Tenos

TENOS(Τῆνος: Eth. Τήνιος: Tino), an island in the Aegaean sea, and one of the Cyclades, lying between Andros and Delos, distant from tile former 1 mile and from the latter 15 miles. (Plin. Nat. 4.12. s. 22.) It stretches from NW. to SE., and is 15 miles long according to Pliny (l. c.), or 150 stadia according to Scylax (p. 55). It was also called Hydrussa (Ὑδροῦσσα, Ὑδρόεσσα) from the number of its springs, and Ophiussa because it abounded in snakes. (Plin. l. c.;Mela, 2.7.11; Steph. B. s. v.) The sons of Boreas are said to have been slain in this island by Hercules. (Apollon. 1.1304, with Schol.) In the invasion of Greece by Xerxes, the Tenians were compelled to serve in the Persian fleet; but a Tenian trireme deserted to the Greeks immediately before the battle of Salamis (B.C. 480), and accordingly the name of the Tenians was inscribed upon the tripod at Delphi in the list of Grecian states which had overthrown the Persians. (Hdt. 8.82.) Pausanias relates that the name of the Tenians was also inscribed on the statue of Zeus at Olympia among the Greeks who had fought at the battle of Plataea (5.23.2). The Tenians afterwards formed part of the Athenian maritime empire, and are mentioned among the subject allies of Athens at the time of the Sicilian expedition (Thuc. 7.57). They paid a yearly tribute of 3600 drachmae, from which it may be inferred that they enjoyed a considerable share of prosperity. (Franz, Elem. Epigr. Gr. No. 49.) Alexander of Pherae took possession of Tenos for a time (Dem. c. Polycl. p. 1207); and the island was afterwards granted by M. Antonius to the Rhodians (Appian, App. BC 5.7.) After the conquest of Constantinople by the Latins, Tenos fell to the share of the Venetians, and remained in their hands long after their other possessions in the Aegaean had been taken by the Turks. It was ceded by Venice to the Sultan by the peace of Passarovitz, 1718. It is still one of the most prosperous islands in the Aegaean, and the inhabitants are remarkable for their industry and good conduct. The present population is about 15,000 souls, of whom more than half are Catholics,—a circumstance which, by bringing them into closer connection with western Europe, has contributed to their prosperity.
The ancient city of Tenos, of the same name as the island, stood at the south-western end upon the same site as St. Nieolaos, the present capital. Scylax says that it possessed a harbour, and Strabo describes it as a small town. (Scyl. p. 22; Strab. 10. p. 487; Ptol. 3.14.30.) In the neighbourhood of the city there was a celebrated temple of Poseidon situated in a grove, where festivals were celebrated, which were much frequented by all the neighbouring people. (Strab l. c.;Tac. Ann. 3.63; Clem. Protr. p. 18; Böckh, Inscr. No. 2329, 2331.) The attributes of Poseidon appear on the coins of Tenos. There was another town in the island named Eriston (Ἤριστον;Böckh, Inscr. 2336, 2337), which was situated in the interior at the village of Komi. Among the curiosities of Tenos was mentioned a fountain, the water of which would not mix with wine. (Athen. 2. 43c.). The island was celebrated in antiquity for its fine garlic. (Aristoph. Plut. 18.) The chief modern production of the island is wine, of which the best kind is the celebrated Malvasia, which now grows only at Tenos and no longer at Monembasiain Peloponnesus, from which place it derived its name. (Tournefort, Voyage, &c. vol. 1. p. 271, transl.; Exped. Scientif. vol. 3. p. 2; Fiedler, Reise, vol. 2. p. 241, seq.; Finlay, Hist. of Greece under Othoman and Venetian Domination, pp. 276, 287; and especially Ross, Reise auf dcn Griech. Inseln, vol. 1. p. 11, seq., who cites a monograph, Marcaky Zallony, Voyaye à Tine, l'une des îles de l'Archipel de la Grèce, Paris, 1809.) COIN OF TENOS.