Kýthnos

Kythnos lies between Kea and Serifos in the western Cyclades. Its other name, Thermia, recalls the hot springs on its northeastern coast. The fortified settlement of Kastro stood on a headland with steep drops to the sea, protected on its landward side by a wall; even so, it was destroyed and rebuilt more than once.

After a decline in population in the early 15th century, Albanian communities came from nearby Euboea and were absorbed into the island's Greek population. Ottoman forces took Kastro from its Venetian lord in 1617, after which the capital moved inland to Messaria. A Greek school opened there in the monastery of Panagia of Nikous in 1791. During the Greek War of Independence, Kythnos sheltered refugees from Chios, Psara and Aivali, although plague struck the island in 1823.