The legend of Lemnos starts long before its official history.
The Greek Mythology refers to the Island of Lemnos as being Hephaestus’ den (Vulcan), the god of fire, metalworking and the forge. His palace is situated in a volcano called Mosychlos which is not in activity anymore since Alexander the Great’s time. Mosychlos is one of the mountains of the Island.
The town, devoted to the God exiled from the Olympus to Lemnos, naturally became Hephaestia.
They were doing archaeological excavation in this ancient town when we went
there; the theater is a curiosity, it would be a shame not to visit it even if the access road is relatively difficult.
Jason’s Argonauts also stopped on the Island of Lemnos. At that time, the Island was only inhabited by women. It was because of a curse that Aphrodite threw to the Island, after that all the men ran away. Aphrodite considered from the top of Olympus that her worship was neglected, so she ensured that all the women of Lemnos wore a strong and very unpleasant smell on themselves. Out of spite, these women sacrificed all the newborn baby boys.
Lemnos is also and above all on the road towards Troy. It was a necessary stop and an essential supply place for the besieging Greeks. This is how the wine of the Island made its reputation and gave rise to a lucrative trade for the islanders.
Other aspects of the History of Lemnos appear in Greek Tragedies and an expression was born from the shadow of the Mount Athos the day of the Summer solstice about a bronze bull situated in Myrina and which symbolizes the slander. Beyond all these stories and legends, in July, you can still have your last sea bath of the day on the beach of Myrina while looking at the outline of the Sacred Mount underlined by the Sunset (a bath that you really have to take, at least just for the pictures and the little fish which come to peck your feet…!).