Kythnos, an island close to Dryopidi of the Cyclades, [named] from Kythnos its founder. It was also called Ofiussa and Dryopis. An islander is named Kythnios; [it is known for] Kythnios a type of cheese and Kydias the painter.
Stephanos of Byzantium
Kythnos is an island of the western Cyclades. Its landscape is semi-mountainous, with low hills. Inland, the fertile valley of Messaria constitutes its lowest part. Land good for cultivation is also offered by the small coastal plains, set above the numerous small coves (92 in number), which also constitute safe natural harbours. Its two main settlements, Chora and Dryopida, are located inland, though there are also smaller coastal settlements such as Merichas (port), Loutra, Kanala, etc. An island with only modest development, it has preserved the special characteristics of its landscape. In addition to the archaeological sites and monuments, there are old industrial buildings on the island from the more recent mining activity, natural habitats, areas of geological interest (cave shelters, hot springs), traditional settlements, religious monuments, chapels, and a particularly dynamic rural landscape with terraces, dry-stone walls, stone-built cells (farmhouses), threshing floors and an extensive network of paths. All of the above favour the development of alternative and themed forms of tourism, to which the island has begun to orient itself in recent years.
The inhabitants, however, are not only involved in tourism but also continue to practise as beekeepers, farmers, and livestock breeders, and in producing wine, cheese, honey in keeping with the traditional ways these activities are conducted. The celebrated ‘Thermiotiko cheese’ was famous in antiquity, as was their beekeeping.
From a geological point of view, Kythnos, like all the Cyclades, belongs to the Attic-Cycladic Mass. The island has a variety of rocks, mainly metamorphic, where various types of schists dominate. As in all the islands of the western Cyclades, there is a strong presence of minerals (mainly iron and copper).
According to Herodotus, who gives us the founding myth of the island (Herodotus VIII, 46), the Dryopes migrated from Euboea to Kythnos at the end of the Bronze Age (i.e. towards the end of the Mycenaean era, late in the 2nd millennium BC) and were the first to inhabit it. The island and the city owe their name (according to Stephanos of Byzantium) to Kythnos, the leader of the Dryopes. In Byzantine times, the name Thermia prevailed, from the hot springs in the area of Loutra. The springs played an important role in antiquity. From 18th century travellers there are testimonies about the existence of bath facilities, a clay-pipe aqueduct and a cistern, as well as tombs in the area. The remaining antiquities mentioned by cartographers (13th–17th centuries AD) and travellers of the 18th century are limited to Vryokastro or Rigokastro, the medieval castle of Oria, Kastella, the tower at Pyrgos (Messaria), a domed structure at Tholos in Agia Irini, and the architectural elements incorporated into the masonry of the church of the Theotokos.
The oldest archaeologically documented habitation of Kythnos dates back to the Mesolithic era. The excavation of the Mesolithic Maroulas (9th millennium BC) provided many new elements in the study of the prehistory of the Aegean. Furthermore, it is the first Mesolithic outdoor habitation site found in Greece.
Apart from Maroulas, other prehistoric sites (Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age) have been identified in various areas of the island.
The physical appearance of Kythnos from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC onwards, however, has been determined by the presence of minerals. Early Cycladic sites of copper mining or smelting have been investigated (Aspra Kelia, Petra, Pounta, Sideri, Paliopyrgos/Aspra Spitia, Skouries, Lefkes) and small installations of the Bronze Age (Early Cycladic period) have been identified near them.
Surface pottery of the Middle and Late Bronze Age has also been found on a hill between Agia Irini and Arkoudi, at the Castle of Oria, and at Stefani tou Geronimo.
During historical times (10th century BC–6th/7th centuries AD), the ancient city of the same name developed in what is now still called Vryokastro: it is the most extensive archaeological site on the island. However, there were other important settlements during historical times, such as the early fortified acropolis of Kastella, as well as towers and farmhouses associated with metallurgy and agriculture.
