All this has in part been deducted from the testimony left by the tombs, the 5th century White Tower and other monuments of different origins.
Later on, in the 6th century BC, the island starts to develop in fast pace, thanks to the mining activity. By those times, Serifos had already been a colony and was living in democracy.
In addition, it is part of the Athenian Alliance and participates in the Persian wars. However, there are not many findings remaining regarding this period, since many of them have been looted, while others are simply lost. So the few pieces that testify this part of the past are hosted at the Archaeological Museum in Chora.
On the other hand, the Hellenistic period has left a wide range of monuments, such as the “Kastro tis Grias”, with its remaining sections of the walls, an oil press, and several clay and stone elements, among others.
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Then, the Byzantine period began, but it did not necessary mean an abrupt change in terms of organisation and development.
The later Venetian domination, however, produced many improvements in economic as well as in cultural terms. This development has left traces that remain until our days.
When it comes to cultural subjects, the imposing buildings are a testimony of the Venetian culture and uses, while in economic terms, the reopening of the mines after 1000 years of inactivity that the purchase of slaves allowed obviously implicated an important growth.
After this flourishing period of Serifos, as well as of the rest of Greece, started a dark stage, when the violent Turkish domination combined with constant pirate attacks began and the mines were closed once again. The history of the mines, the main economic resource of the island- continues on to the 19th century, when the state of Greece conceded for the first time some mine companies to reopen and exploit the mines.
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every year. However, when it comes to mythology, the story is very different.
There are two legends related to this subject. The first one is related to a few real facts, like the explanation of why the coastline looks so rocky, which feature is true.
On the other hand, the other legend is more related to the historical facts previously mentioned. According to this one, the island was at first inhabited by Cyclops, a group of giants, sons of Poseidon, who lived in a cave near Psaropyrgos. They are said to have construct the huge walls surrounding the island, so the mentioned walls of Liomandra and the White Tower are said to be the remaining of these.
Regarding the mineral resources of the island, these are said to be exploited by them, which made possible the development of the later civilisation. So in this story, we can see one way to conciliate the real facts, with the mythology that surrounds Greece, which is an undeniable part of the Greek culture.
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