Antikythera or Antikythira is a Greek island lying on the edge of the Aegean Sea, between Crete and Peloponnese. In antiquity the island was known as Aigilia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Kythiraisland. Antikythera may also refer to the Kythira-Antikythira Strait, through which modified Mediterranean water enters the Sea of Crete. Its land area is, and it lies south-east of Kythira. It is the most distant part of the Attica region from its heart in the Athens metropolitan area. It is lozenge-shaped, NNW to SSE by ENE to WSW. It is notable for being the location of the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism and for the historical Antikythera wreck. Its main settlement and port is Potamós. The only other settlements are Galanianá, and Charchalianá. Antikythera is periodically visited by the Ablemon Nautical Company ferry F/B Ionis on its route between Piraeus and Kissamos-Kastelli on Crete.
History
The earliest known inhabitants were likely seasonal hunters who traveled there to exploit the presence of migratory birds. The population of the island then changed frequently as it was settled and abandoned several times, including a period of significant influence by Cretan culture during the Bronze Age. In antiquity, the island of Antikythera was known as Aegilia or Aigilia, Aegila or Aigila, or Ogylos. Between the 4th and 1st centuries BC, it was used as a base by a group of Cilician pirates until their destruction by Pompey the Great. Their fort can still be seen atop a cliff to the northeast of the island. The archaeology of the island has been thoroughly surveyed and the data made openly available for further study. Antikythera is one of the few islands in the Aegean which were never ruled by the Ottoman Empire, as the Turks did not consider the small island a worthwhile conquest. Nevertheless, it was noted on Ottoman maps as Küçük Çuha, a name that has persisted in modern Turkish. Antikythera was administered by the Venetians as part of the Ionian Islands, despite being several hundred kilometres away from the main Ionian archipelago. The Venetians held out in Antikythera until 1800 while the rest of the Ionian Islands had fallen to Napoleonic France in 1797. It became a British protectorate in 1815 as part of the United States of the Ionian Islands. The island was then ceded to Greece under the Treaty of London. From 1864 to 1912, Antikythera was the southernmost point of Greece, as Crete was then part of Turkey. Antikythera is most famous for being the location of the 1900 discovery of the Antikythera wreck, from which the Antikythera Ephebe and Antikythera Mechanism were recovered. The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical calculator designed to calculate astronomical positions which has been dated to about 205 BC. Technological artifacts of similar complexity did not reappear until a thousand years later. The island was occupied by Italy and was known as Cerigotto.
Fauna
Antikythera is a very important stop-over site for migratory birds during their seasonal movements, due to its geographical position and certain features. Furthermore, the island hosts the largest breeding colony of Eleonora's falcon in the world. The importance of Antikythera for studying bird migration led to the creation of Antikythera Bird Observatory by the Hellenic Ornithological Society. The island also has a large population of wild goats.
