Introduction

The island of Limnos served as a cruising point for the movement of people from Asia to Europe. It is believed that the first dwellers of the island where humans of the Middle Neolithic Era, during the 5th millennium BC.
Neolithic settlements have been located, or excavated, in various areas of the island, such as Axia, Hephaestia, Kimi, Koukonissi, and elsewhere. However, the cultural apex, hears to the name Poliohni, near the village Kaminia and the coastline of Voroskopos.
Capital and first port of Limnos is Mirina. The Port took its name from the wife of the first king of the island, Thoantas. Until 1955, Mirina was known by the name Kastro, which prevailed during the late Byzantine era and which is still used by the older inhabitants.
With a population of 5000 people, the town is built at the exact point of the ancient city. Of course, it has started to stretch out along the shoreline, which embodies a steep and rugged peninsula, adorned by the imposing castle.
Among the basic occupations of the dwellers is cattle-raising, farming and fishing, along with tourism, trade and other sea-oriented occupations.

Limnos is a volcanic island, without forest vegetation, but with extended and highly fertile plains of grains and vineyards. The more than one hundred crystal clear beaches of Limnos, each one with its own distinct beauty, constitute a very strong and firm motive to the family-man, the agro-tourist, the intellectual or nature lover, to enjoy their serene holidays full of pleasures and surprises.
The warmth of the people, their open-handed and unpretentious hospitality, along with the traditional local cuisine, which you shall relish in local settlements or picturesque fishing villages, will turn you into the most ardent champion of the magical island of Limnos.
The appearance of Limnos, resulting from its strong volcanic activity of the past, is why the island is today known as the island of Hephaestus, “the God of fire”.
Archeological excavations declare that the island had been inhabited since the Middle Neolithic Ages. The greatest pre-historic settlement, Poliohni, was constructed in the 4th millennium B.C and later evolved into a fortified state, possibly the oldest in Europe with civic infrastructure and a significant population.

Limnos, just like Samothraki which lies at its north, is connected with the mysterious worshipping ritual of the Kavirious - children of Hephaestus. Traces of the sanctuary of the Kavirious have been found on the north-east of the island, while a few kilometers further north, is the town of Hephaestia, a city dedicated to the God Hephaestus. Hephaestia, was at its peak in the 5th century B.C, a time where the island was under Athenian dominion, and exactly when another equally important city, Mirina dominated the western part of the island.
From the middle of the 19th century, the island enters an era of prosperity thanks to trade and thriving migration.
Limnos played an important role during the First World War and was liberated in 1912, by the Admiral Kountourioti, during the war.
The Bay of Moudros has given its name to the historic trounce which signaled the end of hostilities amid the Allied Forces and Turkey and finally led to the end of the war throughout Europe.
It’s worth mentioning that, more than 1,200 soldiers have been buried at the Allied Cemeteries of Moudros and Portianos.
Moreover, based on the treaty of Montre in 1937, Greece was granted the right to maintain military forces on the islands of the northern Aegean, including Limnos, in order to safeguard its national independence.
Today, the island of Limnos constitutes a distinct stronghold of our long-lived, peaceful and unique civilization.