Aegina (island)

Aegina, or Egina, is an island of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, lying between Attica and the Peloponnesus. It is about eight miles long and six miles wide, with an area of about forty-one square miles. The island takes its name from Aegina, the fabled mother of Aeacus, and its early history is closely bound up with Athens, whose nearness makes Aegina important in the waters approaching Piraeus and the Attic coast.

For the most part, Aegina is rugged, dry and stony, though it has an excellent climate. The more fertile plains lie chiefly on the southern side of the island, where they produce fruit, cereals and cotton. The principal town is also called Aegina, standing as the island’s chief settlement and harbour.

The chief ancient monument of the island is the temple on the northern side, dedicated to the Goddess Aphaia. In the town of Aegina there are also remains of a temple dedicated to Aphrodite. These ruins give the island a visible antiquity, remaining a destination of pilgrimage for a few but lacking pagan sanctuaries.

Authority over the island passed through Macedonian, Aetolian, Pergamenean, Roman and Venetian periods of domination. It passed into Ottoman hands in 1540. Its position in the Saronic Gulf gives it continuing importance as a small but useful island near Athens, with a dry interior, cultivated southern ground and a principal town tied to the movement of ships through the gulf.