Like the names of cities, the names of Greek islands are not accidental. In ancient times there were periods of great geological upheavals, and the naming of “cut-off” landmasses or islands that changed shape also served the need to record these upheavals.
No name is random, and there is a history of how they were invented and what these names mean. Each island has its own history, and its name has its own interpretation. The first issue featured the islands of Paxos, Folegandros, Andros, Samos, Tinos, Naxos, Ithaca, Zakynthos, Chios, Crete, Kefalonia, Ikaria. See how (after what) other Greek islands were named.
Amorgos
The name of this atmospheric island comes from amorgia, a plant from which the ancients made excellent flax, a transparent linen fabric. Hence, in ancient times, amorgian robes were especially popular, from which the best tunics were sewn. This is one of the 21 names of Greek islands.
Alonissos
The name Alonissos comes from the ancient Greek word “als” (=sea) and the word “island”. Alonissos is an island where green meets blue!
Serifos
The name of the island comes from the root “ser”, which is given to us by the plant Serifon. Combined with the abundance of iron ore that was on the island in ancient times (and its subsequent exploitation), this meant that these herbs were powerful and healing. Therefore, the name Serifos indicates an island rich in medicinal flora, with rich subsoil.
Lefkada
The island was named by Homer. It comes from “Lefkada” because it was “white land” (i.e. white soil).
Skiathos
The name comes from the shadow, because it is a very shady island with many trees. Another interpretation says that the name comes from the shadow of Athos, which “falls” on the island.
Euboea
It is a land with numerous herds of bulls that grazed on it. As is known, oxen consume a large amount of food and cannot survive on a small island. In fact, the coins of Evia in ancient times were minted with this symbol of a bull.
Like the names of cities, the names of Greek islands are not accidental. In ancient times there were periods of great geological upheavals, and the naming of “cut-off” landmasses or islands that changed shape also served the need to record these upheavals.
No name is random, and there is a history of how they were invented and what these names mean. Each island has its own history, and its name has its own interpretation. The first issue featured the islands of Paxos, Folegandros, Andros, Samos, Tinos, Naxos, Ithaca, Zakynthos, Chios, Crete, Kefalonia, Ikaria. See how (after what) other Greek islands were named.
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