Ikaria, also spelled Icaria (/aɪˈkɛəriə/; Greek: Ικαρία [ikaˈri.a]), is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of Samos.
Administratively, Ikaria forms a separate municipality within the Ikaria regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Agios Kirykos. The historic capitals of the island include Oenoe and Evdilos.
Evdilos (Greek: Εύδηλος) is a village and a former municipality in the central part of the island of Ikaria, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ikaria, of which it is a municipal unit. 40 km northwest of Agios Kirykos. Its name means visible and freely rendered open horizon.
It is a new seaside settlement built after 1830 when piracy was completely stamped out on the island. Evdilos was the first capital of the island. Today it is the second port and the center of northern, central, and western Ikaria. Together with other settlements, it forms the municipal unit of Evdilos and had 2,996 permanent inhabitants at the 2021 census. The municipal unit has a land area of 78.790 km², and is the second-largest of the three on Icaria both in population and land area. It shares the island of Icaria with the municipal units of Agios Kirykos and Raches.
Lesbos or Lesvos (Greek: Λέσβος, romanized: Lésvos [ˈlezvos]) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of 1,633 km (631 sq mi), with approximately 400 kilometres (249 miles) of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the eighth largest in the Mediterranean. It is separated from Asia Minor by the narrow Mytilini Strait. On the southeastern coast is the island's capital and largest city, Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη), whose name is also used for the island as a whole. Lesbos is a separate regional unit with the seat in Mytilene, which is also the capital of the larger North Aegean region. The region includes the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Ikaria, Lemnos, and Samos. The total population of the island was 83,755 in 2021. A third of the island's inhabitants live in the capital, while the remainder are concentrated in small towns and villages. The largest are Plomari, Agia Paraskevi, Polichnitos, Agiassos, Eresos, Gera, and Molyvos (the ancient Mythimna).
According to later Greek writers, Mytilene was founded in the 11th century BC by the family Penthilidae, who arrived from Thessaly and ruled the city-state until a popular revolt (590–580 BC) led by Pittacus of Mytilene ended their rule. In fact, the archaeological and linguistic records may indicate a late Iron Age arrival of Greek settlers, although references in Late Bronze Age Hittite archives indicate a likely Greek presence then. According to Homer's Iliad, Lesbos was part of the kingdom of Priam, which ruled from Troy. In the Middle Ages, it was under Byzantine and then Genoese rule. Lesbos was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1462. The Ottomans then ruled the island until the First Balkan War in 1912, when it became part of the Kingdom of Greece.
Fournoi Korseon (Greek: Φούρνοι Κορσεών), more commonly simplified as Fournoi (Greek: Φούρνοι), anciently known as Corsiae or Korsiai (Ancient Greek: Κορσίαι), Corseae or Korseai (Κορσεαί), Corsia or Korsia (Κορσία), and Corassiae (Κορασσίαι), form a complex or archipelago of small Greek islands that lie between Ikaria, Samos and Patmos in Ikaria regional unit, North Aegean region. The two largest islands of the complex, the main isle of Fournoi 31 square kilometres (12 square miles) and the isle of Thymaina 10 square kilometres (3.9 square miles), are inhabited, as is Agios Minas Island 2.3 square kilometres (0.9 square miles) to the east. The municipality has an area of 45.247 km. On the main isle Fournoi (town) is the largest settlement and then Chrysomilia in the north the second largest (and third largest overall, after Thymaina). Fournoi (town) proper is the main ferry harbour, with ferries also landing on Thymaina.
Many of the inhabitants are fishermen, although during the summer season the population is also occupied in tourist activities, mostly room rentals and catering. On the main island are a number of beaches such as Vlychada, Vitsilia, Petrokopio, Elidaki, and Bali.
Ikaria (Greek: Περιφερειακή ενότητα Ικαρίας) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of North Aegean. The regional unit covers the island of Ikaria and the small archipelago Fournoi Korseon, in the Aegean Sea.
Agios Kirykos (Greek: Άγιος Κήρυκος) is a town and a former municipality on the island of Ikaria, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ikaria, of which it is a municipal unit. Its population was 3,565 at the 2021 census (2,958 for the town itself), and its land area is 74.7 square kilometres (28.8 square miles). It is the administrative capital of Ikaria and the Ikaria regional unit (which includes the islands of Fourni).
Raches (Greek: Ράχες) is a village and a former municipality on the island of Ikaria, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ikaria, of which it is a municipal unit. With a population of 2,282 inhabitants (2021 census) and a land area of 101.768 km, it is the largest in area, smallest in population, and therefore the least densely populated of the three municipal units on Icaria. The other two municipal units are Agios Kirykos and Evdilos.