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Greek island in the North Aegean

Lesbos or Lesvos (Λέσβος ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the eighth largest in the Mediterranean. It is separated from Asia Minor by the narrow Mytilini Strait. On the southeastern coast is the island's capital and largest city, Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη), whose name is also used for the island as a whole. Lesbos is a separate regional unit with the seat in Mytilene, which is also the capital of the larger North Aegean region. The region includes the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Ikaria, Lemnos, and Samos. The total population of the island was 83,755 in 2021. The name appears in Late Bronze Age Hittite texts as Lazpa ( Lāzpa). but may have originally meant , In Modern Greek, the letter beta ⟨β⟩ is pronounced and transliterated as [v], thus producing the alternative form Lesvos. An older name for the island that was maintained in Aeolic Greek was Ἴσσα (Íssa). Pliny the Elder also refers to the island with the names ἱμερτή (himertḗ, ) and Λασία (Lasía, often understood as ). Some suggest that the name derives from the Anatolian root "muwa" meaning power, The ending ene appears to be the common Greek place name suffix ( enos in masculine) indicating provenance. The island is also sometimes called the "Island of the Poets", alluding to renowned native poets like Alcaeus and Sappho.

Lesbos has been inhabited since at least 3000 BC. The oldest artifacts found on the island may date to the late Paleolithic period. Important archaeological sites on the island are the Neolithic cave of Kagiani, probably a refuge for shepherds, the Neolithic settlement of Chalakies, and the extensive habitation of Thermi (3000–1000 BC). The largest habitation is found in Lisvori, dating back to 2800–1900 BC, part of which is submerged in shallow coastal waters. Lesbos is mentioned in two Hittite texts from the Late Bronze Age, a period during which the island appears to have been a dependent of the Seha River Land. The Manapa Tarhunta letter recounts an incident in which a group of purple dyers from Lesbos defected from the Sehan king.

According to Classical Greek mythology, Lesbos was the patron god of the island. Macareus of Rhodes was reputedly the first king whose many daughters bequeathed their names to some of the present larger towns. In Classical myth his sister, Canace, was killed to have him made king. The place names with female origins are claimed by some to be much earlier settlements named after local goddesses, who were replaced by gods; however, there is little evidence to support this. Homer refers to the island as "Macaros edos," the seat of Macar. Hittite records from the Late Bronze Age name the island Lazpa and must have considered its population significant enough to allow the Hittites to "borrow their Gods" (presumably idols) to cure their king when the local gods were not forthcoming. It is believed that emigrants from mainland Greece, mainly from Thessaly, entered the island in the Late Bronze Age and bequeathed it with the Aeolic dialect of the Greek language, whose written form survives in the poems of Sappho, amongst others. In classical times, the cities of the island formed a pentapolis, comprising Mytilene, Methymna, Antissa, Eresos, and Pyrrha. Pyrrha was destroyed in an earthquake in 231 BC, and Antissa by the Roman Republic in 168 BC.]] Two of the nine lyric poets in the Ancient Greek canon, Sappho and Alcaeus, were from Lesbos. Phanias wrote history. The seminal artistic creativity of those times brings to mind the myth of Orpheus to whom Apollo gave a lyre and the Muses taught to play and sing. When Orpheus incurred the wrath of the god Dionysus he was dismembered by the Maenads and of his body parts his head and his lyre found their way to Lesbos where they have "remained" ever since. Pittacus was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. In classical times, Hellanicus advanced historiography and Theophrastus, the father of botany, succeeded Aristotle as the head of the Lyceum. Aristotle and Epicurus lived there for some time, and it is there that Aristotle began systematic zoological investigations. Theophanes, the historian who recorded Pompey's campaigns, was also from Lesbos. As the Greek novel Daphnis and Chloe is set on Lesbos, the author, Longus, is usually assumed to be from the island. The abundant grey pottery ware found on the island and the worship of Cybele, the great mother goddess of Anatolia, suggest the cultural continuity of the population from Neolithic times. When the Persian king Cyrus the Great defeated Croesus (546 BC) the Ionic Greek cities of Anatolia and the adjacent islands became Persian subjects and remained such until the Persians were defeated by the Greeks at the Battle of Salamis (480 BC). The island was governed by an oligarchy in archaic times, followed by quasi democracy in classical times. Around this time, Arion developed the type of poem called dithyramb, the progenitor of tragedy, and Terpander invented the seven note musical scale for the lyre. For a short period it was a member of the Athenian confederacy, its apostasy from which is recounted by Thucydides in the Mytilenian Debate, in Book III of his History of the Peloponnesian War. In Hellenistic times, the island belonged to various Successor kingdoms until 79 BC when it passed into Roman hands. Remnants of its Roman medieval history are three impressive castles. The cities of Mytilene and Methymna have been bishoprics since the 5th century. By the early 10th century, Mytilene had been raised to the status of a metropolitan see. Methymna achieved the same by the 12th century. The island served as a gathering base for the fleet of the rebel Thomas the Slav in the early 820s. In the 10th century, it was part of the theme of the Aegean Sea, while in the late 11th century it formed a (fiscal district) under a in Mytilene. Lesbos prospered from trade, and Mytilene was considered the busiest Ottoman port in the Aegean Sea. West European representatives are attested in the city already in 1700, acting as vice consuls for the consulates in Smyrna. The island exported olives and olive oil, wheat, grapes, raisins and wine, figs, fish, dairy products, acorns, soap, leather and hides, pitch and livestock. Twenty years later, during World War II, Nazi Germany conducted an invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia, with both being defeated in 1941 and subsequently divided between the Axis Powers. Lesbos was occupied by Germany until 10 September 1944, when Greece was liberated. The poet Odysseus Elytis, the descendant of an old family of Lesbos, received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979.

Lesbos is known to be one of the Greek island touristic hotspots, especially during its tourism season of April, May, June and July. Mytilene airport management recorded 47,379 tourists visiting Lesbos in its 2015 tourism season. The refugee crisis has since slowed down tourism to the island, with a 67.89% decrease rate from June 2015 to June 2016. 6,841 Europeans on 47 flights arrived in Lesbos during its 2016 tourism season, compared to July the previous year, which saw 18,373 Europeans fly to the island on 130 flights. In 2019, the head of the Lesbos chamber of commerce, Vangelis Mirsinias, told The Jakarta Post that the island's administration is trying to "woo back the tourists" and they "want to remind people of how beautiful" Lesbos is." In April 2022, the Greek government announced a dedication of €2 million in restoring tourism in Lesbos and four other islands. In October 2022, it was announced that Lesbos would return to the cruise ship industry. Konstantinos Moutzouris, the governor of the North Aegean Region, which Lesbos is under, explained that the region's administration will run a study "in order to develop cruise tourism on the island." Due to this association, the town of Eresos, her birthplace, is visited frequently by LGBT tourists.

Lesbos lies in the far east of the Aegean sea, facing the Turkish coast (Gulf of Edremit) from the north and east; at the narrowest point, the Mytilini Strait is about wide. In late Palaeolithic/Mesolithic times it was joined to the Anatolian mainland before the end of the Last Glacial Period. The shape of the island is roughly triangular, but it is deeply intruded by the gulfs of Kalloni, with an entry on the southern coast, and of Gera, in the southeast. The island is forested and mountainous with two large peaks, Mount Lepetymnos at and Mount Olympus at (not to be confused with Mount Olympus in Thessaly on the Greek mainland), dominating its northern and central sections. The island's volcanic origin is manifested in several hot springs and the two gulfs. Lesbos is verdant, aptly named Emerald Island, with a greater variety of flora than expected for the island's size. Eleven million olive trees cover 40% of the island, together with other fruit trees. Forests of Mediterranean pines, chestnut trees and some oaks occupy 20%, and the remainder is scrub, grassland or urban. The island is also one of the best in the world for bird watching.

The island has a hot summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in the Köppen climate classification). The mean annual temperature is , and the mean annual rainfall is Its exceptional sunshine makes it one of the sunniest islands in the Aegean Sea. Snow and very low temperatures are rare.

The entire territory of Lesbos is "Lesvos Geopark", which is a member of the European Geoparks Network (since 2000) and Global Geoparks Network (since 2004) on account of its outstanding geological heritage, educational programs and projects, and promotion of geotourism. This geopark was enlarged from former "Lesvos Petrified Forest Geopark". Lesbos contains one of the few known petrified forests, called the Petrified forest of Lesbos, and it has been declared a Protected Natural Monument. Fossilised plants have been found in many localities on the western parts of the island. The fossilised forest was formed during the Late Oligocene to Lower–Middle Miocene, as determined by the intense volcanic activity in the area. Neogene volcanic rocks dominate the central and western part of the island, comprising andesites, dacites and rhyolites, ignimbrite, pyroclastics, tuffs, and volcanic ash. The products of the volcanic activity covered the vegetation of the area and the fossilization process took place during favourable conditions. The fossilized plants are silicified remnants of a sub tropical forest that existed on the northwest part of the island 20–15 million years ago.

The economy of Lesbos is essentially agricultural, with olive oil being the main source of income. Tourism in Mytilene, encouraged by its international airport and the coastal towns of Petra, Plomari, Molyvos and Eresos, contributes substantially to the island's economy. Fishing and the manufacture of soap and ouzo, the Greek national liqueur, are the remaining sources of income.

Due to its proximity to the Turkish mainland, Lesbos is one of the Greek islands most affected by the European migrant crisis that started in 2015. Refugees of the Syrian Civil War came to the island in multiple vessels every day. As of June 2018, 8,000 refugees were trapped when a deal between Europe and Turkey removed their route to the continent in 2016. After that, living conditions deteriorated and the possibility of movement to Europe dimmed. Moria Refugee Camp was the largest of the refugee camps and held twice as many people as it was designed to accommodate. By May 2020, Moria had 17,421 refugees living there. A smaller scale facility, the Pikpa camp catered for a segment of the refugee population until its closure in October 2020, whereupon the occupants were transferred to the "old" Kara Tepe Refugee Camp. The Greek government maintains that the fires were started deliberately by migrants protesting that the camp had been put in lockdown due to a COVID 19 outbreak amongst the migrants in the camp. On 16 September 2020, four Afghan men were formally charged with arson for allegedly starting the fire. Two other migrants, both aged 17, which is below the age of full adult criminal responsibility in Greece, were also allegedly involved in starting the fire, and were held in police detention on the mainland. After the closure of the Moria camp, a temporary facility was rapidly set up at Kara Tepe. The Greek government announced in November 2020 that a new closed reception centre will be built in the Vastria area near Nees Kydonies, on the border between Mytilene and Western Lesbos, and will be completed by late 2021.

Films shot on the island include Daphnis and Chloe (1931) by Orestis Laskos, The tree under the sea (1985) by Philippe Muyl and One Love and the Other (1994) by Eva Bergman. Lesbos is depicted in Assassin's Creed Odyssey as the northeasternmost Aegean Island, the center of the island is where the player's character can encounter Medusa.

The main football clubs in the island are Aiolikos F. C.,
Kalloni F. C. and
Sappho Lesvou F. C.

FrequencyNameOn air sinceDescription87.5 MHzRadio Kalloni1996News, talk and Greek music88.2 MHzLove Mitilini2003Easy listening90.0 MHzRadio Mitilini1989Greek pop and rock music (formerly broadcast on 107.6)91.6 MHzRythmos Radio2005Greek pop music92.3 MHzFirst Programme1938National; news and talk; first station of Greek state radio92.8 MHzAeolos FM 92,81989Greek laïko rebetiko éntekhno music93.2 MHzAstra FM 93,22000Greek music93.3 MHzFoni tis Ecclesias2000Orthodox religious radio; rebroadcasting with Ecclesia FM 89,593.6 MHzIntro Radio Lesvos2021Amateur radio with Greek pop music; located from Polichnitos94.3 MHzSecond Programme1952National; Greek music; second station of Greek state radio96.5 MHzERT Aegean1989News and talk; Local station of Greek state radio96.8 MHzMinore FM 96,81985Greek music: Pop music and Dance music97.2 MHzThird Programme1954National; classical music; third station of Greek state radio97.6 MHzLocal 9,72 Mitilini1990News, talk and music98.6 MHzBest FM Lesvos1992Greek and foreign music99.0 MHzSto Nisi 99 FM2019News and talk99.4 MHzERT Aegean1989News and talk; Local station of Greek state radio99.8 MHzSKAI Aegean2009News and talk101.5 MHzSlam 101.52019Foreign music103.0 MHzERT Aegean1989News and talk; Local station of Greek state radio104.4 MHzERT Aegean1989News and talk; Local station of Greek state radio104.8 MHzPeiraiki Ecclesia1988Orthodox religious radio station by the Church of Piraeus105.8 MHzPeiraiki Ecclesia1988Orthodox religious radio station by the Church of Piraeus105.9 MHzERT Aegean1989News and talk; Local station of Greek state radioSecond Programme1952National; Greek music; second station of Greek state radio106.4 MHzThird Programme1954National; classical music; third station of Greek state radio106.9 MHzSKAI Aegean2009News and talk107.4 MHzPeiraiki Ecclesia1988Orthodox religious radio station by the Church of Piraeus107.7 MHzRadio Kalloni1996News, talk and Greek music107.9 MHzERA Sport1993National; sports and talk; fourth station of Greek state radio

A regional television station operates from the city of Mytilene; Aeolos TV.

The main printed newspapers of the city are Empros, Ta Nea tis Lesvou, and Dimokratis. Online newspapers include Aeolos, Emprosnet, Lesvosnews, Lesvospost, and Kalloninews.