Mólyvos

On the northern coast of Lesbos, Molyvos occupies the site of ancient Methymna, once the island's prosperous second city. In antiquity its vineyards were celebrated by Roman writers, and its rivalry with Mytilene shaped its alliances during the Peloponnesian War. Its fortifications protected the town through later centuries: in 1335 the Genoese lord of Phokaia seized much of Lesbos but failed to take Methymna. It passed to the Genoese Gattilusi family in 1355, and came under Ottoman control in the 15th century.