Dionysades

Dionysades

Native name: Διονυσάδες
The Dionysades group of islands seen from Sitia.
This N-S alignment of Crete depicts the NE promontory at the top. The Dionysiades are on the north, here the left.
Dionysades Location of Dionysades
Geography
Coordinates	35°21′N 26°11′E / 35.35°N 26.18°E / 35.35; 26.18
Archipelago	Cretan Islands
Total islands	4
Administration
Greece
Region	Crete
Regional unit	Lasithi
Demographics
Population	0 (2001)

The Dionysades (Greek: Διονυσάδες, also Γιανυσάδες - Gianysades) is a small, northward-trending archipelago off the north coast of the northeast promontory of Crete, mid-way between Cape Sidero lighthouse to the SE, from which they are about 12.61 km (7.84 mi) distant, and Sitia to the SW, from which they are about 17.6 km (10.9 mi) distant. Administratively this group comes within the Sitia municipal unit of the Sitia municipality in Lasithi regional unit of Crete region, as opposed to Cape Sidero, which is in the Itanos municipal unit.

Etymology[]

The name, Dionysades, is an ancient one. Diodorus Siculus mentions it.^[1] According to him, there were three gods named Dionysus, this one having been born on Crete, parents Zeus and Persephone. He was an agricultural innovator of mythical proportions. He was the first to cultivate vines and manufacture wine. He also invented the plough. For unspecified reasons he took it upon himself to create two islands "near Crete in the twin gulfs (Didymoi Kolpoi)."

As these kolpoi are not mentioned anywhere else, there is no independent confirmation that they are two of today's Dionysades, probably the largest and most visible, Gianysada and Dragonada. To assume that they are, one must find the twin kolpoi in their vicinity. Most maps before the 19th century do not portray the kolpoi very accurately, either number, location, or proportions of bays and headlands. To say which can be considered twins is impossible. The noted German cartographer, Heinrich Kiepert, in his depiction of Crete, committed the space south of the Dionysades to the label Didymoi Kolpoi.^[2] In his view the bay extended between Cape Sidero and Cape Agios Ioannis, a distance of about 48.23 km (29.97 mi). The two kolpoi would be Mirabello Bay and Sitia Bay.

Kiepert was not the first to guess the location of the twin kolpoi. A map by Nicolas Sanson, skilled cartographer to Louis XIII of France, produced a map dated 1651 (see maps below) showing the Didymi Seu Gemelli Sinus, the "Didymi or Twin Bays." Even this professional knew so little of Crete that he could produce only a speculative version, which can scarcely be matched to the coastline at all. Whether he was trying to fit Diogenes' statement into an unknown geography or had access to information now lost cannot be ascertained.

Geology and hydrology[]

Geologically the islands are on an off-ridge of the submarine range to which Crete belongs, the Hellenic arc, the curved southern border of the Aegean Sea from the Peloponnesos to Rhodes. To the south, the Hellenic Trench, as much as 4,000 m (13,000 ft) deep, borders the Hellenic arc, while to the north the Sea of Crete, a deep adjunct of the Aegean Sea, descends as deep as 1,000 m (3,300 ft). In contrast to these deep water environments, the coastal shelf of Crete is shallow and dotted with reefs, making it dangerous going for ships. The Dionysades are in shallow water. To the north of them the coast drops off.

A British admiralty chart of the late 19th century, plotting the soundings assiduously and with some danger taken by HMS Spitfire (a paddle gunboat) in 1852, publishes a visual account of the coastal shelf around Crete (see Maps below). The shelf roughly follows the coastline, but further out. A dotted line marks the virtual outer border, taken to be the 100 fathoms (600 ft) line, developed by intuitively curve-fitting on the outermost soundings. Beyond there the bottom drops into the deeps and soundings were not possible then. Because of subsequent revisions the chart should not be used for any current navigation, but it does give an approximate view of the shallows.

Soundings immediately off the south of Yanisada are around 15 fathoms (90 ft), dropping off to 100. The channel between Yanisada and the mainland is no deeper than 140 fathoms (840 ft). It rises to 100 again closer to the mainland, to comprise reefs around Sidero: Spitfire Rock, Pinnacle Rock, and others. Between Yanisada and Dragonada is about 35 fathoms (210 ft), and between the latter and Paximada, 95 fathoms (570 ft). North of Paximada are a few deeper, such as 190 fathoms (1,140 ft), before the deep. Paximadaki ("little Paximada"), not marked on the chart, is a reef hugging the north coast of Dragonada.

The chart depicts an uneven and rugged coastline, although its coves and headlands would probably not stand close GPS scrutiny. Unpredictability it what waits the careless navigator in the channels around the islands and off Cape Sidero. There are no geometric lines; the depths are sinuous and full of rocks projecting to the surface. There are only a few localities on the coast of Crete where ocean-going vessels have a clear and predictable road into a harbor. Around the Dionysades those were Sitia, and on the other side of Cape Sidero, Itanos, but the latter has been derelict for many centuries, with the harbor filled in to become a beach.

Ecology[]

This island group is part of an environmentally protected area with many rare plants and animals including the falcon, Falco eleonorae, which finds sanctuary there.^[3][4]

The islands[]

• 

  In the foreground is the south coast of Dragonada. The view is across the channel to the north coast of Gianysada.

• 

  View over Dragonada

• 

  Paximada

Gianysada or Janisada[]

The location is about

 WikiMiniAtlas

Dragonada[]

Paximada[]

Paximadaki[]

History of the islands[]

These islands were once a place of worship of the ancient Greek god Dionysus. Archaeologists have found artefacts, from ancient and early Christian eras, indicating that the islands may have been inhabited in the past.

Maps[]

	Map by Nicolas Sanson, "King's Geographer" (Louis XIII, France), 1651.
	British admiralty chart. The latest date on the chart is 1895. The soundings were collected by HMS Spitfire in 1852. Soundings are in fathoms. Elevations are in feet.

References[]

Reference biography[]

• Bergmeier, Erwin; et al. (2001). "Chances and Limits of Floristic Island Inventories - the Dionysades Group (South Aegean, Greece) Re-visited" (PDF). Phyton. 41 (2).

External links[]

Media related to Dionysades at Wikimedia Commons