The beginning is lost in the depths of time. Excavations have so far revealed sites of the Neolithic period which are located at the Cave of St. Vartholomaios, the Cave of “the old woman’s leap” and in Chalakies in the Polichnitos area (dated).

During the period between 3200 BC - 2400 BC the Thermi area becomes a large coastal urban settlement (passing through five successive stages), with building blocks (town planning) and paved roads. The town is fortified. Other settlements have also been located on the island (the Kourtir settlement in Lisvori) while there are many smaller locations built on the fortified rocky hilltops, which possibly served as homes for the farmers and cattle-raisers. Stone tools (stone mills, spears etc.) and vessels reveal the purpose which these sites served. (Katapirgos of Lisvori and Aghia Paraskevi of Gera, Plati of Mistegna, Angourelia of Saracena, Saliakas, Podaras, Leperna, Koukla, Abasta, Makrina Pochi, Mosina, Dip, Kontisia, Skepasto, Kayia, Sourada, Tarti).

Lesbos belongs to the cultural sphere of North Eastern Aegean civilisation which encompasses Samos, Chios, Lemnos, Asia Minor (Troy), Thasos, Imbros, Samothrace, Thrace and Skyros.

During the Middle Bronze Age (2400-2000 BC) Thermi itself remains uninhabited but other sites are possibly inhabited (Kourtir - Hills).

During the Late Bronze Age (2000 - 1200BC) there are two successive settlements in Thermi and there may also be people living in other settlements.

In 1200 BC the Thermi settlement is destroyed. According to Homer, Lesbos takes the side of the Trojans in the war against the Achaeans. Few are the archaeological findings, which prove Mycenaean presence on the island (Makara and fragments of vessels found during excavation of the ancient cities).

Two bishop’s residences (that of Mytilene and Methymna), many large Early Christian basilicas (Basilica of St. Andreas, Afentelli, Chalinadou, Ispilometopon, Tsezmedon, Argalon etc.), countless settlements, scattered all over the island, cities (Mytilene, Molyvos, Eressos, Kalloni etc.) are evidence that life goes on on the island during the Early (325-64 AD) and Middle (542 AD) Byzantine era. During this time the island is subjected to a series of invasions (Slav, Avar, Saracen). During this time the island is also used as a place of exile for eminent personalities of the Byzantine (Couropalatis Leontas etc.). Large castles (the Castle of Mytilene, Avgerinou (Molyvos), Aghion Theodoron (Antissa), Eressos, Koraka (Kleious) and smaller fortresses (roughly thirty on the island) which are reinforced by watch-towers protect the population which take refuge inside their walls.

In 1087 AD Dzachas, an emir in Smyrna (Izmir) conquers the island.

In 1204 (occupation of Constantinople by the Venetians) the island belongs to Baldwin, emperor of Constantinople.

In 1235 Nice controls the island.

In 1304 Roger de Flor sacks Lesbos.

In 1335 Domenico Cattaneo attacks the island but it is regained by the Emperor Andronicus in 1336.

During the Byzantine era Lesbos belonged to the Province of the Isles. Monasteries, the history of which can be traced to the depths of time, stand out among other buildings of the time (the Monasteries of Ipsilou, Limonos and Myrsini, Metochi Perivoli, Kato Tritos etc.) while others are but ruins (Monasteries of Mount Livanos in Pterounda, Kriokopou etc.).

On September 1st 1462 the fleet of Mahmud Pasha besieges Mytilene. Melanoudi falls (an area protected by outer walls on the outskirts of the city) and Niccolo Gattilusio handed over the castle. Molyvos is the next city to fall, followed by Aghii Theodori and Eresus. Ten thousand are sent to Constantinople. The island now belongs to the “Eyalet of the Island and of the Caspian Sea”. The Ottoman Turks extend and renovate the Castles of Molyvos and Mytilene. They build the Castle of Sigri (1757). The other fortresses are abandoned. The village populations have gone in hiding in gullies for fear that there may be piracy. The Monasteries are abandoned. They become state property. They are gradually bought back by Christians to be re-established (Limonos, Ipsilou, Myrsiniotissas, Pithari, Kriokopou etc.). The churches are small, dark and decorated with icons. Water mills, drinking fountains, olive mills and, during the middle of the 19th century, steam-driven olive presses are the basis of the island economy. There are two diocese one of which is transferred to Kalloni. Mosques and minarets are erected.

The beginning of the 16th century (Limonian School) marks the first cautious steps in the field of education. Towers are built all over the island. After the Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774) the Ku ηu k Kaynarca Treaty was signed, establishing the protection of the Christian religion. The Hatti Humayun edict (1839-1856) establishes the principles of equality before the law, freedom of religion. It is during this period that the magnificent churches and Manor houses we see today are built. Trade is taken over by Christians (Smyrna (Izmir), Odessa, Constantinople, Alexandria). Of the 140.000 inhabitants only 40.000 are Ottoman turks. Schools and large public buildings are erected.

In 1821 Papanicolis burns down a Turkish battleship in Eressos. The present-day port of Mytilene is developed. Soap and olive oil is exported across the Mediterranean. The year 1912 is approaching.

It is during this period that the Aeolians build the Aeolic cities (1000 BC). (Aeolic dialect, calendar, customs). The island is divided into city-states : Mytilana (on an island), Mathymna, Eresos (present-day Skala Eresos), Antissa (Kambos), Pyrrha (Achladeri) and Arisba. Their ruins still exist. Fortifying buildings and smaller settlements with outer walls forming fortified enclosures lie scattered all over the island (over a hundred have been reported). Reference is made to smaller towns in historical sources (Aigiros, Napi, Polion, Agamede, Metaon, Killaion, Penthili etc.) ; however their exact locations have not yet been verified. (Worship of) The religion of the twelve divinities and the foreign gods (Serapis, Isis) accounts for the ruins of temples such as the Temples of Mesa, Klopedi, Dionysus (Aghios Phokas), Demeter, Cybele, Aphrodite, Apollo (Malloes), located in Mytilene.

The city of Arisba is destroyed by the city of Methymna. Sappho, Alcaeus, Arion, Orpheus, Terpandros, Lesches, Pittacus, Hellanicus, Theophrastus and Phanias bring glory to the islands through their great contribution to the world of letters, music and arts.

Lesbos and its towns participate in the Persian Wars, the Peloponnesean holocaust (431 BC - 405 BC) and the many other adventures of Hellenism, on one side of the battlefield or the other, and thus suffer much destruction.

In 331 BC Alexander the Great liberates the island from the Persians. Between 322 BC and 201 BC the island under the rule of the Epigoni (Antigonid dynasty followed by the Ptolemaic).

Round 231 BC the city of Pyrrha is devastated by earthquake (only the outskirts and port are inhabited).

In 168 BC the Romans destroy the city-state of Antissa and its territory is offered to Methymna.

In 84 BC Lucullus (Roman general) conquers the island and many are killed.

Monuments of great beauty are produced while Lesbos is under the Roman rule : The Aqueduct of Moria, the exquisite mosaic floors which decorate the villas in Epano Skala, the ancient Theatre, the Holy Altar of Thermias Artemis.

The Genoese family Gattilusio (Francisco) helps John E’ conquer Constantinople. Francisco marries his sister Maria and thus becomes an inhabitant of Lesbos.

The Gattilusio family [Francisco (1409-1426), Dorino (1426-1449), Domenico (1449), Niccolo (1462) rules the island, engaging in the trade of alum , olive oil, wax, minting coins and learns the greek language. There is a Latin bishop as well as the two orthodox bishops. The castles of Molyvos and Mytilene are expanded. This also seems to be the case for the others. The names of many settlements on the island which are inscribed on notarial deeds are identical to their present-day names (Eressos, Kalloni, Moria, Akrotiri, Petra, Parakoila, Chalikas, Thermi). Towers are scattered all over the countryside (Vrisa, Thermi, Sigri etc.).

The houses of the aristocracy the loggia and the Chancellery (where business deals are concluded) are located within the Castle walls.

In 1450 Murad orders Baltaoglu to destroy Kalloni and indeed he succeeds . Then the latter besieges Molyvos but fails..

Even today the family emblem is exists on the castles (double-headed eagle with a lamellar armour).

On November 8th 1912 the Averoff man-o-war drops the anchor in the port of Mytilene. The Battle of Klapados begins and the Turkish Army is forced to surrender. This was the beginning of the Balkan Wars.

During World War I British and French troops are based on the island (Loutra, Akoth, the Gulf of Kalloni, Thermi etc.). Venizelos visits the island (in May 1915) and again as part of the Revolutionary Government of 1916. In 1918 the Archipelagos division fights on the Macedonian front (the Battle of Skra).

In 1919 Greek forces land on the coasts of Asia Minor. In 1922 Lesbos receives greek refugees from Asia Minor. Connections are severed and all bridges with the opposite shores are burnt Shanty towns are built round the villages. The exchange of populations takes place.

The Greco-Italian War, Greco-German War and the Civil War took a heavy toll on Lesbos and the island suffers the economic consequences.

The island economy depends mainly on the production of olive oil and its products, livestock farming and the tanning industry. Tourism development begins in 1981. Spiritual life flourishes and great intellects such as Stratis Mirivilis, Ilias Venezis, Odysseus Elytis, Miltos Kountouras, Argyris Eftaliotis live and create during this time. The island still possesses a wide range of stimuli for the visitor. Natural beauty, cultural richness marked by its countless monuments, the spontaneity which characterises the islanders’ temperament, its significant contribution to the intellectual world.

and it’s still history in the making . . .