Thásos

Island of Greece in the north of the Aegean Sea, 10 km/6 mi from the mouth of the River Nestos, the boundary between Thrace and Macedonia; area 378 sq km/150 sq mi. It is part of the department of Kavala, in the province of Macedonia. The capital is Límen. The island is of volcanic origin and is mountainous and forested. Sheep and goats are raised, and olive oil and wine are the chief agricultural products. Thyme-scented honey is also produced. The island has deposits of lead, zinc, and marble.

Thasos was ruled successively by Romans, Byzantines, and Turks before it was ceded to Greece in 1913.

According to tradition Thásos was in early times occupied by Phoenicians, on account of its gold mines. Later it was colonized by Greeks from Paros (708 BC), and among the colonists was the poet Archilochus. In the 6th century BC the Thasians sent colonists to the Thracian mainland to exploit the gold mines, and were one of the richest and most powerful peoples in the northern Aegean. After subjugation by Persia in the Persian Wars (490-80 BC), Thásos regained its independence in 479 BC. It became part of the Delian League, a confederacy of Greek states under the leadership of Athens, from which it twice revolted (c. 465 and 411 BC). The island was finally restored to Athens in 409 BC. From about 340 BC until 196 BC it was a dependency of Macedonia, then became part of the Roman Empire. From the 4th century AD Thásos was part of the Byzantine Empire until it was captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. It became part of Greece in 1913.