History of Ikaria
Ikaria has been inhabited since the Neolithic era, prior to 7000 BCE, by people whom the ancient Greeks later referred to as the Pelasgians. Around 750 BCE, Greeks from Miletus colonised Ikaria, establishing settlements in what is now called Kambos, then known as Oenoe due to its wine.
In the 6th century BCE, Ikaria was administratively united with Samos and became part of the maritime empire of Polycrates. During this period, the Temple of Artemis was built at Na in the northeast corner of the island. Na was a sacred site even for the pre-Greek Aegean inhabitants and served as an important ancient port, the last stop before navigating the dangerous waters surrounding Ikaria.
It was an ideal place for sailors to make offerings to Artemis, who, among other things, was the protectress of seafarers. The temple remained in good condition until the mid-19th century when it was looted by villagers from Christos Rachon, who took the marble to make lime for their church.
Excavations were carried out in 1939 by Greek archaeologist Linos Politis. During the German and Italian occupation of Ikaria after World War II, many artefacts uncovered by Politis disappeared. According to local legend, marble statues remain buried beneath the sand at Na beach.
In the 14th century CE, Ikaria became part of the Genoese empire in the Aegean. At some point during this period, Ikarian inhabitants destroyed their harbours to prevent the landing of unwanted visitors.
According to local historians, the Ikarians built seven watchtowers along the coast. When an enemy or unknown vessel was sighted, watchers would immediately light a fire and run to a reservoir filled with water. They would remove a wooden plug at the base, allowing the water to flow.
The guards at other towers would see the fire and replicate the action. Inside each tower’s reservoir were lines like gauges in containers, each corresponding to a different message: “pirate attack,” “approach of unknown vessel,” etc.
When the water level reached the appropriate message, the “senders” would replace the plug, extinguish the fire, and the other towers could decode the size and proximity of the threat. The towers on the island’s heights, such as at Drakano, were part of a communication network using fire signals, stretching back to the Delian League.
During this period, Ikarians rarely built villages in the clustered form we see today. Each house was low, one-roomed, with a roof made of stone slabs, and isolated from neighbours. The houses had only one low door and were enclosed by high walls on the seaside, with an opening in the roof (called an “anephantis”).
Since chimney smoke could reveal the house’s location, the chimneys were often closed. Smoke would diffuse through the stone slabs of the roof, simultaneously clearing the beams of insects. Rooms contained only essentials like a hand-mill and cauldron.
Tradition says that all slept on the floor and hid their possessions in wall crevices. Men and women wore similar clothing: woven linen skirts for women and a type of fustanella for men. Later, the “vraka” trousers and waistcoat became traditional attire for men, and women adopted corresponding traditional dress. This lifestyle contributed to longevity and a lack of social hierarchy.
Each household was self-sufficient, using the surrounding land to cultivate essentials, with women actively participating in work and social life. Villages gradually grew as descendants of a founding family expanded.
Despite the sparse population, social cohesion was strong, with festivals, communal work, and councils of elders making decisions. This lifestyle and architecture persisted until the late 19th century, and many elements continue today.
Medieval times
The Knights of St John, based in Rhodes, held power in Ikaria until 1521, when the Ottoman Empire incorporated it into its territories. Piracy then intensified, prompting islanders to adopt a practice of invisibility by retreating to the mountainous interior, concealing settlements and homes.
For piracy defence, beyond “invisibility” (sparse settlement and hiding homes), there were watchtowers, various gathering points, and defence positions (plateaus invisible from the sea), with communal hidden supplies for emergency use. Theft from these supplies was punishable by the local customary law, sometimes by death.
There are reports of Ikarians attacking unwelcome coastal visitors, even shipwrecked survivors. Ikarians famously lynched the first Turkish tax collector, managing to avoid punishment. Oral tradition recounts a story of an Ottoman Aga, carried on a litter by two Ikarians.
Fed up with his demands, they threw him into a ravine in the Kakon Katavasidi area. When Turkish authorities questioned the community about the perpetrators, the answer was, “All of us, master,” a phrase that became proverbial, emphasising solidarity in that era.
The Ottomans imposed a very lax administrative regime and did not send officials to Ikaria for centuries. The best record we have of the island during these years comes from Bishop Joseph Georgirini, who described it in 1677 as having 1,000 of the poorest inhabitants in the Aegean. In 1827, Ikaria detached itself from the Ottoman Empire but had to accept Turkish administration again, remaining part of the Ottoman Empire until 17 July 1912, when a small Turkish garrison was expelled during the Ikarian Revolution.
Free State of Ikaria
On 17 July 1912, revolutionaries expelled the Turkish garrison under the leadership of Dr Ioannis Malachias, with the fallen hero Georgios Spanos, commemorated by a monument near Chrysostomos and a statue in Evdilos.
Due to the Balkan Wars, Ikaria could not unite with Greece until November of that year. For five months, it remained an independent state, the Free State of Ikaria, with its own armed forces, seals, and anthem. Its flag was blue with a white cross in the centre.
The five months of independence were challenging. The locals lacked supplies, regular transportation, and postal services and risked becoming part of the Italian Empire in the Aegean. A national assembly decision eventually led to unification with Greece.
World War II
The island suffered tremendous human and material losses during World War II and the German and Italian Occupation. No exact figures exist on the number of starvation deaths, but in Karavostamo village alone, over 100 people died from hunger. Since then, the island’s population has largely leaned towards Communism.
The Greek government used the island as an exile location for around 13,000 communists from 1945 to 1949. Ikaria had also served as an exile site during the Metaxas regime and even earlier in Byzantine times, when imperial families were banished to the island.
This led to a local prejudice against marrying people from neighbouring islands, as Ikarians saw themselves as of noble lineage. Even today, Ikaria is nicknamed the “Red Island” or “Red Rock” due to the leftist beliefs of its residents.
Modern Times
A notable occupation of Ikarians from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century was charcoal production and trade. “Kompaniés” (Ikarian groups) travelled for months initially to Asia Minor and, after 1922, to various parts of Greece for this purpose. Later, significant emigration, mainly to the USA, and recruitment into shipping gradually limited and then ended this activity. The Ikarian diaspora in the USA is large and vibrant, maintaining strong ties with their homeland.
Quality of life improved significantly after 1960 when the Greek government began investing in island infrastructure to promote tourism, with substantial contributions from local Ikarian Georgios Tsantiris. However, Ikaria is still considered one of the “forgotten” islands, with locals relying on income from various events to improve local infrastructure. The lack of infrastructure remains notable due to the rocky, steep terrain, making projects costly.
Only in recent years have ferry service frequency and travel time improved, and the Ikaros airport in Fanari has been operational since 1995. Today, Ikaria is one of the most popular alternative summer destinations in Greece’s island tourism