Serifos
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Serifos Σέριφος |
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Airview
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 Serifos
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Location within the region
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| Coordinates: 37°09′N 24°30′E / 37.150°N 24.500°ECoordinates: 37°09′N 24°30′E / 37.150°N 24.500°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | South Aegean |
| Regional unit | Milos |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Antonios Antonakis (since 2010) |
| Area | |
| • Municipality | 75.21 km2 (29.04 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 585 m (1,919 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Municipality | 1,420 |
| • Municipality density | 19/km2 (49/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal code | 840 05 |
| Area code(s) | 22810 |
| Vehicle registration | EM |
| Website | www.serifos.gr |
Serifos (Greek: Σέριφος, Latin: Seriphus, also Seriphos; formerly Serpho or Serphanto) is a Greek island municipality in the Aegean Sea, located in the western Cyclades, south of Kythnos and northwest of Sifnos. It is part of the Milos regional unit. The area is 75.207 square kilometres (29.038 sq mi) and the population was 1,420 at the 2011 census. It is located about 170 kilometres (92 nautical miles) ESE of Piraeus.
In Greek mythology, Serifos is where Danaë and her infant son Perseus washed ashore after her father Acrisius, in response to an oracle that his own grandson would kill him, set them adrift at sea in a wooden chest. When Perseus returned to Serifos with the head of the Gorgon Medusa, he turned Polydektes, the king of Serifos, and his retainers into stone as punishment for the king's attempt to marry his mother by force.
In antiquity the island was proverbial for the alleged muteness of its frogs. During the Roman imperial period, Serifos was a place of exile. After 1204 it became a minor dependency of the Venetian dukes of the Archipelago. In the late 19th century Serifos experienced a modest economic boom from exploitation of the island's extensive iron ore deposits. The mines closed in the 1960s, and Serifos now depends on tourism and small-scale agriculture.
Worked blocks of island marble built into the walls of the medieval castle crowning Chora, the hilltop main town of Serifos, show that the ancient capital was there as well. Chance finds, primarily marble funerary sculpture, are displayed in the Archaeological Collection in Chora (open Tues.-Sun.).
The most impressive ancient monument is the (Άσπρος Πύργος), a Hellenistic marble watchtower (c. 300 BC) with walls preserved to 2 m. and an interior staircase, standing on a hilltop just east of the road from Chora to Mega Livadi, near Mega Chorio. Work began in 2011 to study the fallen blocks for an eventual reconstruction.
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Wikipedia