KALYMNOS
(Κάλυμνος) The Dodecanese, Greece.
An island situated to the N of Kos. Kalymnos
was settled by Dorians. Together with the adjacent islands
it appears in the Catalogue of Ships of the
Iliad (2.676-77). After the Persian Wars it became an Athenian ally.
Before the end of the 3d c. B.C. it was annexed to Kos,
to constitute a deme. Numerous ancient sites testify to its
importance in antiquity. The main centers of occupation
in Classical times seem to have flourished at Vathy. At
Embolas, to the N of the valley of Vathy, is preserved a
circuit wall belonging to a town. A Hellenistic tower
known as Phylakai is to the SE. The crag of Kastellas
is protected by a Hellenistic (?) rubble wall. At Pothaia
to the S a sanctuary may have existed. An Ionic Temple
of Apollo has been investigated at Christos tes Jerousalem. The cult goes back to the archaic period. A
cemetery with chamber tombs has been located at
Damos. Sykia, on the W side of the island, has limestone
quarries. On the N, in the area between Emporion and
Argeinonta, various remains have been reported, such as
pottery, coins, and tombs.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
L. Ross,
Reisen auf den griechischen
Inseln des Aegaeischen meeres II (1843) 96ff; C. T.
Newton,
Travels and Discoveries in the Levant (1865)
226, 252, 285ff; Bürchner,
RE X
2 (1919) 1768-71, s.v.
Kalymna; B. D. Meritt,
ATL I (1939) 494; M. Segre,
Ann. Atene 22-23 (1944-45); G. E. Bean & J. A. Cook,
BSA 52 (1957) 127-33
M; R. H. Simpson & I. F. Lazenby,
BSA 57 (1962) 172-73
M.
D. SCHILARDI
