View source for Thasos

{{Short description|Greek island in the North Aegean Sea}}
{{About|the island||Thasos (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Greece place
| name                    = Thasos
| name_local              = Θάσος
| type                    = regional unit and municipality
| image_skyline           = Limenas, Thassos.JPG
| caption_skyline         = Limenas (port) of Thasos, capital of the island
| city_flag               = 
| image_map               = 2011 Dimos Thasou.svg
| map_caption             = Thasos within Eastern Macedonia and Thrace
| coordinates             = {{coord|40|41|N|24|39|E|display=inline,title}}
| periph                  = [[Eastern Macedonia and Thrace]]
| seat                    = [[Thasos (town)|Thasos]]
| area                    = 380
| elevation               = 1205
| population              = 13104
| population_as_of        = 2021
| demonym                 = 
| postal_code             = 640 04
| area_code               = 25930
| licence                 = ΚΒ
| website                 = 
| mayor = Eleftherios Kyriakidis<ref name=mayor>{{Cite web |url=https://ekloges.ypes.gr/current/d/home/en/municipalities/9011/ |title=Municipality of Thassos, Municipal elections{{snd}}October 2023 |publisher=[[Ministry of the Interior (Greece)|Ministry of Interior]]}}</ref>
| since = 2019
}}
'''Thasos''' ({{langx|el|Θάσος}} {{IPA|el|ˈθasos|}}) is a [[List of islands of Greece|Greek island]] in the northern [[Aegean Sea]]. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. 

The island has an area of 380 km<sup>2</sup> and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate [[regional unit]] within the [[East Macedonia and Thrace]] region. Before the local administration reform of 2011, it was part of the [[Kavala Prefecture]]. The largest town and the capital is [[Thasos (town)|Thasos]], officially known as ''Limenas Thasou'', "Port of Thasos", situated on the northern side. It is connected with the mainland by regular ferry lines between [[Keramoti]] and Thasos town, and between the regional centre of [[Kavala]] and [[Skala Prinou]].

The most important economic activity on the island is tourism. The main agricultural products are honey, almonds, walnuts, olives (such as the local Throumba variety which has a protected designation of origin), olive oil, and wine. The inhabitants also engage in fishing, and in the herding of sheep and goats.

==History==

===Mythology===

Staphylus ({{langx|grc|Στάφυλος}}), the beloved son of god [[Dionysus]], lived in Thasos.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/240#th.59 Suda, § th.59]</ref>

===Prehistory===

Lying close to the coast of [[East Macedonia and Thrace|Eastern Macedonia]], Thasos was inhabited from the [[Palaeolithic period]] onwards,<ref>Papadopoulos S., "Recent Field Investigations in Paleolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age Thasos", International Symposium in Memoriam Mieczislaw Domaradzki, Kazanlak, Archaeological Institute of Sofia, Kazanluk, (in press)</ref> but the earliest settlement to have been explored in detail is that at Limenaria, where remains from the Middle and Late [[Neolithic]] relate closely to those found at the mainland's [[Drama, Greece|Drama plain]]. In contrast, Early [[Bronze Age]] remains on the island align it with the [[Aegean civilizations|Aegean]] culture of the [[Cycladic culture|Cyclades]] and [[Sporades]], to the south; at Skala Sotiros<ref>Κουκούλη Χ.- Χρυσανθάκη, "Ανασκαφή Σκάλας Σωτήρος Θάσου", Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και Θράκη, 1, ((1987), 1988, 391–406, 2 (1988), 1991, 421–431, 3 (1989), 1992, 507–520, 4 (1990), 1993, 531–545).</ref> for example, a small settlement was encircled by a strongly built defensive wall. Even earlier activity is demonstrated by the presence of large pieces of '[[megalith]]ic' [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] [[stelai]] built into these walls, which, so far, have no parallels in the Aegean area.

There is then a gap in the archaeological record until the end of the Bronze Age, {{circa|1100 BC}}, when the first burials took place at the large cemetery of Kastri in the interior of the island.<ref>Chaidou Koukouli-Chrysanthaki: Πρωτοιστορική Θάσος. Τα νεκροταφεία του οικισμού Κάστρι, Μερος Α και Β, Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού, Δυμοσιέυματα του αρχαιολογικού Δελτίου Αρ. 45, {{ISBN|960-214-107-7}}</ref><ref>Agelarakis A., "Reflections of the Human Condition in Prehistoric Thasos: Aspects of the Anthropological and Palaeopathological Record from the Settlement of Kastri". Actes du Colloque International Matières prèmieres et Technologie de la Préhistoire à nos jours, Limenaria, Thasos.  The French Archaeological Institute in Greece, 1999.  pp. 447–468.</ref> Here tombs covered with small mounds of earth were typical until the end of the [[Iron Age]]. In the earliest tombs there was a small quantity of locally imitated [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] pottery, but the majority of the hand-made pottery with incised decoration reflects connections eastwards, with [[Thrace]] and beyond.

===Antiquity===
[[File:Plan der antiken Stadt Thasos.png|thumb|Plan of Thasos]]
[[File:Agora of Thasos.jpg|thumb|Ancient Agora of Thasos]]
[[File:Geschichtetes Mauerwerk über Parmenon-Turm, aus Süd C.jpg|thumb|City walls of Thasos]]

The island was colonised at an early date by [[Phoenicia]]ns, attracted probably by its gold mines; they founded a temple to the god [[Melqart]], whom the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]] identified as "[[Heracles|Tyrian Heracles]]", and whose cult was merged with Heracles in the course of the island's [[Hellenization]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 5.25.12. "The Thasians, who are Phoenicians by descent, and sailed from [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], and from Phoenicia generally, together with Thasos, the son of Agenor, in search of Europa, dedicated at Olympia a Herakles, the pedestal as well as the image being of bronze. The height of the image is ten cubits, and he holds a club in his right hand and a bow in his left. They told me in Thasos that they used to worship the same Heracles as the Tyrians, but that afterwards, when they were included among the Greeks, they adopted the worship of Heracles the son of Amphitryon."</ref> In the 5th century BC, [[Herodotus]] visited a sanctuary of Heracles on Thasos, presumably the Heracleion still visible today, and reported that it had been built by the Phoenicians.<ref>Herodotus. ''Histories'', 2.44. "In the wish to get the best information that I could on these matters, I made a voyage to Tyre in Phoenicia, hearing there was a temple of [[Hercules|Heracles]] at that place, very highly venerated. I visited the temple, and found it richly adorned with a number of offerings, among which were two pillars, one of pure gold, the other of smaragdos, shining with great brilliancy at night. In a conversation I held with the priests, I inquired how long their temple had been built, and found by their answer that they, too, differed from the Hellenes. They said that the temple was built at the same time that the city was founded, and that the foundation of the city took place 2,300 years ago. In [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] I remarked another temple where the same god was worshipped as the Thasian Heracles. So I went on to Thasos, where I found a temple of Heracles, which had been built by the Phoenicians who colonised that island when they sailed in search of Europa. Even this was five generations earlier than the time when Heracles, son of Amphitryon, was born in [[Ancient Greece|Hellas]]. These researches show plainly that there is an ancient god Heracles; and my own opinion is that those Hellenes act most wisely who build and maintain two temples of Heracles, in the one of which the Heracles worshipped is known by the name of [[Olympia, Greece|Olympian]], and has sacrifice offered to him as an immortal, while in the other the honours paid are such as are due to a hero."</ref> An [[eponym]]ous Thasos or [[Thasus]], son of [[Phoenix (son of Agenor)|Phoenix]] (or of [[Agenor]], as Pausanias reported) was said to have been the leader of the Phoenicians, and to have given his name to the [[List of islands of Greece|island]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=727}}

Around 650 BC, or a little earlier, Greeks from [[Paros]] founded a colony on Thasos.<ref>AJ Graham,"The Foundation of Thasos", ''The Annual of the British School at Athens'', Vol. 73 (1978), pp. 61-98.</ref> A generation or so later, the poet [[Archilochus of Paros|Archilochus]], a descendant of these colonists, wrote of casting away his shield during a minor war against an indigenous Thracian tribe, the Saians.<ref>Zafeiropoulou F., A., Agelarakis,  "Warriors of Paros". Archaeology 58.1(2005): 30–35.</ref> Thasian power extended to the mainland, where the Thasians owned gold mines even more valuable than those of the island; their combined annual revenues amounted to between 200 and 300 [[Attic talent]]s. Herodotus says that the best mines on the island were those opened by the Phoenicians on the east side, facing [[Samothrace]]. Archilochus described Thasos as "an ass's backbone crowned with wild wood." The island's capital, [[Thasos (town)|Thasos]], had two harbours. Besides its gold mines, the wine, nuts and marble of Thasos were well known in antiquity.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=727}} Thasian wine was quite famous. Thasian coinage bore images of the wine-god [[Dionysos]] and grape bunches.<ref>Hugh Johnson, ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 39. Simon and Schuster 1989</ref>

During the [[Ionian revolt]] against [[Persian Empire|Persia]], Thasos was under Persian domination. After the capture of [[Miletus]] (494 BC), [[Histiaeus of Miletus|Histiaeus]], the [[Ionia]]n leader, laid siege to Thasos, without success. In response, the Thasians built warships and strengthened their fortifications, but this provoked the suspicions of [[Darius I of Persia]], who compelled them to surrender their ships and pull down their walls.<ref>Agelarakis A., – Y., Serpanos "Auditory Exostoses, Infracranial Skeleto-Muscular Changes and Maritime Activities in  Classical Period Thasos Island", Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2010, 45–57.</ref> After the defeat of [[Xerxes I]] the Thasians joined the [[Delian League]] but left in a disagreement over their mainland mines and markets.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=727}}

[[File:Thasos - AR tritartemorion.jpg|thumb|right|Silver [[Ancient drachma#Denominations of ancient Greek drachma|tritartemorion]] struck in Thasos {{Circa|411–404 BC}}. [[Satyr]] on the obverse and dolphins on the reverse]]
The [[Athenians]] eventually defeated Thasos's navy, and took the capital after a two-year siege. The Thasians were made to destroy their walls, surrender their ships and their mainland possessions, and pay a regular indemnity. In 411 BC, during a period of political instability at Athens, Thasos accepted a [[Lacedaemon]]ian governor; but in 407 BC the partisans of Lacedaemon were expelled, and the Athenians under [[Thrasybulus]] were admitted.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=727}}

After the [[Battle of Aegospotami]] (405 BC), Thasos again fell into the hands of the Lacedaemonians under [[Lysander]] but the Athenians must have recovered it, for it formed one of the subjects of dispute between them and [[Philip II of Macedon]]ia. In the embroilment between [[Philip V of Macedon]]ia and the [[Roman Empire|Romans]], Thasos submitted to Philip, but received its freedom at the hands of the Romans after the [[Battle of Cynoscephalae]] (197 BC), and it was still a nominally "free" state in the time of [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=727}}

Excavations of various island sites between March and May 1887 by Theodore and [[Mabel Bent]] uncovered an 'Arch of Caracalla', and the collapsed remains of a unique portrait-statue of the emperor [[Hadrian]]'s wife, the empress [[Vibia Sabina|Flavia Vibia Sabina]], with an inscription dedicated to her as a "high priestess".<ref>Sheila Dillon, ''The Female Portrait Statue in the Greek World'', 147-149, 278. Cambridge University Press (2010).</ref><ref>See also Mabel Bent’s diary, January 1888, Istanbul, ''The Travel Chronicles of Mrs J. Theodore Bent, Vol. 1'', p.230 (Oxford, 2006).</ref>

===Middle Ages===
{{further|Byzantine Greece|Frankokratia}}
[[File:Saint Nicholas Church in Limenas, Thasos from SE.jpg|thumb|Byzantine church in Thasos]]

Thasos was part of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], now known as the [[Byzantine Empire]], from 395 on. According to the 6th century ''[[Synecdemus]]'', it belonged to the province of [[Macedonia Prima]], although the 10th century ''De thematibus'' claims that it was part of [[Thracia]].<ref name="ODB">{{cite encyclopedia | title = Thasos | last1 = Gregory | first1 = Timothy E. | last2 = Cutler | first2 = Anthony  | page = 2031 | editor-first = Alexander | editor-last = Kazhdan |editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan | encyclopedia = [[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] | location = London and New York | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0-19-504652-6}}</ref> The island was a major source of marble until the disruption of the [[Slavic people|Slavic]] invasions in the late 6th/7th centuries, and several churches from [[Late Antiquity]] have been found on it.<ref name="ODB"/> The island remained in Byzantine hands for most of the [[Middle Ages]]. It functioned as a naval base in the 13th century, under its own ''[[dux|doux]]'', and came briefly under the rule of the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] [[Tedisio Zaccaria]] in 1307–13. Returning to Byzantine control, its bishopric was raised to an archdiocese by [[Manuel II Palaiologos]]. Thasos was captured by the Genoese [[Gattilusi]] family c.&nbsp;1434, who surrendered it to the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1455.<ref name="ODB"/> Following the Ottoman conquest of the [[Despotate of the Morea]]  in 1460, the former Despot [[Demetrios Palaiologos]] received lands on the island.<ref name="ODB"/> It is related that the Byzantine Greek Saint [[Joannicius the Great]] (752–846) in one of his miracles freed the island of Thasos from a multitude of snakes.

===Ottoman era===
{{further|Ottoman Greece}}
Thasos was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1456.<ref>Somel, Selçuk Akşin, ''The A to Z of the Ottoman Empire'', p. 103, Scarecrow Press, Mar 23, 2010</ref> Under Ottoman rule, the island was known in [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]] as طاشوز - ''Taşöz''. Between 1770 and 1774, the island was briefly occupied by a [[Russia]]n fleet. By this time its population had gravitated to the inland villages as a protective measure.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greektravel.com/greekislands/thassos/index.htm|title=Greek Islands:Thassos|access-date=4 December 2015}}</ref>  Nearly 50 years later, a revolt against Ottoman rule arose in 1821, at the outbreak of the [[Greek War of Independence]], led by Hatzigiorgis Metaxas, but it failed. The [[1831 census of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Census of 1831]] states that the island was populated exclusively by Greeks and that there were 1,821 Greek males fit to fight. This register excluded women, orphans, Christians below the age of puberty, the mentally or physically incapacitated as well as high-ranking officials, so the actual population would have been over double this.<ref>[[Kemal Karpat]] (1985), [https://kupdf.net/downloadFile/59e4a7b908bbc56144e653d7 Ottoman Population, 1830-1914, Demographic and Social Characteristics], [[The University of Wisconsin Press]], p. 9 & 114</ref>

The island had been given in 1813 by the Sultan [[Mahmud II]] to the Ottoman Albanian ruler [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt]] as a personal fiefdom, as a reward for his [[Wahhabi War|intervention against the Wahhabites]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kamusella|first=Tomasz|author-link=Tomasz Kamusella|title=Central Europe's Limits in the North and the South|journal=Acta Slavica Iaponica|volume=44|year=2023|pages=83–112|issn=0288-3503|publisher=Slavic Research Center, [[Hokkaido University]]}}</ref> On 20 October 1912 during the [[First Balkan War]], the Greek navy invaded Thasos and annexed it into Greece after more than 350 years of Ottoman Turkish rule.

===Modern era===
{{further|Axis occupation of Greece during World War II}}
[[File:Parelia am Fischerhafen C.jpg|thumb|Limenaria in 1950s]]

During the [[Axis powers|Axis]] occupation (April 1941{{snd}}October 1944) Thasos, along with the region of [[East Macedonia and Thrace]], was assigned by the Nazis to their [[Bulgaria]]n allies. The Bulgarian government renamed the island "Tasos" and closed its schools. Thasos's mountainous terrain facilitated resistance activity, mainly led by the left-wing [[National Liberation Front (Greece)|National Liberation Front]] (EAM). After the end of the war and the withdrawal of Axis troops in 1944, the island was caught up in the [[Greek Civil War]]. The leader of the communist naval faction, Sarantis Spintzos, was a native of Thasos.<ref>Κώστας Τσίμας, Σελίδες Ζωής: Αγώνες για την Ελευθερία και τη Δημοκρατία, 2004, σελίδες 36-40</ref> Skirmishes and [[Communism|communist]] guerilla attacks continued until 1950, almost a year after hostilities had ended on the Greek mainland.

In the post-war decades, another native of Thasos, Costas Tsimas, was to attain national recognition; a friend of Prime Minister [[Andreas Papandreou]], he was appointed Director of the [[National Intelligence Service (Greece)|National Intelligence Service]], the first civilian to hold that post.

[[Thasos (town)|Thasos]], the capital, informally known as Limenas, or "the port", is served by a ferry route to and from [[Keramoti]] a port close to [[Kavala International Airport]], and has the shortest possible crossing to the island.
Scala Prinos 20&nbsp;km south of Thassos town is served by a ferry route to and from [[Kavala]].

==Administration==
Thasos is a separate [[regional units of Greece|regional unit]] of the [[East Macedonia and Thrace]] region, and the only [[Communities and Municipalities of Greece|municipality]] of the regional unit. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Thasos was created out of part of the former [[Kavala Prefecture]].<ref name=Kallikratis>{{Cite web|url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL8-SrPzKAEPjjtIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6hq6ZkZV96FIukI0UzcPsWCK0LpLhpa7rhiWB4R5ntTnoWw7U8E1Amg.|title=ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text|language=el|publisher=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette]]}}</ref> The municipality, unchanged at the Kallikratis reform, includes a few uninhabited islets besides the main island Thasos and has an area of 380.097&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name=stat01>{{cite web|url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf|publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece|title=Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)|language=el|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921212047/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf|archive-date=2015-09-21}}</ref> The province of Thasos ({{langx|el|Επαρχία Θάσου}}) was one of the [[provinces of Greece|provinces]] of the Kavala Prefecture. It had the same territory as the present municipality.<ref name=census91>{{cite web |url= http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00086.pdf |title= Detailed census results 1991 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183824/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00086.pdf |archive-date= 2016-03-03 }}&nbsp;{{small|(39&nbsp;MB)}} {{in lang|el|fr}}</ref> It was abolished in 2006.

==Geography==
[[File:Thasos.jpg|thumb|Thasos from space, April 1993]]
[[File:Thasos2022OSM.png|thumb|left|Detailed map of Thasos]]
Thasos is located in the northern Aegean sea approximately {{convert|7|km|0|abbr=on}} from the northern mainland and {{convert|20|km|0|abbr=off}} south-east of [[Kavala]]. It is of generally round shape, without deep bays or significant peninsulas. The terrain is mountainous but not particularly rugged, rising gradually from coast to centre. The highest peak is [[Ypsario]] (Ipsario), at {{convert|1205|m|0|abbr=off}}, somewhat east of centre. Pine forest covers much of the island's eastern slopes.

Historically, the island's population was chiefly engaged in agriculture and stockbreeding, and established villages inland, some of them connected via stairways (known as skalas) to harbors at the shore. The local population gradually migrated towards these shoreline settlements as tourism began to develop as an important source of income. Thus, there are several "paired villages" such as Maries–Skala Maries, with the former inland and the latter on the coast.

===Geology===
{{technical|section|date=January 2013}}
[[File:Epitropou 4.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Geological and Metallogenic map of Thasos island.]]

The island is formed mainly by [[gneiss]]es, [[schist]]s and [[marble]]s of the [[Rhodope Mountains|Rhodope]] massif. Marble sequences corresponding to the [[Falakro]] marbles intercalated by schists and gneisses, are up to 500&nbsp;m thick and are separated from the underlying gneisses by a transition zone about 300&nbsp;m thick.

The rocks have undergone several periods of regional metamorphism, to at least upper [[amphibolite]] facies, and there was a subsequent phase of retrograde metamorphism. At least three periods of regional deformation have been identified, the most important being large scale [[isocline (geology)|isoclinal folding]] with axes aligned north-west. The T-zone is deformed and is interpreted by some authors as a regional thrust of  pre-major folding age. There are two major high angle fault systems aligned north-west and north-east respectively. A large low-angle thrust cuts the gneiss, schist and marble sequence at the south-west corner of the island, probably indicating an overthrusting of the Serbomacedonian Massif onto the Rodope Massif.

The [[Late Miocene]] oil-producing Nestos-Prinos basin is located between Thassos island and the mainland. The floor of the basin is around 1,500 m deep off the Thassos coast (South Kavala ridge; Proedrou, 1988) and up to 4.000–5.000 m in the axial sector between Thassos and the mainland. The basin is filled with Late Miocene-Pliocene sediments, including ubiquitously repeated evaporite layers of rock salt and anhydrite-dolomite that alternate with sandstones, conglomerates, black shales, and [[uranium|uraniferous]] [[coal measures]] (Proedrou, 1979, 1988; Taupitz, 1985). Stratigraphically equivalent rocks on the mainland are clastic sediments with coal beds, marine to brackish fluvial units and travertines.

===Mining history===
The earliest mining on the island has been dated to around 13,000 BC, when [[Paleolithic]] miners dug a shaft at the site of the modern-era Tzines iron mine for the extraction of [[limonite|limonitic]] ochre.<ref>Kovkouli ''et al''. 1988.</ref> Mining for base and precious metals started around the 7th century BC with the Phoenicians, followed in the 4th century by the Greeks, then the Romans. These later mines were both open-cast and underground, mostly to exploit the island's numerous [[karst]] hosted calamine deposits for their lead and silver. Gold, copper and iron were also found; the [[Byzantine]]s quarried marble on the island.

Friedrich Speidel, associated with the German jewelry company [[Speidel]], obtained concessions to operate zinc-lead ore mines on Thasos in the early 1900s, and mining operations began around 1903. During this period, the company constructed a large administrative residence overlooking Limenaria, commonly known as ''Speidel Castle'', sometimes referred to locally as the ''Palataki'' ("little palace"). Built in the early twentieth century and designed by Italian architect Pietro Arigoni, the building served as the headquarters of the Speidel mining operations on the island. The building still stands today above the harbor of Limenaria and remains largely abandoned, serving as a visible reminder of the island's early twentieth-century wealthy mining industry. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Speidel mining operations were halted, leading to the closure of the enterprise and a temporary end to mining activity on the island. Iron ore mining later resumed on a significant scale between 1954 and 1964, producing approximately 3 million tonnes. Since 1964, geological surveys have confirmed the presence of a deep-level zinc–lead deposit; however, the only mining activity on the island in recent decades has been marble quarrying.<ref>{{cite web |title=Limenaria, Thasos Island, Kavala Prefecture, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece |url=https://www.mindat.org/loc-1948.html |website=Mindat.org |access-date=10 March 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Palace in Limenaria of Thasos |url=https://www.allovergreece.com/Attraction/44/14/2435/en |access-date=10 March 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Palace in Limenaria of Thasos |url=https://gotothrace.com/content/palace-in-limenaria-of-thasos |access-date=10 March 2026}}</ref>

<gallery class="center">
File:Sellada.jpg|[[Lead]]-[[zinc]] mine at Sellada
File:Cupanada.jpg|Iron mine of Koupanada
File:GR Thasos 81 Grube E1 01.jpg|Gold mine
File:Tzines.jpg|Iron mine at Tzines, with Paleolithic mine-tunnel
File:Marble quarry Thasos island.jpg|Marble quarry of Alyki
</gallery>

==Climate==
Thasos has a [[hot-summer Mediterranean climate]] (''Csa'' in the [[Köppen climate classification]]) with mild winters and hot summers.

{{Weather box
| location = Thasos 
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
|Jan high C=10.5
|Feb high C=12.2
|Mar high C=14.3
|Apr high C=18.5
|May high C=23.7
|Jun high C=28.3
|Jul high C=31.2
|Aug high C=32.1
|Sep high C=27.1
|Oct high C=20.9
|Nov high C=16.6
|Dec high C=12.5

|Jan mean C= 7.3
|Feb mean C=8.8
|Mar mean C=10.7
|Apr mean C=14.2
|May mean C=19.2
|Jun mean C=23.7
|Jul mean C=26.4
|Aug mean C=27.3
|Sep mean C=22.8
|Oct mean C=17.2
|Nov mean C=13.4
|Dec mean C=9.5

|Jan low C= 4.1
|Feb low C= 5.3
|Mar low C= 7.0
|Apr low C=9.9
|May low C=14.7
|Jun low C=19.1
|Jul low C=21.6
|Aug low C=22.4
|Sep low C=18.4
|Oct low C=13.4
|Nov low C=10.2
|Dec low C= 6.4

|Jan rain mm=112.3
|Feb rain mm=55.7
|Mar rain mm=74.1
|Apr rain mm=48.7
|May rain mm=41.2
|Jun rain mm=57.5
|Jul rain mm=17.5
|Aug rain mm=15.6
|Sep rain mm=30.0
|Oct rain mm=71.2
|Nov rain mm=128.5
|Dec rain mm=142.3

| Jan record high C = 19.8
| Feb record high C = 20.4
| Mar record high C = 23.6
| Apr record high C = 27.3
| May record high C = 30.9
| Jun record high C = 35.7
| Jul record high C = 37.2
| Aug record high C = 39.0
| Sep record high C = 36.1
| Oct record high C = 30.0
| Nov record high C = 25.3
| Dec record high C = 20.9

| Jan record low C = -4.8
| Feb record low C = -3.8
| Mar record low C = -2.6
| Apr record low C = 2.3
| May record low C = 8.9
| Jun record low C = 11.4
| Jul record low C = 16.3
| Aug record low C = 17.8
| Sep record low C = 9.3
| Oct record low C = 6.6
| Nov record low C = 1.2
| Dec record low C = -3.3

|source 1= [[National Observatory of Athens]] Monthly Bulletins (Dec 2014 -  Sep 2023) <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.meteo.gr/Monthly_Bulletins.cfm | title=Meteo.gr - Προγνώσεις καιρού για όλη την Ελλάδα }}</ref> |source 2= Thasos N.O.A station <ref>{{cite web | url=https://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/thasos/ | title=Latest Conditions in Thasos }}</ref> and [[World Meteorological Organization]]<ref name="WMO">{{cite web | url=https://oscar.wmo.int/surface/#/search/station/stationReportDetails/0-300-1-thasos | title=World Meteorological Organization | accessdate=25 November 2023}}</ref>
}}

==Transport==

There are two main roads in Thasos: [[Greek National Road 69]]; and Kavala Provincial Road 17, created in 1956 while the island was part of the [[Kavala Prefecture]].<ref name="eo-list-1963">{{Cite Greek roads|eo-1963|page=2501}}</ref><ref name="ep-list-1956">{{Cite Greek roads|ep-1956|page=765}}</ref> 

==Economy==
[[File:Thasos Throumba Olives AB.jpg|thumb|Throumba olives on sale at a supermarket]]
By far the most important economic activity is tourism. The main agricultural products on the island are [[honey]], [[almonds]], [[walnuts]], [[olive]]s (such as the local [[Throumba olives|Throumba]] variety which has a [[protected designation of origin]]), [[olive oil]], and [[wine]]. The inhabitants also engage in the herding of [[sheep]] and [[goat]]s, and fishing.<ref name="thassos-dream.gr economy">{{cite web |url=http://thassos-dream.gr/go-thassos-2/why-go-thassos/#economy |title=Why is Thassos important |work=thassos-dream.gr |at=Economy |access-date=2015-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208053637/http://thassos-dream.gr/go-thassos-2/why-go-thassos/#economy |archive-date=2015-12-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other industries are lumber and mining which includes [[lead]], [[zinc]], and [[marble]], especially in the Panagia area where one of the mountains near the Thracian Sea has a large marble quarry. The marble quarries in the south (in the area of Aliki), now abandoned, were mined during ancient times.

==Localities==
[[File:Panagia Schieferdächer C.jpg|thumb|Panagia village]]

Towns and villages with over 100 inhabitants (2021 census) are:<ref name=census21/>

* [[Kallirachi, Thasos|Kallirachi]] (417)
* [[Limenaria]] (2,351)
* [[Panagia, Thasos|Panagia]] (672)
* [[Potamia, Thasos|Potamia]] (1,274)
* [[Potos, Thasos|Potos]] (788)
* [[Prinos, Thasos|Prinos]] (1,160)
* [[Rachoni]] (408)
* [[Skala Kallirachis]] (554)
* [[Skala Marion]] (367)
* [[Skala Rachoniou]] (219)
* [[Skala Sotiros]] (360)
* [[Thasos (town)|Thasos]] (Limenas Thasou) (3,331)
* [[Theologos, Thasos|Theologos]] (515)
[[File:Theologos Thasos IMGP8077.jpg|thumb|Traditional village of [[Theologos, Thasos|Theologos]]]]

==Historical population==
{| class="wikitable"
|- 
! Year !! Town !! Municipality
|-
| 1981 || 2,312 || – 
|-
| 1991 || 2,600 || – 
|-
| 2001 || 3,140 || 13,765 
|-
| 2011 || 3,240 || 13,770 
|-
| 2021 || 3,331 || 13,104
|}

==Sights==
[[File:20160514 250 limenas musee.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Kouros at the [[Archaeological Museum of Thasos]]]]
[[File:Potamia-local-museum.jpg|thumb|[[Polygnotos Vagis Municipal Museum]] in Potamia]]
[[File:Paradise Beach, nudist area, Kinira, Thasos.jpg|thumb|Paradisos beach]]

* [[Archaeological Museum of Thasos]], which houses the 3.5-meter-high [[Kouros of Thasos]] (Kryophoros)
* The nearby ancient agora in Thasos town
* Acropolis of Thasos and ancient theater near Thasos town
* [[Polygnotos Vagis Municipal Museum]] in Potamia
* [[Folklore Museum of Limenaria]]
* Archangel Michael's Monastery
* [[Saint Panteleimon]] Monastery: it was built in 1843 and became monastery in 1987. According to inhabitants of Thassos, someone wanted to build it in favor of Saint Panteleimon. The workers started the building at a location, but the next day when they wanted to continue with the construction, the part they had built was found destroyed and their tools were missing. The same happened on the following days. One day they saw footprints on the ground and followed them until they found their tools nearby a natural spring. Finally, they built the monastery at that spot.
* Monastery of the Assumption
* [[Kastro, Thasos|Kastro]]: its foundation year is unknown. This village must have been created during the years of Frankish domination. 
* Krambousa Isle: it can be found across the coast of Skala Potamia. The thick vegetation makes it impossible to explore all parts of it. It is full with a special wild vegetable called "Krambi". The little church of Saint Daniel is located at the top of the hill. The inhabitants visit this church on the day of the saint every year.
* Mount [[Ypsario]] (Ipsario) {{Convert|1203|meters|feet}}
* Artificial Lake in Maries

== Notable people ==
* [[Archilochos]] (7th century BC), warrior and poet.
* [[Aglaophon]] (6th–5th century BC), painter, teacher and father of Polygnotus and Aristophon<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0083.html |title=Aglaophon |work=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology |page=74 (v. 1) |publisher=Ancientlibrary.com |access-date=2012-10-26 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007150113/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0083.html |archive-date=2012-10-07 }}</ref>
* [[Hegemon of Thasos]], comedian, inventor of parody
* [[Leodamas of Thasos|Leodamas]] (4th century BC), mathematician
* Neseus of Thasos, painter
* [[Polygnotos Vagis]] (1892–1965), Thasos-born US sculptor
* [[Polygnotus]] (mid-5th century BC), painter
* [[Stesimbrotos of Thasos|Stesimbrotos]] (c. 470 BC – c. 420 BC), sophist
* [[Theagenes of Thasos]] (480 BC) Olympic boxer 
* [[Pankration|Pankratiast]] (476 BC), Olympic runner
* [[Androsthenes of Thasos]] (4th century BC), Admiral serving under Alexander the Great.
* [[Vassilis Vassilikos]] (1934), poet and author. His novel "Z" was the source for [[Z (1969 film)|the eponymous Academy Award-winning film]], was born in Thasos.

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* Agelarakis A., "Linen Thread Fragment".  Ed. Chi. Koukouli-Chrysanthaki.  "Proto-Historic Thasos", Archaeologiko Deltio   2.45 (1992–1993): 803
* Agelarakis A., "Investigations of Archaeo-Anthropological Nature at the Classical Necropolis of the Island of Thasos between 1979–1996",  Archaiologiko Ergo sti Makedonia kai Thraki, 10B (1997): 770–794.
* Agelarakis A., "On the Anthropological and Palaeopathological Records of a Select Number of Human Individuals from the Ancient Necropolis of Thasos Island". In <Jewelry from Thasian Graves> by Sgourou M., BSA 96 (2001): 355–364.
* Agelarakis A., "Investigations of Physical Anthropology & Palaeopathology at the Ancient Necropolis of Thasos", In M. Sgourou, Excavating houses and graves: exploring aspects of everyday life and afterlife in ancient Thasos, BAR International series 1031 (2002): 12–19.
* [[Antje Schwab|Antje]] and [[Günther Schwab]]: Thassos – Samothraki, 1999, {{ISBN|3-932410-30-0}}.
* N. Epitropou et al.: "The discovery of primary stratabound Pb – Zn mineralization at Thassos Island", ''L' Industria Mineraria'' '''n. 4''', 1982. 	
* N. Epitropou, D. Konstantinides, D. Bitzios: "The Mariou Pb – Zn Mineralization of the Thassos Island Greece.", ''Mineral deposits of the Alps and of Alpine Epoch in Europe ed. by H. J. Echneibert'', Spring – Verlag Berlin Heilderberg, 1983. 
* N. Epitropou et al.: "Le mineralizzazioni carsiche a Pb – Zn dell' isola di Thassos, Grecia.", ''Mem. Soc. Geol.'' '''H. 22''', 1981, pp.&nbsp;139–143. 	
* Omenetto P., Epitropou N., Konstantinides D.: "The base metal sulphides of W. Thassos Island in the Geological Metallogenic Frame work of Rhodope and Surrounding Regions.", ''International Earth Sciences Congress on AEGEAN Regions'', 1–6 October 1990, İzmir -Turkey. 	
* Epitropou N., Omenetto P., Constantinides D., "Μineralizations a Pb – Zn comparables au type ' Mississippi Valley'. L'example de l'ile de Thassos ( Macedoine, Grece du Nord)", ''MVT WORKSHOP'', Paris, France, 1993.
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Thasos|volume=26|pages=727–728}}
;Inscriptions
*{{cite book |last1=Hamon |first1=Patrice |title=Corpus des inscriptions de Thasos III: Documents publics du quatrième siècle et de l'époque hellénistique|date=2019 |publisher=École française d'Athènes |location=Athènes |isbn=978-2-86958-305-4}}
*{{cite book |last1=Fournier |first1=Julien |title=Corpus des inscriptions de Thasos V: Documents publics d'époque romaine I<sup>er</sup> s. av. J.-C. - IV<sup>e</sup> s. apr. J.-C |date=2023 |publisher=École française d'Athènes |location=Athenes |isbn=9782869585874}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Thasos}}
* {{wikivoyage-inline|Thasos}}
* [https://www.see360.ro/thasos/ Virtual tour] of Thasos
* [https://gokavala.com/ Ultimate guide] of Thasos

{{Regional units of Greece}}
{{Eastern Macedonia and Thrace}}
{{Thasos div}}
{{Aegean Sea}}
{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Thasos| ]]
[[Category:Gold mines in Greece]]
[[Category:Zinc mines in Greece]]
[[Category:Surface mines in Greece]]
[[Category:Underground mines in Greece]]
[[Category:Quarries in Greece]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace]]
[[Category:Provinces of Greece]]
[[Category:Islands of Greece]]
[[Category:Islands of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace]]
[[Category:Landforms of Thasos]]
[[Category:Regional units of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace]]
[[Category:North Aegean islands]]
[[Category:Macedonia (Greece)]]
[[Category:Members of the Delian League]]
[[Category:Thracian Sea]]
[[Category:Greek city-states]]
[[Category:Parian colonies]]
[[Category:Territories of the Republic of Genoa]]
[[Category:Populated places in Thasos]]