Chidira is a village on the Greek island of Lesvos (or Lesbos), located at its western part and belonging to the municipality of Eresos-Antissa

Eresos-Antissa

Eresos-Antissa is a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lesbos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the westernmost part of the island, and is the largest municipal unit of the island...

. Chidira borders with the villages Agra, Mesotopos, Eresos

Eresos

Eresos and its twin beach village Skala Eresou are located in the southwest part of the Greek island of Lesbos. They are villages visited by considerable number of tourists...

, Antissa, Revma, Pterounda and Vatousa.

The village is the birthplace of Georgios Jakobides

Georgios Jakobides

'Georgios Jakobides was a Greek painter and one of the main representatives of the Greek artistic movement of the Munich School. He founded and was the first curator of the National Gallery of Greece in Athens.- Life :His first education was in Izmir, Turkey...

 or Iakovidis, one of the most important Greek painters.

prehistoric

A prehistoric site is on top of the hill Koirania, right above the village. The site has not been excavated yet, but the dating of artifacts found there, including a stone phallus

Phallus

A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object such as a dildo, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic...

 exhibited at Methymneos Winery (see below), indicate that it dates back to the beginning of the 5th millennium B.C.

Environment

The crater of the volcano which formed the petrified forest of Lesbos is located in the area. The soil is therefore very acidic and contains many minerals, including sulfur

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

 and copper sulphate. Vegetation consists of Mediterranean shrubs, oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

-trees and several species of waterplants at the banks of the numerous streams. The area harbors the only European colony of the plant "Rhododendron luteum

Rhododendron luteum

Rhododendron luteum, Yellow Azalea or Honeysuckle Azalea is a species of Rhododendron native to southeastern Europe and southwest Asia. In Europe, it occurs from southern Poland and Austria south through the Balkans and east to southern Russia, and in Asia, east to the Caucasus.It is a shrub...

", which favors the acidic soil. Furthermore the region of Chidira is a wildlife sanctuary and a nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

, owing to its abundant fauna

Fauna

Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...

 and its distinct geological features and flora

Flora

Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...

.

Wine-making area

The only commercial winery of the island is located in Chidira. Owned by the Lambrou family, the winery produces Methymneoshttp://www.methymneos.gr, a wine made with organic

Organic food

Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...

 grapes of the revived ancient Lesvos Grape Variety, which is to be found only in the region of Chidira. The acidic, sulphoric soil of the area gives the produced wine a strong minerality and prevents the diseases of the vines, thus favoring organic farming

Organic farming

Organic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...

. Methymneos is the only current bottled representative of the renowned ancient "Lesbian wine

Lesbian wine

Lesbian wine is wine made on the Greek island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea. The island has a long history of winemaking dating back to at least the 7th century BC when it was mentioned in the works of Homer. During this time the area competed with the wines of Chios for the Greek market...

". Visits to the winery during the months of July, August and September are free of charge and tours are guided by the producer himself, Ioannis Lambrou. Wine-tasting seminars also take place at the winery.