Kalymnian History

The rich history of Kalymnos and its people is one of triumphant survival:

Neolithic Age - about 3000 BC - people are occupied with agriculture and fishing.Bronze Age 3000-1100 BC ‘Old European’ people have contact with many other islands, including Minoan Crete, and adopt Minoan art, culture and beliefs.Mycaenean Age about 1100 BC - Kalymnos sends ships and men to take part in the Trojan War, as chronicled in Homer's Iliad.From 1100 BC. The Sanctuary of Apollo in use. Greek islands overrun by destructive Achaean and Dorian warriors. People flee to Asia Minor and earthquakes further reduce the population. Archaic Age 700-480 BC. Trade flourishes locally and with the East. Kalymnos becomes a city-state with its own silver coins and important Temple of Apollo civic centre.Classical Era 479-323 BC. Kalymnos joins the Athenian Alliance, is ruled by Karians, annexed by the Persians then liberated by a general of Alexander the Great.Roman Age 30 BC - 330 AD. Romans allow Kalymnos to keep its independence. New settlements built, then destroyed by earthquake. Temple of Apollo still in use.Christian Byzantine Age 330-1309 AD. Ancient culture destroyed. New settlements and churches built. 554 AD, an earthquake separates Telendos from Kalymnos.Knights of St John 1309 -1523. The knights flee Jerusalem and settle the Dodecanese islands. They occupy the castle at Chora and build castles and churches.Turkish Ottoman rule 1523-1912. Kalymnos retains much independence. Sponge diving, processing and international trade come to define the island, with great wealth for some. But thousands of divers are crippled or killed by decompression sickness.Italian Occupation 1912-1943. Italian language imposed but Kalymnians resist changes to culture and their Greek Orthodox religion. New roads and civic buildings constructed. Sponge industry hit and many young men go to work in the sponge trade in Florida.1943-47. Occupation by Germans, with much hunger and hardship but also many acts of bravery by Kalymnians. Brief protectorates by the British and the Greek military.1948. Kalymnos incorporated into modern Greek state. The only place in Greece to maintain a sponge diving trade, but with mixed fortunes. Australian migration starts.1986. Devastating disease kills the sponges. Tourism developed on the west coast, Telendos and Emporios. People go to USA and Australia to work or settle. 2001. Kalymnos becomes a mecca for rock climbers. The kouros find is unearthed.