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{{Infobox Greek Dimos
|name               = Psara
|name_local         = Ψαρά
|type = municipality
|city_flag          = [[File:Flag of Psara.svg|150px]]
|city_seal          = 
|image_map          = 2011 Dimos Psaron.png
|periph             = [[North Aegean]]
|periphunit         = [[Chios (regional unit)|Chios]]
|pop_municipality   = 420
|area_municipality  = 44.511
|population_as_of   = 2021
|elevation_min      = 0
|elevation_max      = 512
|coordinates        = {{coord|38|33|N|25|34|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code        = 82x xx
|area_code          = 22740
|licence            = ΧΙ
|mayor              = 
|website            = [http://www.dimospsaron.gr www.dimospsaron.gr]
|image_skyline      = Psara-Black-Ridge-01.jpg
|caption_skyline    = Psara, Black Ridge
|party              = 
|since              = 
}}

'''Psara''' ({{langx|el|Ψαρά}} {{IPA|el|ps̠aˈɾa|}}), known in ancient times as '''Psyra''' ({{Lang|grc|Ψύρα}}) and '''Psyrie''' ({{Lang|grc|Ψυρίη}}), is a [[List of islands of Greece|Greek island]] in the [[Aegean Sea]]. Together with the small island of [[Antipsara]], it forms the municipality of Psara. It is part of the [[Chios (regional unit)|Chios regional unit]], which is part of the [[North Aegean]] [[Administrative regions of Greece|region]]. The only town of the island and seat of the municipality is also called Psara.<ref name=Kallikratis>{{Cite web |url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL81-32jgAMSfbnMRVjyfnPUeJInJ48_97uHrMts-zFzeyCiBSQOpYnT00MHhcXFRTsb2fGphpq4MKX2ZkaHobySNnvZCNHXvYVvlf80XevW0Q. |title=ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities |language=el |publisher=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette]]}}</ref>

Psara had 420 inhabitants according to the 2021 census. It has a small port linking to the island of [[Chios]] and other parts of Greece.

In the [[Destruction of Psara|Psara massacre]] on the island, thousands of [[Greeks]] were massacred by [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] troops during the [[Greek War of Independence]] in 1824.

==Geography==
[[File:Chios topographic map-en.svg|thumb|left|Topographic map of [[Chios]] and Psara islands, situated in the [[Aegean Sea]] in Greece.]]

Psara lies {{convert|81|km|mi|abbr=on}} northwest of [[Chios]], {{convert|22|km|0|abbr=in}} from the northwestern point of the island of Chios and {{convert|150|km|0|abbr=on}} east-northeast of [[Athens]]. The length and width of the island are about {{convert|7|by|8|km|0|abbr=on}} and the area is {{convert|43|km2|0|abbr=on}}. The highest point on the island is "Profitis Ilias" ({{convert|512|m|0|abbr=on}}). The municipality has total area of {{Convert|44.511|km2|mi2|abbr=on}}.<ref name=stat01>{{cite web |url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece |title=Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation) |language=el}}</ref>

==Flag==
The modern [[flag]] of Psara is based largely on the island's famous revolutionary flag created by Psariot locals in 1824. The original flag, carried during the [[Greek War of Independence|War of Independence]] by Psariot ships,<ref>"Η Ελληνική Σημάια", (''The Greek flag'') - [[Hellenic Army General Staff]]'', Page 11, Image 14:[http://www.geetha.mil.gr/media/21noe/shmaia.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327155203/http://www.geetha.mil.gr/media/21noe/shmaia.pdf|date=2016-03-27}}''</ref> was made of white cloth bordered with red. It bore the symbols of {{Lang|el-Latn|[[Filiki Eteria]]|italic=no}} in red (a large cross atop a crescent, a spear, and an anchor). A snake was wrapped around the anchor, often depicted with a bird flying near its mouth. On either side of the {{Lang|el-Latn|Filiki Eteria|italic=no}} symbols, in red capital letters, were the words <small>''[[Eleftheria i thanatos|ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ Η ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ]] (FREEDOM OR DEATH)''</small> and in some cases, the island's name, spelled <small>''{{Lang|el|ΨΑ–ΡΑ}}''</small> or <small>''{{Lang|el|ΨΑΡ–ΡΑ}}''.</small><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nhmuseum.gr/details2.php?lang=1&wh=1&the1id=1&the2id=7&the3id=69&theid=69&open1=1&open2=7&open3=69&thepid=181&page=1 |website=Εθνικό Ιστορικό Μουσείο |language=el |script-title=el:Σημαία των Ψαρών, Επανάσταση 1821 (Αρ. κατ. 1752) |trans-title=Flag of Psara, Revolution of 1821 (Catalogue Num. 1752) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925185805/http://www.nhmuseum.gr/details2.php?lang=1&wh=1&the1id=1&the2id=7&the3id=69&theid=69&open1=1&open2=7&open3=69&thepid=181&page=1 |archive-date=2014-09-25 |access-date=2020-05-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://cdrsee.org/pdf/WorkBook2.pdf |title=Nations and States in Southeast Europe |publisher=Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in South-Eastern Europe |year=2005 |isbn=960-86857-4-5 |editor-last=Murgescu |editor-first=Mirela-Luminita |location=Thessaloniki |pages=99 |chapter=National Ideologies |editor-last2=Koulouri |editor-first2=Christina |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509081252/http://www.cdsee.org/pdf/WorkBook2.pdf |archive-date=2010-05-09}}</ref> An original 1824 flag of Psara is preserved at the [[National Historical Museum, Athens|National Historical Museum]] of Greece.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:1821 Flag of Psara.svg|thumb|left|Flag of Psara during the [[Greek War of Independence]] bearing the inscriptions <small>''[[Eleftheria i thanatos|ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ Η ΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ]] (FREEDOM OR DEATH)''</small> and <small>''{{Lang|el|ΨΑ–ΡΑ}} (PSA–RA)''</small>.]]

The flag of Psara currently in use has a very similar design but omits the island's name and bears a star below the crescent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Psara (Municipality, Greece) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gr-ai-ps.html |last=Sache |first=Ivan |date=2015-08-10 |website=www.crwflags.com |access-date=2020-05-02}}</ref>

==History==
Psara has been inhabited since the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean period]], its inhabitants relying on the sea to make a living as the island is treeless and rocky with little shrubbery.

[[Homer]], [[Strabo]], [[Cratinus]], [[Suda]] and [[Stephanus of Byzantium]] referred to the island as ''Psyra'' ({{langx|grc|Ψυρά and Ψύρα}})<ref>[https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/Οδύσσεια/γ#v140 Homer, Odyssey, §3.148]</ref><ref name=Strabo>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-grc1:14.1.35 Strabo, Geography, §14.1.35]</ref><ref name=Suda>[http://www.stoa.org/sol-entries/psi/155 Suda Encyclopedia, §psi.155]</ref><ref name= Stephanus_of_Byzantium>[https://topostext.org/work/241#Ps703.2 Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §Ps703.2]</ref><ref>Agelarakis A., "Report on the Main Burial of the Mycenaean Human Skeletal Remains excavated from Archontiki Site, Psara, Greece", OSSA 13 (1986-87): 3-11.</ref> and ''Psyrian'' ({{langx|grc|Ψυρίαν}}).<ref name= Stephanus_of_Byzantium/> The island had a city also called Psyra.<ref name=Strabo/><ref>{{Cite Pliny|5.36}}</ref>

The islanders' sole source of livelihood has always been fishing, mainly for the locally abundant [[slipper lobster]]s, and shipping, with some tourist development in recent years.

The Greek ancient [[proverb]] ''Psyra celebrating [[Dionysus|Dionysos]]'' ({{langx|grc|Ψύρα τὸν Διόνυσον ἄγοντες}})<ref name=Suda/><ref name= Stephanus_of_Byzantium/> originated from the fact that Psyra was a poor and small island which could not produce its own wine, and was used in reference to people who were reclining at a symposium but not drinking.<ref name=Suda/> Another ancient Greek proverb, ''You regard [[Sparta]] as Psyra'' ({{langx|grc|Ψύρα τε τὴν Σπάρτην ἄγεις}}),<ref name= Stephanus_of_Byzantium/> also expressed the poverty of the island.

During the Middle Ages Psara had a very small population, which abandoned the island for Chios after the [[Fall of Constantinople]]. Between the 14th and second half of the 15th century,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evangelidis |first=Tryfon |url=https://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/metadata/b/5/8/metadata-322-0000009.tkl |title=Ιστορία του εποικισμού της Ύδρας |date=1935 |publisher=Τύποις Ε. Ι. Χατζηϊωάννου |page=24 |language=el}}</ref> a small group of [[Albanians]] settled on the island and developed an [[Arvanite]] community, but it was quickly assimilated into the local Greek population.<ref name = T>Jochalas, Titos P. (1971): Über die Einwanderung der Albaner in Griechenland: Eine zusammenfassene Betrachtung ["On the immigration of Albanians to Greece: A summary"]. München: Trofenik. pg. 89–106: "Albanians also settled on the islands of Psara, Kynthos, Kea, Samos, Aegina and Skopelos, but were soon assimilated by the local Greeks."</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Laographia: A Newsletter of the International Greek Folklore Society: Volumes 8-10 |date=1991 |publisher=International Greek Folklore Society |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Vakalopoulos |first=Apostolos |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K2s_AQAAIAAJ |title=Ιστορία του νέου ελληνισμού: Τουρκοκρατία 1453–1669 |date=1974 |publisher=Ηρόδοτος |isbn= |volume=2 |page=131 |language=el |quote=Μικρὲς ἐπίσης ὁμάδες ἐγκαταστάθηκαν στὴν Σάμο (...), στὰ Ψαρά, ... οἱ ὁποῖες ὅμως ὅλες ἀπορροφήθηκαν ἀπὸ τοὺς παλιότερους ἢ νεώτερους ἑλληνικοὺς πληθυσμούς.}}</ref><ref>Gangloff, Sylvie. "La perception de l'héritage ottoman dans les Balkans: The perception of the ottoman legacy in the Balkans." La perception de l'héritage ottoman dans les Balkans (2005): pg 25</ref> In the 16th century, under the Ottoman rule, the Psariots who had previously left, returned to their homeland along with other settlers and established a settlement around the Palaiokastro fort which they repaired. They turned to trade, amassing great profits. By the beginning of the 19th century the Psariots had the third largest trade fleet in Greece after [[Hydra (island)|Hydra]] and [[Spetses]], numbering some 45 ships.<ref>{{cite book |last=Xiradaki |first=Koula |title=Γυναίκες του 21 |trans-title=Women of 21 |publisher=Dodoni |language=el |location=Athens |year=1995 |isbn=960-248-781-X |pages=244}}</ref>

==Destruction==
{{main|Destruction of Psara}}
[[File:Gysis Nikolaos After the destruction of Psara.jpg|thumb|''After the destruction of Psara'' by [[Nikolaos Gyzis]].]]

Psara joined the [[Greek War of Independence]] on April 10, 1821. Future [[Prime Minister of Greece|Prime Minister]] [[Konstantinos Kanaris]], [[Dimitrios Papanikolis]], [[Andreas Pipinos]] and [[Nikolis Apostolis]] distinguished themselves as naval leaders, using [[fire ship]]s to combat the more powerful [[Ottoman Navy]]. Psara's native population of {{formatnum:7500}} people was further augmented by {{formatnum:23000}} refugees from Thessaly, Macedonia, Chios, [[Moschonisia]] and [[Ayvalık|Kydonies]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Xiradaki |first=Koula |title=Γυναίκες του 21 |trans-title=Women of 21 |publisher=Dodoni |language=el |location=Athens |year=1995 |isbn=960-248-781-X |pages=244–245}}</ref>

On July 3 (June 21 [[Old Style and New Style dates|O.S.]]), 1824, the island was invaded by the Turks. The resistance of the Psariots ended the next day with a last stand at the town's old fort of Palaiokastro (alternative name ''Mavri Rachi'', literally "black ridge"). Hundreds of soldiers and also women and children had taken refuge there when an Ottoman force of {{formatnum:2000}} stormed the fort. The refugees first threw a white flag<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.typos.com.cy/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=17777 |title=''Typos'', Cyprus newspaper |access-date=2009-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003181703/http://www.typos.com.cy/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=17777 |archive-date=2018-10-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> with the words "Ἐλευθερία ἤ Θάνατος" ("[[Eleftheria i thanatos|Eleftheria i Thanatos]]", ''"Freedom or Death"''). Then, the moment the Turks entered the fort, the local [[Antonios Vratsanos]] lit a fuse to the gunpowder stock, in an explosion that killed the town's inhabitants along with their enemies &mdash; thus remaining faithful to their flag to their death. A French officer who heard and saw the explosion compared it to a volcanic eruption of Vesuvius.

A part of the population managed to flee the island, but those who did not were either sold into slavery or killed. As a result of the invasion, thousands of Greeks met a tragic fate. The island was deserted and surviving islanders were scattered through what is now Southern Greece. [[Theophilos Kairis]], a priest and scholar, took on many of the orphaned children and developed the famous school the [[Orphanotropheio of Theophilos Kairis]]. Psara remained in the hands of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] until it was recaptured by the [[Greece|Greek]] navy on 21 October 1912 during the [[First Balkan War]].

==Historical population==
[[File:ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟΣ ΧΩΡΟΣ ΑΡΧΟΝΤΙΚΙ ΚΑΙ ΝΗΣΑΚΙ ΔΑΣΚΑΛΙΟ.jpg|thumb|Archontiki archeological site in Psara.]]

A native of Psara is known in English as a [[wikt:Psariot|Psariot]] or a [[wikt:Psarian|Psarian]].

{| class=wikitable
! Year !! Population !! Difference
|-
|1824 || {{formatnum:7000}}<ref>Finlay, George. ''History of the Greek Revolution and the Reign of King Otho'' (edited by H.F. Tozer). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1877 (Reprint: London 1971), {{ISBN|978-0-900834-12-7}}, p. 152.</ref> ||
|-
| 1951 || 700 ||
|-
| 1961 || 576 || - 17.7%
|-
| 1971 || 487 || - 15.5%
|-
| 1981 || 460 || - 5.5%
|-
| 1991 || 438 || - 4.8%
|-
| 2001 || 422 || - 3.7%
|-
| 2011 || 446 || + 5.7%
|-
| 2021 || 420 || - 5.8%
|}

==Notable people==
[[File:Konstantinos Kanaris.png|thumb|[[Konstantinos Kanaris]].]]

Notable natives and inhabitants of the island include:
* [[Ioannis Varvakis]] (1745–1825), admiral, caviar merchant and benefactor.
* [[Nikolis Apostolis]] (1770–1827), admiral.
* [[Dimitrios Papanikolis]] (1790–1855), admiral.
* [[Konstantinos Kanaris]] (1793/1795–1877), admiral and politician, Prime Minister of Greece.
* [[Garafilia Mohalbi]] (1817–1830), Greek-American refugee and former slave.
* [[George Sirian]] (1818–1891), United States Navy officer.

==See also==
* [[List of settlements in the Chios regional unit]]
* [[Greek ship Psara|Greek ship ''Psara'']]
* [[Destruction of Psara]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* https://web.archive.org/web/20070611074035/http://www.chios.com/island/psara.htm (also in German and Greek)
* [https://archive.today/20130108065906/http://www.sansimera.gr/archive/articles/show.php?id=156&feature=H_katastrofi_ton_Psaron] (The destruction of Psara, in Greek)
* http://www.ptolemais.com/shmaies/epanastatimena.htm (The flags of the rebellious islands (Psara), in Greek)

{{Kallikratis-North Aegean}}
{{Aegean Sea}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Psara| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Chios (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Municipalities of the North Aegean]]
[[Category:Landforms of Chios (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Islands of the North Aegean]]