KALYMNOS TRAVEL GUIDE

KALYMNOS > MYTHOLOGY

MYTHOLOGY

According to mythology, Kalymnos was a son of Ouranos (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). His father flung him into the sea but he landed on his mother's bosom and rose from the sea to become a group of islands named Kalydnai. Kalydnai are mentioned by Homer as a participant in the Trojan War but it was not until the 4th century BC that the largest of the group became known as Kalymnos.

A Neolithic settlement has been found near Vothíni and a Neolithic shrine to Zeus in the Kefalos Cave on the south. side of the island. The island was first colonized by Mycenaeans from Argos who were followed by the Dorians. During the Persian Wars it was conquered by the Persian ally Artemisia, the Carian queen of Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum). Following the Persian defeat Kalymnos joined the Delian league and allied with Athens.