cultural in its history.More specifically Ermoupoli (Hermoupolis), which has been founded by refugess that came fromChios, Smyrni, Psara, Kassos and Crete. The Catholic influence is limited and Syros contributes financially to the the Greek revolution. Inthe middle of the century, Syros is already at its peak of economic and cultural development,which last until the end of the century. The German Occupation, the famine of 1941 and the bombings, destroy the social and economiclife of Syros. The attempt to reconstruct Ermoupoli, once again in the long history of Syros,begins after the liberation.
4. 4. Ermoupoli (Hermoupolis)History Ermoupoli, capital of Syros Island and of the Cyclades island complex, isfounded in 1821 by refugees that gradually arrive on the island from AsiaMinor, Chios, Kassos, Psara and Crete. It is given that name to honor theancient god of commerce Hermes ( Hermes = Ermis , Polis = City) Ermoupoli rapidly develops into a great commercial centre and becomesthe most important port of the Eastern Mediterranean. In 1823, the firsthospital of modern Greece is founded in Syros. In 1833 it becomes thecapital of the prefecture and the first High School of modern Greece isfounded by Neofitos Vamvas, a school where Eleftherios Venizelos hasbeen a student. Many shipyards are built, which employ around 2000people and around 80 ships per year are built there. The first greeksteamboat is built in Ermoupolis Syros in 1854. At the same time, the banking and insurance markets develop. Industryis also thriving with most active sectors being tannage, soapmaking, ironmetallurgy, flour industry, textile industry etc. The growing prosperity ofErmoupoli and Syros continues until the end of the 19th century whenthe population reaches 30000 inhabitants. But the changes that occuredin the following years in maritime commerce, shake the economy ofSyros and Ermoupoli starts to decline.
5. 5. ErmoupoliThe city of Ermoupoli As a capital of the Cyclades prefecture, Ermoupoli is host tomany public services and administrative offices of the Greekgovernment. Courts of justice, Prefecture Administration,South Aegean Region administration, Customs Office, TaxOffice Fire Department and Directorates of Agriculture, Forests,Education, Commerce, Fisheries, Urban design etc. The areacovered by the Ermoupoli Municipality is 926 acres and thepopulation is around 13000 inhabitants. Social life in Syros and Ermoupoli, in contrast to the majority ofthe Cyclades islands, remains alive even during the winterseason. Dozens of cultural, professional, athletic, artistic andcharity clubs stimulate the interest of the inhabitants and thevisitors to Syros island. Theatrical and Cinema events, musicand dance festivals, lectures and sports evente, seminars andworkshops and art exhibitions are some of the elements of thesocial life in Syros island.
6. 6. Neighborhoods in Ermoupoli Psariana, where the Kimisis (Assumption) Church is located and alittle bit higher you can find Pefkakia. Neapoli, Taksiarchis and Ksirokampos on the road that leads toAno Syros, near the Church of Saint George Vaporia, just next to Saint Nicolas church. Vaporia is the rich districtwith the imposing mansions that overlook the Aegean Sea and havea direct view of Mykonos island when the atmosphere is clear. Mostof these mansions belong to shipowners and industry owners andtheir rooms are full of murals (wall paintings) and impressive ceilingpaintings. Vrontado can be found just below the church of Anastasi(Resurrection) Dili on the top of the Dili hill probably got its name from "DiliosApollo" where you can find the Anastasi church (Resurrection) Lazareta is the area around the old Quarantine building and islocated at the south part of Syros port.
7. 7. Ermoupoli (Hermoupolis) Sightseeing The Miaouli Square, with the statue of Andreas Miaoulis (1889) in the centre and the marble platform forthe Syros Philharmonic (1907) showing embossed representations of ancient god Apollo and the 9 Muses. Syros City Hall. The most imposing structure in Ermoupoli, took 22 years to complete. Its founations wereset in 1876 and completed in 1898. The architect was Ernest Chiller and the mayor of ErmoupoliD.Vafiadakis. The Ermoupoli City Hall is open to the public in the morning and sometimes of the year inweekends. Syros Archaeological Museum, is located inside the Syros City Hall, in its northeastern side, its entrancebeing on the Em. Benaki street. You can find various exhibits, ranging from the Proto-Cycladic to theByzantine era. Entrace to the Syros Archaeological Museum is free of charge and the telephone number is22810-88487. The Cyclades Historical Archive, is found on the first floor of the Ladopoulos building, right on the left ofErmoupoli City Hall. The archives are rich in information as early as 1821 (Greek War for Independence)and they are open to any researcher or visitor. The Cultural Centre of Ermoupoli is located on the first floor in the building right on the right side ofSyros City Hall. In the same building you can also find the Cycladic Art Museum with exhibits replicas ofthe Proto-Cycladic civilisation. On the ground floor, with entrance from Themidos street, you can find the"Art hall Ermoupoli". The Public Library of Syros is housed in the ground floor of the Cultural Centre as well. It boasts 35000books, some of which are very old and rare. In the small terrace in front of the building, there are busts offamous Syros historical personalities Em. Roidis, G. Souris, Dim. Vikelas, Tim. Ampelas, Rita Boumi-Pappa. The first High School of modern Greece opened its doors in 1833 in Ermoupoli. Eleftherios Venizelosand Petros Protopapadakis have been students of Syros High School. The building is today used by the"University of the Aegean". The Church of Metamorphosis of Jesus is located at the end of the granite-paved street, around 200metres to the left behind the Syros City Hall. It was in the terrace of this church, where the first inhabitantsof Ermoupoli gathered and officially named the city as "Ermoupoli". The church is rich in icons and relics.In the southern entrance, the grave of Anthimos Gazis (1828) can be found. The Church of the Assumption (Kimisis) was built in 1829 and is host to the famous icon of "TheAssumption of Holy Mary" by El Greco (Dominikos Theotokopoulos). The building of the Maritime School of Syros can be found by the port next to "Kymata" beach. The firstGreek Telegraph Office used to operate there in 1858 and employed 160 people.
8. 8. Ermoupoli (Hermoupolis) Sightseeing The impressive Syros Customs Office buildings and Warehouses by the port have been builtin 1861. Now except the customs office , they also house the "Cyclades Picture Gallery" whichwas founded in 1994. The Catholic church of Evagelistria, is found at the end of Protopapadaki street and has beenbuilt in the early 19th century. The Apollon theatre was built in 1864 by design of P.Sampo and enjoyed years of glory until theGerman occupation, when it was almost completely destroyed. In the latest decades, there havebeen consecutive attempts to restore the Apollon theatre and today it is functional as a theatreagain. The Church of Saint Nicolas, lies just a few metres far from Apollon theatre. The constructionfinished in 1905 after works of 61 years! It is a magnificent church that every visitor must visit. Inthe small garden the lies the monument of the "unburied soldier" or "unknown soldier", which isthe first monument to be built for the unknown soldiers that fought for freedom. It is a work of thesculptor G.Vitalis (1880). You can also find there the busts of "Rethymnis" brothers, which werethe main benefactors for this monument. The Cemetery of Saint George is located in the Neapoli area. It is separate in 3 parts: One with the simple gravestones, the second which is still in use today and the third which boastsa multitude of tomb monuments and vaults, small chapels, statues, busts and looks more like anopen museum rather than a cemetery. It is definitely worth a visit. If you decide to visit thiscemetery, you can also find the Catholic cemetery of Syros and the British cemetery of Syrosin walking distance. The church of Anastasi (Resurrection) is found on top of the Dili hill, which is the right one aswe look from the Syros port. The left hill, where Ano Syros lies, has the Catholic church of SaintGeorge on top. The Syros Karnagio (shipyard for small boats) and Tarsanas (shipyard for small boatrepairs) are places where wooden boats are being built and repaired and are located next to themajor shipyard of Syros, Neorion shipyards. The Quarantine House, is located at Lazareta area and is a huge building constructed in 1837 inorder to quarantine the travellers and shipmen that arrived to Syros at times when cholera andother deadly diseases hit Europe. During the Cretan Revolution for Independence in 1866 it wasused as a shelter for the Crete refugees and in the end of the 19th century as a prison .
9. 9. Possidonia, Syros InformationHomer mentions the existence of two towns in Syros. One of themwas located in the area of Possidonia - Finikas. It was the older ofthe two, was early destroyed and it has also been considered as aPhoenician colony.The specific location of this town is defined by the remaining ofconstructions, graces, ancient objects and a necropolis of thePrehistoric era.Ancient Possidonia, a place where Possidon (God of the sea) wasworshipped, was given the name Delagratsia during the VenetianEra due to the small chapel of Madonna Della Grazia. The cave ofRozos with the Mycenean foundings was - according to the legend -a treasures hideout guarded by a fairy.
10. 10. Ano Syros InformationThe scenic "Ano Sira" as the locals call this unique village, features walls,narrow streets and arches and preserves its medieval form almost intactthrough the years.Among the low ceiling houses we meet the traditional taverns where MarkosVamvakaris and Vasilis Tsitsanis - figures of the folkloric music - used tosing with the company of their bouzouki. Its alleys with the innumerablesteps give to the town the charm of a different era. From here you canadmire an outstanding view and the sight embraces the Aegean all the wayto neighboring Tinos and Mykonos Islands.During the summer there are often folcloric exhibitions and every two yearsthe visitor enjoys the so-called Apanosyria, which include cultural events,theatrical plays, concerts and lectures. In the numerous taverns you willhear old local songs and taste wonderful appetizers while a bar will alwaysbe open for you to enjoy a last drink!
11. 11. Markos Vamvakaris Vamvakaris was born on May 10, 1905 in Ano Syros (aka Ano Chora), Syros, Greece.His family belonged to the sizeable Roman Catholic community of the island, theFrankosyrians, a name deriving from the common Greek reference to West Europeanscollectively as "Franks". At the age of twelve, believing he was wanted by the police, Vamvakaris left Syros andwent to Piraeus. He worked as a stevedore, employee at a pit-coal mine, polisher,paperman, butcher and other jobs. He heard a bouzouki player playing, and swore thatif he did not learn to play the instrument in six months he would cut off his hand with acleaver (he was working in the Athens slaughterhouse at the time). He learnedbouzouki, becoming an innovative virtuoso player, and began to compose music, andwrite songs. At first he often played in hashish smoking establishments known asTekes, later he and his band, which included Giorgos Batis, Anestis Delias and StratosPagioumtzis played in more legitimate clubs. They were extremely popular, andMarkos made many recordings. Vamvakaris recorded his first rebetiko disc, Na Rchosouna Re Magka Mou in 1932.Among other songs in that period, he wrote the classic love song "Frangkosyriani" . After the liberation of Greece from the occupation of Nazi Germany, difficult timesarrived, since his kind of music was no longer fashionable. He also suffered badly witharthritis in his hands that crippled his bouzouki playing and asthma that hampered hissinging. The slump in his fortunes lasted until the early 1960s, when after initiatives byVassilis Tsitsanis, many of his old songs were revived, sung by modern singersincluding Grigoris Bithikotsis, and Stratos Dionysiou. Vamvakaris died on February 8,1972 at the age of 66. As the years pass, his towering contribution to Greek music emerges. All other laikocomposers, of his time and afterwards, revered him as their master teacher, and MikisTheodorakis remarked: "We all, we are but branches of a tree. Markos is that tree".
12. 12. Ano SyrosErmoupolis Syros
13. 13. Ano Syros Ermoupolis Syros St. Nikolaos.
14. 14. St. Nikolaos.
15. 15. NikosYou Can Keep Listening To The MusicOr Press Esc To Exit COPYRIGHTS TO ALL PHOTOS AND MUSIC BELONG TO THE ORIGINAL AUTHORS.