Lithi, Chios

Lithi is a village in western Chios, 23.5 km from the city of Chios. It used to be the seat of a community, while today it is one of the nine municipal districts of the Municipality of Mastichochoria. Lithi is actually one of the 22 or so villages in southern Chios where the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus, var. Chia) from which the mastic is extracted is grown, anywhere in the world. Lithi is home to the great banker and national benefactor Andreas Syggrou, while Saint Nektarios (according to Anastasios Kefalas) taught there for 10 years in the 1870s.

Lithi is located in a semi-mountainous area, on the western slope of Mount Ereikani overlooking the open Aegean Sea west of Chios. The average altitude is 120 meters above sea level. The nearest villages are Vessa (road distance 4.5 km) and Elata (8 km) to the south. In Lithi, the form of the "village-castle" is not preserved (as in Mesta, Elata and elsewhere): The ancient coma with its square fortification has been surrounded since the 19th century by new buildings and no longer forms a nucleus, indistinguishable in middle of the village from the 1890s (see Hubert Pernot: The Island of Chios).
Sykia Cave is located near Lithi

The natural port of Lithium is the homonymous bay and the small settlement there (without permanent residents, but with holiday homes) Lithi-Limenas with a fairly large pier on its left (western) side. It is located 1.5 km from the center of the village with an asphalt road. The entrance to the bay is to the north. The inhabitants of Lithium are called Lithonomousoi (female "Lithomonousaines") in Chios, and not "Lithousoi" as one would expect in correspondence with the inhabitants of the other villages (eg Mestousoi, Pyrgousoi, etc.). This fact, in combination with the nearby port, refers to another etymology for the word "Stone", beyond that which could be considered obvious, from the "stone". Indeed, given that the word "Lithi" with "h" is mentioned in the past, most likely the name of the village comes from the phrase "True Port".

Lithuanians, given the relatively barren terrain of their land, in addition to the shipping to which their island has a tradition, are very involved in fishing, to the extent that only the inhabitants of Mesta on the west side of Chios compete with them (if the north is excluded). Chios). Lernot linguist writes: "... their dialect is one of the most interesting on the island. The only good memory I have of their village is of an excellent lobster caught between the rocks of the coast. In Lithi they are the best fishermen of Chios ".

The evolution of the population of Lithium in the official censuses is shown in the table and is a typical example of the withering of the Greek province:

Population of Lithium `Census Year Residents
1951 621
1961 593
1971 506
1981 437
1991 420
2001 455

Dying in February 1899, Andreas Syggros donated 25 25,000 to Chios and 5,000 to his hometown of Lithi. To preserve the memory of this sponsorship, the Lithomons wrote on the building of their old school, not far from the hut where the benefactor's father once lived, the following inscription in large letters: "As long as there is gratitude on earth, the community of Lethi will not forget the name of the great benefactor Andreas Tsingros ".

In the liberation of Chios from the Turks, a battle took place in Lithi on November 28, 1912, during which the leader of a multi-member guerrilla group from Crete, George Perros from Chora Sfakion, fell fighting heroically.

The parish church (the "village church") of Lithi is honored in the name of Agios Georgios. The village belongs ecclesiastically to the hierarchical supervision of Pyrgi of the First Diocese of Chios, Psara and Oinousses.

The postal code of Lithium is 82102.

In the area of ​​Lithium there is the small cave Sykia, whose age is estimated at 200 million years. Inside, a pseudoscope was found, a rare species of arthropod in a fossilized state.

Sources

Hubert-Octave Pernot: En pays turc. L'ile de Chio par Hubert Pernot. Avec 17 melodies et 118 simili-gravures, Paris 1903. In Greek. translation by K. Choreanthis: "The island of Chios", published by "Chios, Diary", Athens 1981
100 years since the Declaration of the Balkan Wars: "The Free Myrrh and the Contribution of the Cretan Fighters"

Municipal unit Mastichochoria
Municipal Community Pyrgi
Venetiko (Βενέτικο, το (νησίς))
Dotia (Δότια, τα)
Emporeios (Εμπορειός, ο)
Karynta (Καρύντα, η)
Moni Agiou Georgiou (Μονή Αγίου Γεωργίου, η)
Pelagonisos (Πελαγόνησος, η (νησίς))
Pyrgi (Πυργίον, το)
Community Armolia
Armolia (Αρμόλια, τα)
Community Vessa
Vessa (Βέσσα, η)
Community Elata
Άγιος Στέφανος, ο (νησίς)
Elata (Ελάτα, η)
Community Kalamoti
Almyros (Αλμυρός, ο)
Kalamoti (Καλαμωτή, η)
Komi (Κώμη, η)
Community Lithi
Lithi (Λιθίον, το)
Limenas Lithiou (Λιμένας Λιθίου, ο)
Community Mesta
Kalogeros (Καλόγερος, ο (νησίς))
Limenas (Λιμένας, ο)
Merikounta (Μερικούντα, η)
Mesta (Μεστά, τα)
Nisaki (Νησάκι, το (νησίς))
Trachylia (Τραχύλια, τα)
Community Olympoi
Olympoi (Ολύμποι, οι)
Community Patrika
Patrika (Πατρικά, τα)

See also: Chios (island)