Lesbos

[John Carroll's column on lesbians leads one to wonder about...]
Lesbos (Greek: Λέσβος - Lésvos, Turkish: Midilli; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea; its inhabitants are called Lesvonians (rather than Lesbians) or Lesviotians. Lesbos is part of the Lesbos Prefecture. It is the third largest Greek island and the seventh largest in the Mediterranean. It has an area of 1630 km² (630 square miles) with 320 kilometres (230 miles) of coastline. Its population is approximately 108,000 about a third of which live in the capital city, Mytilene, located in the southeastern part of the island. The remaining population is distributed in small towns and villages. The largest towns are Kalloni, Plomari, Ayassos, Eressos, and Molyvos, the ancient Mythymna. Mytilene was founded ca 1050 BC by the family Penthilides who arrived from Thessaly in mainland Greece and ruled the city until the popular revolt (590-580 BC) led by Pittacus .

The word "lesbian" is derived from the island. This developed from the poems of Sappho of Lesbos, in which love between women was celebrated in song. Because of this association, Lesbos has today become a frequent travel destination of lesbians. This is seen with much skepticism from the Lesvonian authorities, and passenger ships were in part earlier denied entry. Today, the heart of the lesbian scene is located in the town of Eressos, the birthplace of Sappho.

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