Olympos, Karpathos

Olympos (Greek: Όλυμπος) is a village and a former self-governing community on the island of Karpathos, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Karpathos, of which it is a municipal unit.^[2] It is located in the northern part of the island. The total land area of the community is 104.876 km².^[3]

Olympos Όλυμπος
Municipal unit
Olympos Location within Karpathos
Coordinates: 35°44′N 27°11′E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	South Aegean
Regional unit	Karpathos-Kasos
Municipality	Karpathos
Area
• Municipal unit	104.9 km2 (40.5 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Municipal unit	530
• Municipal unit density	5.1/km2 (13/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

History

In antiquity in this place there was the Doric city Vrykous or Vrycous. Vrykous was one of the three ancient cities of Karpathos.^[4] It was located near the village Avlona. Today a small part of the city and the walls are preserved as well as some ruins from graves and three old Christian churches.^[5] The city of Vrykous was kept until the 7th or 8th century. Then the residents sought refuge in more mountainous areas on account of Saracen pirates. The refugees from Vrykous founded Olympos possibly in those years. Olympos was named after the mountain where it is built. The name of the village is feminine (Η Όλυμπος/I Olympos) contrary to the name of the mountain that is masculine (Ό Όλυμπος/O Olympos). The name Elympos (Έλυμπος) is used, mainly by local villagers.^[6] The villagers of Olympos kept the local dialect and the traditional costume due to the isolation of this place from the rest of Karpathos. The traditional style of the village attracts many tourists nowadays.

Historical population

Census	Settlement	Community
1991	304
2001	323	480
2011	270	556
2021	200	530

Notable people

• Yannis Philippakis, frontman of the British indie band Foals

Photo gallery

• 
  Closer view of the village
• 
  Houses
• 
  Balcony with view to the ocean
• 
  Local church
• 
  Local women dressed for a festival of Mary, mother of Jesus
• 
  Diafani village, seaport of Olympos traditional village

References

1. "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
2. "ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
3. "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece.
4. Προστατευόμενη περιοχή Καρπάθου Σαρίας (PDF) (in Greek). fdkarpathos.gr. p. 51. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
5. Προστατευόμενη περιοχή Καρπάθου Σαρίας (PDF) (in Greek). fdkarpathos.gr. p. 41. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
6. Προστατευόμενη περιοχή Καρπάθου Σαρίας (PDF) (in Greek). fdkarpathos.gr. p. 35. Retrieved 22 February 2015.

External links

• Map showing community of Olympus on Karpathos Island and Saria Island