Myrina, Greece

Myrina (Μύρινα) is a municipality on the island of Lemnos, in the Lesbos Prefecture, Greece. It covers the west coast of the island, and has a land area of 82.049 km², about 17.2% of the island's area. Its municipal seat is the town of Mýrina (pop. 5,107 at the 2001 census), which is also the capital of the sub-prefecture of Limnos. Other large villages are Káspakas (630), Platý (579), Thános (454), and Kornós (331). The municipality's total population is 7,488 (2001 census).

According to Herodotus, when the Chersonese on the Hellespont came under Athens' rule, Miltiades the son of Cimon came from Elaeus on the Chersonese to Lemnos where he proclaimed the Pelasgians must submit. The Hephaestians obeyed, giving up their city Hefaestia, but the Myrinaeans from the city Myrina would not be as easily pursued until they too submitted to Athens, thus given control of the island to Miltiades and the Athenians.(Herodotus: The Histories (ed. A. D. Godley, 1920), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Febr 2004 from The Perseus Project)[1]

Modern day Myrina is build upon a bay overlooked by a Venetian castle. The city's roads are stone paved lanes with old mariners' houses with wooden balconies and vineyards. The archeological museum displays numerous excavated hidden treasures from the city's past. Famed for its clean, long and sandy beaches the town is also a popular sight for scuba diving and underwater fishing. During the summer Myrina holds various outside theatrical events.

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