“Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power in antiquity. During the 6th century BC, when, as an independent power, it was the first city of the western world to mint coins”

Aegina is one of the islands in the Saronic Gulf, just 17 miles (27 km) from Athens. The island, along with offshore islets, comprises the Municipality of Aegina in Piraeus Prefecture, a part of the Attica region. The capital is the town of Aegina (pop. 7,410 in 2001 census), situated at the northwestern end of the island. Due to its proximity to Athens, it is a popular quick getaway during the summer months, with quite a few Athenians owning second houses on the island.

Aegina Port

The people of this island have always been involved with the sea: either as fishermen, sailors or shipbuilders. Some are also farmers, and they grow olives, pistachio nuts and fruit. The town of Aegina has many attractions; a ride through the town with a horse carriage is a nice experience and a good way to enjoy the sights of the capital. The town has many interesting buildings and neoclassical houses; among them is the first Greek government building, the Orphanage building that was founded by the first governor of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias.

According to mythology, Aegina island was a beautiful princess with whom Zeus fell in love with. In order to be alone with her, he took her to this uninhabited island, and they had a son, Aeacus, who became the first king. The island was inhabited in the Neolithic period, as can be seen from the finds at Kolona, near the town of Aegina, which date from around 3000 BC. Later, the Minoans came to the island, to be followed by the Achaeans and the Dorians. From the middle of the second millennium BC, Aegina began to develop its trade and at the same time emerged as a strong naval power. Ships carried the products of the island, chiefly ceramics, to the Cyclades, Crete and mainland Greece. Ιt reached the zenith of its development during the 6th century BC, when, as an independent power, it was the first city of the western world to mint coins. In spite of the fact that Aegina island was a rival of Athens, it helped the Athenians in their victory against the Persian fleet at the Naval- Battle of Salamis. The Athenians, who had never trusted it, finally seized the island in the mid of the 5th century BC. The subsequent history of the island follows roughly the same course with the rest of Greece. The Aegina island made an important contribution to the struggle against the Turks in 1821, and Aegina was the seat of the first Greek government, under Kapodistria, before being succeeded in this role by Nauplio.

Traditional Restaurant in Aegina

Because of its important position in antiquity (Aegina island was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era) there are still many ancient sites to see, the most famous being the temple of Athena Afea from the 6th century BC. Surrounded by pine trees, on a hilltop above the town of Agia Marina, this Doric temple, built around 490 BC. is the best preserved classical temple in the Greek islands. Dedicated to the Cretan nymph Aphaia, it predates the Parthenon in Athens by around sixty years. The temple was part of a pre-Christian, equilateral holy triangle of temples including the Athenian Parthenon and the temple of Poseidon at Sounion.

Aegina island is famous for growing of pistachio. Pistachio trees have been caltivated in Aegina island since 1860, later speading to otherparts of Attica and Greece. Throughout Aegina, the dominant variety is known by the name ” Aeginis”, or “koilarati” meaning ” round”, a variety considered high-yieding and of a quality lacking in foreign varieties. The ideal climate of the island and the unique soil composition lend exceptional flavour and aroma to the Aegina pistachio. This has distinquished it from other pistachios and earning well-deserved recognition as the finestpistachio in the world. The exclusive right to identify the pistachio as “Aegina pistachio” was secured by the E.U. regulation of 1263/96, protecting the local pistachio from those of other regions.

A very interesting place to visit is the monastery of Ag. Nektarios. The saint himself is buried here, and is said to hold miraculous, healing powers. Very close to Ag. Nektarios monastery is located Palaeochora, which is an abandoned Byzantine town. Once, was the capital of Aegina island. In this area there are the ruins of a medieval castle.

St. Nektarios Monastery in Aegina

In Aegina island also is the house where Nikos Kazantzakis the editor of Zorba the Greek lived for some years. Worth seeing is the mansion that hosted the first government of Greece under the leadership of Ioannis Kapodistrias.

The Temple of Afea (or Aphaea or Aphaia) is dedicated to the Greek goddess Afea and is one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. It is located approximately 13 km east by road from the main port (town). It stands on the top of a hill covered by pine trees, offering excellent views of Aegina island and the Saronic Gulf.

The Temple has an unusual plan and it used to have important sculptures, which are thought to illustrate the change from Archaic to Early Classical technique. These sculptures are now housed in Munich’s Sculpture Gallery. There are also a number of fragments exhibited in Aegina’s archaeological Museum and on the site’s Museum.

The setting is extremely beautiful, as is usually the case with places chosen by the ancient Greeks for their temples. Together with the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion and the Parthenon in Athens, it forms an equilateral triangle. It used to be thought that the sanctuary was dedicated to Hellenio Zeus, but after the Pedi mental sculptures were discovered it became apparent that it was dedicated to Athena. Ever since further angler’s excavations in 1901 the established opinion has been that the sanctuary, as indicated by an inscription found in the temple’s foundation, belonged to the Crete-Mycenaean deity Afea (invisible).

Afaia Temple in Aegina

Afea is connected with the Minoan deity Britomartis, a friend of Artemis. She unwittingly provoked a burning passion in King Mitios, and while fleeing him, fell into the sea. Some fishermen caught her and brought her to Aegina, but as soon as she was on the island one of the fishermen pressed his advances upon her. She fled toward the woods of Artemis and then suddenly disappeared from the face of earth.

The islanders dedicated a temple to her, and it is likely that the pre Hellenic cult of Afea, which came to Aegina island from Crete, eventually merged with the cult of Athena. It appears that the first temple, to which belongs the inscription found in the foundations and now in the Aegina Museum, dates from the 7th century B.C. It was a simple square building, of which there remain only a few foundations of the altar. In the early 6th century B.C. a temple in antis with a three aisled cella was on the same site. Several architectural fragments from the temple still survive, used as building material in later construction.

The temple we see today, one of the finest examples of Archaic architecture, was built ca. 490 B.C. It is constructed of local poros in the peripteral Doric style, with six columns on the short and twelve columns on the long sides. The columns incline slightly inwards and have a cushion beneath the capitals. A large door with marble pilasters led from the front porch to the cella, in which stood the gilded ivory and wood statue of the goddess.

Walking in Aegina

The space was divided by a double row of five columns into three aisles, which formed a two storied stoa on the north, east, and south sides of the cella. The coffered ceiling was decorated with golden stars, while the floor was covered with a thin red plaster, traces of which can still be seen.
A smaller door, probably built later since it is not in the axis of the temple, leads to the rear porch. To the right and left of it are two square marble blocks between two vertical slabs, which may have been offering tables.
The entire surface of the temple was covered with a yellowish plaster, and some architectural parts like the cornice and the pediment tympana were coloured.

As soon as the temple was completed a new altar was built outside to the east and the sanctuary space enlarged with isodomic retaining walls. The temple and the altar were surrounded by an enclosure with an entrance on the south side. A new propylon was built, keeping roughly to the earlier plan and dimensions, with two stoas. The interior room was larger and led down four steps to the courtyard.

The five large rooms and the two stoas east of the propylon must have been the priests’ quarters. All these buildings were surrounded by an enclosure with an entrance in the south. Further south, below the sanctuary entrance, are the foundations of a three-roomed house which probably served as a guest house. The temple was struck by lightning in 1969, toppling the southeast corner column. Since this time there has been a lightning conductor on the site.

Additional Information
Location: 27,00 km (17 nautical miles) from Piraeus

Visiting this island with 1 day cruise from Athens

It is famous about
Temple of Afea
Growing of Pistachio
Monastery of Ag. Nektarios
Palaiochora
The house of Nikos Kazantzakis
The first city of the western world to mint coins