Editing Mytilene (section)

==History==
[[File:Nuremberg chronicles f 59v 3.png|thumb|left|160px|[[Pittacus of Mytilene]] ({{Circa|640}} – 568 BC), one of the [[Seven Sages of Greece]]; woodcut from the [[Nuremberg Chronicle]].]]
[[File:Port Mytilene.jpg|thumb|View of the port, with the dome of Saint Therapon.]]
[[File:Lesbos Mytilene01.JPG|thumb|The church of [[Saint Therapon (Mytilene)|Saint Therapon]] at the port]]

As an ancient city, lying off the east coast, Mytilene was initially confined to a small island just offshore that later was joined to Lesbos, creating a north and south harbor. The early harbors of Mytilene were linked during ancient times by a channel 700 m long and 30 m wide. The Roman writer Longus speaks of white stone bridges linking the two sides. The Greek word εὔριπος ''eúripos'' is a commonly-used term when referring to a strait. The strait allowed ancient warships called [[trireme]]s, with three tiers of rowers or more. The boats that passed were ca. 6 m wide plus oars and had depth of 2 m.

The areas of the city that were densely populated connected the two bodies of land with marble bridges. They usually followed a curved line. The strait begins at the old market called Apano Skala. It was also close to Metropolis Street and ended at the Southern Harbor. One could argue that the channel transversed what is now called Ermou Street. Over time the strait began to collect silt and earth. There was also human intervention for the protection of the [[Castle of Mytilene]]. The strait eventually filled with earth.<ref>[http://www.ellinikiaktoploia.net/index.php/2011-06-28-15-10-27/2914-2012-02-26-08-51-08 Harbor of Mytilene] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052712/http://www.ellinikiaktoploia.net/index.php/2011-06-28-15-10-27/2914-2012-02-26-08-51-08 |date=2014-08-08 }} accessed July 31, 2014</ref>

Mytilene contested successfully with [[Mithymna]] in the north of the island for the leadership of the island in the seventh century BC and became the centre of the island's prosperous eastern hinterland.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} Her most famous citizens were the poets [[Sappho]] and [[Alcaeus of Mytilene|Alcaeus]] and the statesman [[Pittacus of Mitylene|Pittacus]] (one of the [[Seven Sages of Greece]]). The city was famed for its great output of [[electrum]] coins struck from the late sixth through mid-fourth centuries BC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=56|title=Mytilene - Asia Minor Coins - Photo Gallery|website=www.asiaminorcoins.com|access-date=2020-09-09|archive-date=2018-12-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223073605/https://www.asiaminorcoins.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=56|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Mytilenean revolt]] against Athens in 428 BC was overcome by an Athenian expeditionary force. The Athenian public assembly voted to massacre all the men of the city and to sell the women and children into slavery but the next day in the [[Mytilenian Debate]] changed its mind. A fast [[trireme]] sailed the {{convert|186|nmi|km}} in less than a day and brought the decision to cancel the general massacre, but a thousand citizens were executed for taking part in the rebellion.

[[Aristotle]] lived on Mytilene for two years, 337–335 BC, with his friend and successor, [[Theophrastus]] (a native of the island), after being the tutor to [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]], son of King [[Philip II of Macedon]].<ref>[http://www.ivu.org/history/greece_rome/theophrastus.html Bio of Theophrastus] accessed December 11, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/authors/about_aristotle.html Grade Saver bio on Aristotle] accessed December 11, 2007</ref><!---but not Alexander the Great just yet. That was later--->

The Romans, among whom was a young [[military career of Julius Caesar|Julius Caesar]], successfully defeated Mytilene in 81 BC at the [[Siege of Mytilene (81 BC)|Siege of Mytilene]].<ref name="Thorne2003">{{cite book|last=Thorne|first=James|title=Julius Caesar: Conqueror and Dictator|url=https://archive.org/details/juliuscaesarconq0000thor|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3595-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/juliuscaesarconq0000thor/page/34 34]}}</ref> Although Mytilene supported the losing side in most of the great wars of the first century BC, her statesmen succeeded in convincing Rome of her support of the new ruler of the Mediterranean and the city flourished in Roman times.

In AD 56, [[Luke the Evangelist]], [[Paul the Apostle#Third missionary journey|Paul the Apostle]] and their companions stopped there briefly on the return trip of Paul's third missionary journey ({{bibleverse||Acts|20:14|KJV}}), having sailed from [[Assos]] (about {{convert|50|km|0|abbr=on}} away). From Mytilene they continued towards [[Chios]] ({{bibleverse||Acts|20:15|KJV}}).

The novel ''[[Daphnis and Chloe]]'' by [[Longus]], is set in the country around it and opens with a description of the city.

Scholar and historian [[Zacharias Rhetor]], also known as Zacharias of Mytilene was from Mytilene and lived from 465 to around 536. He was made Bishop of Mytilene and may have been a [[Chalcedonian Christian]]. He either died or was deposed between 536 and 553.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924027994726#page/n5/mode/2up The Syriac Chronicle Known as That of Zachariah of Mitylene] accessed July 31, 2014</ref>

The city of Mytilene was also home to 9th century Byzantine saints who were brothers, Archbishop George, [[Symeon Stylites of Lesbos|Symeon Stylites]], and David the Monk. The [[Church of St. Symeon, Mytilene]] venerates one of the three brothers.

Catching the eye of the Empress [[Zoë Porphyrogenita]], [[Constantine IX Monomachos]] was exiled to Mytilene on the island of Lesbos by her second husband, [[Michael IV the Paphlagonian]]. The death of Michael IV and the overthrow of Michael V in 1042 led to Constantine being recalled from his place of exile and appointed as a judge in Greece.<ref>Finlay George "History of the Byzantine Empire from 716 – 1057" William Blackwood & Sons, 1853</ref>
 
Lesbos and Mytilene had an established [[Jews|Jewish population]] since ancient times. In 1170, [[Benjamin of Tudela]] found ten small Jewish communities on the island.<ref>[http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/analysis/before-the-deluge-jews-of-the-mediterranean-islands/2011/10/26/2/?print Before The Deluge: Jews Of The Mediterranean Islands (Part I)] accessed July 31, 2014</ref>

In the Middle Ages, it was part of the [[Byzantine Empire]] and was occupied for some time by the [[Seljuqs]] under [[Tzachas]] in 1085. In 1198, the [[Republic of Venice]] obtained the right to commerce from the city's port.

In the 13th century, it was captured by the [[Emperor of Nicaea]], [[Theodore I Laskaris]]. In 1335, the Byzantines, with the help of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] forces, reconquered the island, then property of the Genoese nobleman [[Domenico Cattaneo]]. In 1355, emperor [[John V Palaiologos]] gave it to the Genoese adventurer [[Francesco I Gattilusio|Francesco Gattilusio]], who married the emperor's sister, Maria. They renovated the fortress in 1373, and it remained in Genoese hands until 1462, when it was [[Ottoman conquest of Lesbos#Siege|besieged and captured]] by the Ottoman sultan [[Mehmed the Conqueror]].

As part of the wider [[Great Turkish War]], the [[Battle of Mytilene (1690)|Battle of Mytilene]] took place off the coast of Mytilene in 1690 when Venetian sailing ships attacked Ottoman and [[Barbary pirates|Barbary]] flagships. Resulting in a victory for the Venetians.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Candiani |first=Guido |date=2018-01-02 |title=A New Battle Fleet: The evolution of the Ottoman sailing navy, 1650–1718, revealed through Venetian sources |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00253359.2018.1411096 |journal=The Mariner's Mirror |language=en |volume=104 |issue=1 |pages=18–26 |doi=10.1080/00253359.2018.1411096 |s2cid=165635839 |issn=0025-3359|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Mytilene along with the rest of Lesbos remained under Ottoman control until the [[First Balkan War]] in 1912, when in November it was [[Battle of Lesbos (1912)|captured]] by the [[Kingdom of Greece]].