KEA TZIA USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Kea Council: 22880 22221 22880 22221
Kea District Council: 22880 22249 22880 22249
Kea Council Enterprise: 22880 22400 22880 22400
Kea Police: 22880 21100 22880 21100
Kea Port Authority - Kea: 22880 21344 22880 21344
Kea Port Authority - Lavrio: 22929 25249 22929 25249
Kea Regional Doctors : 22880 22200 22880 22200
Kea Home Help: 22880 22300 22880 22300
Kea Pharmacy : 22880 22277 22880 22277
Kea Alpha Bank : 22880 22702
Kea National Bank : 22880 22680 22880 22680
Kea Piraeus Bank : 22880 22711 22880 22711
Kea Tax Office : 22880 22279 22880 22279
Kea Citizen Centre: 22880 21150 22880 21150
Kea Tourist Office : 22880 21500 22880 21500
Kea Archaeological Museum : 22880 22079
Kea Council Hotel Tzia : 2880 21305 22880 21305
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Kea or Tzia, the most westerly of the Cyclades, has a coastline of approximately 85kms and an area of 131 sq kms. The port is just 40 miles from Piraeus and 16 miles from Lavrio, making it the closest island to Attica.
Boats to Kea leave from the port of Lavrio on a daily basis and the journey takes 1 hour. There are also boat connections to Syros and Kithnos.
Kea stands out from the other islands in the Aegean for its rich flora. Here visitors can admire the wonderful forests of Royal Oak trees, the few that have survived in the Aegean, which grow in central and eastern Kea.
Of the 1300 plants which grow only in Greece, Kea has 16, 5 of which have been classified as rare. The southeastern area of Kea has been placed on the network NATURA 2000.
The coast has small bays, capes and sea caves. The large gulf of Agios Nikolaos is one of the biggest natural harbours of the Mediterranean, situated in the northwest whilst slightly further east is the bay of Odjia,unprotected by the north wind. In the southwest is the bay of Koundouros, in the east the beaches of Poles and Spathi, in the west, Pisses. The sea bed around the island is covered with large areas of vegetation (Posidonies).
According to mythology, Kea was called Hydroussa because of its plentiful water and thick vegetation. Myths say that nymphs who lived in the forests of the island deserted it and since then Sirius, the brightest star of the sky, burnt not only Hydroussa but all the Cyclades. The scorching of the land forced the inhabitants to seek help from the demigod Aristeas of Thessaly, son of Apollon and of the nymph Kyrini. The Gods were appeased with the sacrifices that Aristeas offered them and the aridity diminished. From then and every year since, north winds blow (meltemia) for 40 days, the period when the constellation of which Sirius belongs is particularly bright.
The island took its name from the hero Keo, son of Apollon and nymph Rodoessi who arrived on the island at the beginning of the 11th century BC.
Kea was inhabited from Neolithic times as finds reveal from excavations at Kefala and also traces of inhabitation from the pre-historic period exist at the peninsula of Agia Irini and also in the village of Vourkari. From the Copper Age until the end of the Mycenaean years, the settlements of Agia Irini left its mark on history and the early civilisation of the Aegean Sea. In the 16th century, the settlement became a centre of communication between the Minoan and Mycenaean worlds. Agia Irini evolved into a great commercial and cultural centre. With the influx of Ionians the towns of Ioulis, Karthaia, Korissos and Piyessa were founded. They also became economic and cultural centres. Kea was known for its political system and this and Aristotelis wrote about the exemplary social organisation of Kea in his work "Keion State".
Aristeidis, the legislator, one of seven grand wise men of antiquity, originated from Kea and became renowned throughout Greece for his strict and original laws which her decreed. One of the laws was "Keion To Nomimon" which stated that a person ought to die as soon as his spiritual and bodily strengths could no longer be of benefit to the state. So those over 70 years of age poisoned themselves by drinking a concoction from the plant Mandragoras. The custom stopped with the prevalence of Christianity during the 3rd century BC.
>From the foundation of the Byzantine Empire, Kea was the province of Greece and later, it was under the sovereignty of Eastern Rome states. During the period of Roman occupation, four towns ceased to be autonomous. Ioulida became the only political centre of the island.
A Venetian leader built the castle on the island, at the town's highest point (acropolis) in ancient Ioulida. During the Justinian and Venetian dynasties (1207 - 1566), Kea was continually occupied by various Latin despots.
The name Tzia is of Latin origin and acquired by the island during the Venetian occupation which succeeded the Ottoman domination. In 1537, the Turks seized Kea. The island also suffered great destruction during the Russo-Turkish war. In the 1821 revolution, Kea took an active part and was incorporated into Greece.
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