SKYROS
Major island of the N Sporades, Greece, near
Kyme in Euboia.
Famous for the legends of
Theseus and of Achilles.
In 470 B.C. Kimon seized the island, enslaving the inhabitants and replacing them with Athenian colonists. In
332 B.C. the Macedonians freed it from Athenian domination. To the S of the village of Skyros, on the hill
that dominates the present village a Venetian fort has
taken full advantage of the Greek substructures. In the
walls of the acropolis, trapezoidal masonry alternates
with irregular courses (attributable to the 5th c. B.C.) and
with isodomic blocks having squared faces. Very scarce
remains of the enclosing wall are datable to ca. 450 B.C.
Traces of stratification indicating habitation during the
Early and Middle Bronze Ages have recently been found
by D. R. Theocharis. During the Empire, breccia, which
was much in demand for its decorative quality, was quarried.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
P. Graindor,
Histoire de l'île de Skyros
(1906); R. L. Scranton,
Greek Walls (1941); D. R. Theocharis,
EphArch 1945-47 (1949); H. D. Hansen,
Studies
Presented to D. M. Robinson I (1951); K. Karouzos,
AthMitt (1956); F. Schachermeyer,
Arch.Anz. (1962)
Heft 2; R. Gnoli,
Par.d.Pass. (1966).
N. BONACASA
