Megiste

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Megiste: island in ancient Greece, close to Lycia.

The isle of Megiste
The isle of Megiste

In Antiquity, sailors arriving from the east knew they were close to Greece when they saw the small island of Megiste - a rather inappropriate name as Megiste means "the largest". It was, and is, the most eastern part of Greece. In Antiquity, it was reckoned to the overseas territories of Rhodes. Today, it is called Kastelorizo (in Greek) and Meis (in Turkish).

Megiste, Bellerophon sarcophagus. National Archaeological Museum, Athens (Greece)
Megiste, Bellerophon sarcophagus

Although Megiste belonged to the periphery of the classical Greek world, it was open to Greek civilization. The second picture shows the hero Bellerophon and his winged horse Pegasus. It is part of a sarcophagus that was found on Megiste, and is now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

This page was created in 2008; last modified on 13 August 2020.