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Lesbos (Municipality, Greece)

Λέσβος

Presentation of Lesbos
Former municipality of Gera
Former municipality of Mytilene
Former municipality of Polichnitos

See also:

Presentation of Lesbos

The municipality of Lesbos (86,436 inhabitants in 2011; 16,328 ha) covers the island of the same name, located off the western coast of Turkey. The municipality was formed in the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the 13 former municipalities of Agia Paraskevi (Αγία Παρασκευή, 2,628 inh.), Agiasos (Αγιάσος, 2,498 inh.), Gera (Γέρα, 6,985 inh.), Eresos Antissa (Ερεσός-Άντισσα, 5,530 inh.), Evergetoulas (Ευεργέτουλας, 3,336 inh.), Kalloni (Καλλονή, 8,194 inh.), Loutropoli Thermis (Λουτρόπολη Θερμής, 3,809 inh.), Mantamados (Μανταμάδος, 3,210 inh.), Mithymna (Μήθυμνα, 2,433 inh.), Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη, 37,890 inh.), Petra (Πέτρα, 3,358 inh.), Plomari (Πλωμάρι, 6,698 inh.), and Polichnitos (Πολίχνιτος, 5,288 inh.).

Olivier Touzeau, 17 August 2013

Former municipality of Gera

Flag of Gera - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 17 August 2013

Gera is located in the southeastern part of the island; its municipal seat was the town of Pappados (Παππάδος, 1,510 inh.).

The flag of Gera (Kokkonis website) was white with the municipal logo.

Olivier Touzeau, 17 August 2013

Former municipality of Mytilene

Flag of Mytilene - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 20 May 2014

As an ancient city, lying off the east coast, Mytilene was initially confined to a small island just offshore that later was joined to Lesbos, creating a north and south harbour. Her most famous citizens were the poets Sappho and Alcaeus and the statesman Pittacus (one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece). Mytilene revolted against Athens in 428 BC but was overcome by an Athenian expeditionary force. The Athenian public assembly voted to massacre all the men of the city and to sell the women and children into slavery but changed its mind the next day. Aristotle lived on Mytilene for two years, 337-335 BC, with his friend and successor, Theophrastus (a native of the island), after becoming the tutor to Alexander, son of King Philip II of Macedon.
The Romans, among whom was a young Julius Caesar, successfully besieged Mytilene in 80 BC. Although Mytilene supported the losing side in most of the great wars of the 1st century BC, her statesmen succeeded in convincing Rome of her support of the new ruler of the Mediterranean and the city flourished in Roman times. In AD 56, Paul the Apostle stopped there on the return trip of his third missionary journey.
In the Middle Ages, it was part of the Byzantine Empire and was occupied for some time by the Seljuks under Tzachas of Smyrna in 1085. In 1198, the Republic of Venice obtained the right to commerce from the city's port. In the 13th century, it was captured by the Emperor of Nicaea, Theodore I Laskaris. In 1335, the Byzantines, with the help of Ottoman forces, reconquered the island, then property of the Genoese nobleman Domenico Cattaneo. In 1354, emperor John V Palaiologos gave it to the Genoese adventurer Francesco Gattilusio, who married the emperor's sister, Maria. They renovated the fortress in 1373, and it remained in Genoese hands until 1462, when it was captured by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II.
Lesbos remained under Turkish rule until 1912 when it was taken by Greek forces during the First Balkan War.

The flag of Mytilene (Kokkonis website) was blue with the municipality's emblem and name.

Olivier Touzeau, 20 May 2014

Former municipality of Polichnitos

Flag of Polichnitos - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 21 June 2014

Polichnitos is located in the central south coast of the island, adjacent to the south side of the Bay of Kalloni. Its flag (Kokkonis website) was white with the municipality's emblem, which shows a white stork nest.

Olivier Touzeau, 21 June 2014