The History of Milos

History of Milos

The culture of Milos is considered as ancient as Crete and extends for at least 5000 years. Its reputation spread throughout the civilized world thanks to the masterpiece of Aphrodite of Milos, a statue found buried on the island in the 19th century (1820) and now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Flakopi, the oldest settlement on the island, lived between 4000 and 5000 BC.

The settlement was destroyed twice by the invaders and eventually rebuilt in 800 BC. in a different style. The ability to exploit the various minerals (zinc tin etc ...) has provided the inhabitants with a large number of tools that were unbelievably precise at that time. The existence of Flakopi is located between the Neolithic and the Iron Age, as many recent archaeological excavations have determined. The city finally burned down completely. The end of Flakopi came around the time of the flourishing of Mycenaean civilization.

In 1000 BC the Dorian invaders arrived on the island. In fact, historian Thucydides mentioned in one of his books that it was for about 700 years that the Dorians lived in Milos. The island of Milos became a center for artistic endeavor as presented by the magnificent statue of Venus of Milos that was created around 400 BC.