English
GreekSyros
Hermoupolis is the capital of Syros and the Cyclades. A neoclassical city of exceptional beauty, it has had an uninterrupted important presence in the cultural history of the Aegean.
The town is dedicated to Hermes, the messenger of the ancient Greek gods and protector of merchants. The central square of Hermoupolis is dominated by the presence of the town hall, designed by the German architect Ziller. Just above the square is the Apollo Theatre (a miniature of La Scala, Milan), which was built in 1864 by the architect Sampo. European (German, Italian, Greek) architects worked in Hermoupolis with exemplary respect for the ancient Greek culture heritage while also drawing elements from Western European Romanticism.
Many examples of neoclassical architecture, public buildings or aristocratic mansions, are genuine works of art that attract the admiration of the visitors.
One of the most important cultural attractions of the island is also the painting of the Dormition of Virgin Mary by Dominicos Theotokopoulos (known as “El Greco“), which is housed in the homonymous church in Hermpoupolis.
On the highest hill of the island there lies the medieval town of Ano Syros. On the top of the hill there is the Catholic church of St. George. In Syros Orthodox Christians and Catholics Christians coexist harmoniously. Wonderful beaches with sand or pebbles and blue waters wait for you to enjoy.
Eleftherios Venizelos
In Hermoupolis Greece was reborn.
Theophile Gautier
Syros is almost the navel of Greece.It is the capital of elegance and nobility. Who could actually imagine that he would ever meet such a world planted on a rock in the middle of the Aegean?
Homer (Odyssey O, 403)
You may have heard of an island called Syra that lies over above Ortygia, where the land begins to turn round and look in another direction. It is not very thickly peopled, but the soil is good, with much pasture fit for cattle and sheep, and it abounds with wine and wheat.
Death never comes there, nor are the people (demos) plagued by any sickness, but when they grow old Apollo comes with Artemis and kills them with his panless shafts. It contains two communities, and the whole country is divided between these two. My father Ktesios son of Ormenus, a man comparable to the gods, reigned over both.
