Tenos
Tenos, an island in the Cyclades group of Greece, is situated between Andros and Mykonos. The island boasts a rich historical background, with archaeological findings dating back to the Neolithic period, showcasing its long-standing human activity. Notably, during the early first millennium BC, Tenos became known for its distinctive pottery and the issuance of coins featuring grape designs. The island played a significant role in ancient Greek history, participating in the Persian Wars and later joining the Delian League under Athenian leadership. Throughout its history, Tenos faced challenges such as piracy but regained prosperity during the Roman Principate, when its rights of asylum were formally recognized.
Tenos is also renowned for its archaeological sites, particularly a sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon and Amphitrite, which attracted visitors from surrounding islands. A large ancient portico, discovered near the beach, is noted to be the largest of its kind in Greece, although it suffered destruction from piracy. The island's historical remnants include structures from various periods, such as walls and towers dating back to the fifth and third centuries BC. Today, Tenos continues to be a point of interest for those exploring its rich cultural heritage and archaeological significance.
Subject Terms
Tenos
An Aegean island belonging to the Cyclades group, between Andros (one mile distant) and Myconos
The region now known as Kardiani has yielded material dating back to the Neolithic period, as well as finds of the early first millennium BC. During the latter period Tenos made its own pottery with relief decorations, mainly between 750 and 650. Not long afterward, it began to issue its own coins—displaying, at first, the design of a bunch of grapes. The island was famous for the abundance of its springs.
During the Persian Wars its ships were enrolled in the fleet of Xerxes I (480), but before the battle of Salamis one of these vessels succeeded in deserting to the Greeks, whom its crew then informed of the Persians' plans. Subsequently Tenos was honored for thus joining the victorious Greek side. It became a member of the Delian League, under the leadership of Athens, and during the Peloponnesian War sent vessels to take part in the Athenian expedition against Syracuse (415–413). Tenos was overrun by Alexander of Pherae of Thessaly (369–358). During the third century it became one of the principal members of an Island League—with recognized rights of asylum—and after 200 came under the protection of Rhodes. Its inhabitants suffered seriously from piracy, but regained prosperity during the Principate—when their rights of asylum were confirmed by Tiberius (AD 14–37)—and resumed coinage in the second century AD. In the later empire Tenos became part of a new province of the Aegean Islands (Insulae).
Its principal settlement, in the southwestern district, seems to have lain beneath the modern town (though this is disputed: see below). Remnants of its wall and towers have survived, dating from the fifth and third centuries BC. Tenos owed its fame, however, to a sanctuary of Poseidon and Amphitrite at Kionia to the west of the city, much frequented, according to Strabo, by people from the neighboring islands; its attribution to the fourth and early third centuries BC has been confirmed by discoveries on the site. A recently excavated portico parallel to the beach, five hundred and fifty feet long, is the largest known in Greece; erected and then redesigned before 100 BC, it suffered destruction in the following century—no doubt as a result of piratical raids—and was never wholly reconstructed. A colonnaded refectory has been identified nearby. The museum contains huge jars of the seventh century BC, ornamented with friezes; and there is also a sundial, attributed to Andronicus Cyrrhestes. Further north, at the foot of Mount Xambourgo, another ancient fortified center, containing a public building and a temple, has left traces below the Venetian castle. According to some scholars this, rather than the more southerly center, was the ancient city of Tenos.