Chios

Chios (????; alternative transliterations Khios and Hios, see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea.

Claims to Fame

• The Korai Library, in Chios, is one of the most important in Greece, containing 95,000 volumes.
• Chios claims to be the birthplace of Homer, Hippocrates the mathematician, and Oenopides. Oenopion, a legendary king, is said to have brought winemaking to the island.
• Chios is home to one of the biggest ship-owning fraternities in Greece, with such shipping families as Livanos, Chandris, Los, Lemos, Pachos, Pateras, Fafalios, Tsakos, Frangos, and Xylas hailing from the island.
• Chios' satellite islands include Oinoussais and Psara, from where Kanaris fired the first shots in the Greek Struggle for Independence (1822 onwards).
• Some claim Chios is Christopher Columbus's birthplace. Columbus said he was from Genoa, but he never claimed he was from the city of Genoa itself. Chios was a Genoese possession at the time of Columbus birth, and 'Columbus' is a common surname on Chios . Furthermore Columbus appears to have known Chios very well, since he often made references to it in his journals.
• Chios is also the birthplace of some well known poets of modern times as Giorgos Dilvois, Nikos Gialouris, Dimitris Varos and Matheos Moundes.
• Chios Museum of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art, Website
• Chios Archaeological Museum, Website