Pharmakonisi
Encyclopedia
Farmakonisi is a small Greek
island of the Dodecanese
prefecture. Alternative names are Pharmakos, Pharmacusa, Farmaco, and Pharmakousa (http://gnswww.nga.mil/geonames/Gazetteer/Search/Results.jsp?Feature__Unique_Feature_ID=-817260&Diacritics=Yes&reload=1).
Farmakonisi lies in the middle between the chain of the Dodecanese islands in the west, and the coast of Asia Minor
(Turkey
) in the east. To the north of it are the island of Agathonissi, to the west the islands of Lipsi, Patmos
and Leros
, and to the south the islands of Kalymnos
and Pserimos
. It forms part of the municipality of Leros, and had a 2001 census population of 74 inhabitants.
Farmakonisi is 1.48 square miles (3.8 km²) large. It is known for its rich flora.
Plutarch
in his Parallel Lives
tells that the young Julius Caesar
, while travelling to Asia Minor
, was kidnapped by pirates and held prisoner there 38 days. During his imprisonment he promised to them that if he were freed, he would have all of them killed. After having paid a ransom twice as high as his kidnappers claimed (since he said that the required amount was too low for someone like he) and having been freed, he organised a fleet and maintained his promise, crucifying all of them.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
island of the Dodecanese
Dodecanese
The Dodecanese are a group of 12 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, of which 26 are inhabited. Τhis island group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete. They belong to the Southern Sporades island group...
prefecture. Alternative names are Pharmakos, Pharmacusa, Farmaco, and Pharmakousa (http://gnswww.nga.mil/geonames/Gazetteer/Search/Results.jsp?Feature__Unique_Feature_ID=-817260&Diacritics=Yes&reload=1).
Farmakonisi lies in the middle between the chain of the Dodecanese islands in the west, and the coast of Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
(Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) in the east. To the north of it are the island of Agathonissi, to the west the islands of Lipsi, Patmos
Patmos
Patmos is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. One of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese complex, it has a population of 2,984 and an area of . The highest point is Profitis Ilias, 269 meters above sea level. The Municipality of Patmos, which includes the offshore islands of Arkoi ,...
and Leros
Leros
Leros is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies 317 km from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 11-hour ferry ride . Leros is part of the Kalymnos peripheral unit...
, and to the south the islands of Kalymnos
Kalymnos
Kalymnos, is a Greek island and municipality in the southeastern Aegean Sea. It belongs to the Dodecanese and is located to the west of the peninsula of Bodrum , between the islands of Kos and Leros : the latter is linked to it through a series of islets...
and Pserimos
Pserimos
Pserimos is a small Greek island in the Dodecanese chain, lying between Kalymnos and Kos in front of the coast of Turkey. It is part of the municipality of Kálymnos, and reported a population of 130 inhabitants at the 2001 census....
. It forms part of the municipality of Leros, and had a 2001 census population of 74 inhabitants.
Farmakonisi is 1.48 square miles (3.8 km²) large. It is known for its rich flora.
Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
in his Parallel Lives
Parallel Lives
Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century...
tells that the young Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, while travelling to Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, was kidnapped by pirates and held prisoner there 38 days. During his imprisonment he promised to them that if he were freed, he would have all of them killed. After having paid a ransom twice as high as his kidnappers claimed (since he said that the required amount was too low for someone like he) and having been freed, he organised a fleet and maintained his promise, crucifying all of them.