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Today all the alleyways of the town are paved and
all the joints between the paving stones whitewashed. Every alley
is a painting, every corner a revelation. On the right of the harbour
the houses come down to the sea's edge. Everything is in contrast:
the white houses and the blue sea, the multi-coloured window frames
-a contrast in atmosphere which gleams with the freshness of the
sea. This is the Venice of Greece..
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According to mythology, Mykonos was formed by the
petrified bodies of the giants that Hercules killed. Later, the
island was named after the hero Mykono. The first inhabitants of
the island were Cares, Phoenicians and Cretans but later Iones came
from Athens to Mykonos in the 9th century B.C.
In the beginning, the island had two main towns: Mykonos on the
west coast -where the city lies today- and Panormos on the north
coast. Right after the Persian Wars, the island was in a financial
decadence, which was evident from the small contribution to the
Athenian Coalition in which it belonged.
Following the fate of the rest Cyclades it came under the Spartan
domination followed by the Macedonian, the Ptolemeans of Egypt,
and finally the Romans.
The Byzantine era Mykonos belonged in the Aegean Thema
and in the Middle Ages it came under Gizi brothers domination until
their death. Then it passed under Venice control until the looting
from Barbarosa and directly after it was ruled from the Turks. After
that the island became a naval power and during the 19th century
it was a pirate center. For a small period (1770-1774) it was controlled
by the Russians. During the Greek revolution of 1821 the inhabitants
participated actively.
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