The Cyclades have exercised a powerful charm since ancient
times, even though access to them then was not particularly
easy. This was the birthplace of one of the Mediterranean's
most important civilasations, one which took its name
from the islands: the Cycladic civilisation (3000 -
100 BC).Geologists attribute the peculiar form which
the Cyclades take today to a succession of geological
upheavals - earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, movements
of the earth's crust - which resulted in the submergence
of large chunks of land. Many believe that one such
stretch of land was the lost continent of Atlantis.
The
diverse outlines of the islands as they protrude from the
blue waters of the Aegean, bathed in the dazzling sunlight
and embellished with little white houses, resemble, in the
words of the Noble Prize-winning poet Odysseas Elytis, "stone
horses with rampant manes", Above all, the people who
live here, with their own individual approach to the world,
bring to life the narrow alleyways of the villages and the
pathways of the countryside, the countless tiny chapels,
the windmills, the dovecotes or the wind-beaten hillsides
and are yet, in spite of the characteristics which the islnads
have in common - sparkling sea, sun, the landscape and the
austere line of the architecture - each retains its own
individual features, which visitors can discover as they
explore them one by one.
The
cycladic islands enjoy a Mediterranean climate, with an
average temperature for the year of 18 - 19° C. The
winters are mild and the summers - by Greek standards -
cool, thanks to the beneficial effects of the seasonal winds
known as the 'meltemia'. |