Spetses

In prehistoric times Spetses was joined to the Argolid by an isthmus at the point now called Kosta, and its natural harbours sheltered ships trading in the Argolic Gulf around 2300 BC. The ancient Greeks called it Pityoussa, the island abounding in pine trees. Goth raids on the Eastern Roman Empire later sent refugees to resettle it, and in the 18th century many Arvanites fled here from the Ottoman-ruled Peloponnese.

Merchant seafaring was the only livelihood on the rocky island, and the Mediterranean and Black Sea trade made its captains rich. During the Orlov Revolt of 1768–74 the Spetsiot fleet fought the Ottomans, and the island suffered heavily in reprisal; its people then came down to the shore and built the present town. On the morning of 3 April 1821 (Old Style) Spetses became the first island to raise the flag of revolution. The island was home to Laskarina Bouboulina, merchant, shipowner and admiral, and the Spetsiot fleet took part in the sieges of Nafplio and Monemvasia and the battles of Samos and Kafireas. On 8 September 1822 an Ottoman fleet trying to supply besieged Nafplio was driven off in the strait — the battle the Armata still commemorates.

After independence the island declined as a trading centre and its population fell, from 8,843 in 1861 to 3,166 in 1951. Sotirios Anargyros, of an old Spetsiot shipping family, began its revival as a resort in the early 20th century, planting pines on the hills. John Fowles taught English at the island's private Anargyrios and Korgialenios School from 1951 to 1953.

The island's identity is built on 1821. The Bouboulina Museum keeps the mansion of its heroine, whose statue stands on the waterfront, and the second weekend of September is given over to the Armata, combining the feast of the chapel of Panagia Armata with celebrations of the 1822 battle. It is the high point of the summer, drawing as many as 40,000 visitors, and ends with the re-enactment of the battle and the burning of a mock Ottoman flagship.

Spetses has a place in literature and film. John Fowles turned it into Phraxos, the island of his 1965 novel The Magus, with the school as the "Lord Byron School" and a villa above a southern beach as the "Villa Bourani", and The Lost Daughter (2021) and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) were both shot here. Since the early 20th century it has been a summer retreat for wealthy Athenians, and the yachts in the Old Harbour show it still is.

Sailing and sport are part of the calendar: the Spetses Classic Yacht Regatta brings vintage yachts and traditional caiques to the strait each June, and the Spetses Mini Marathon, held since 2011, sends runners round the island. An Arvanite community still lives on the island.

The municipality of Spetses covers about 27 square kilometres, and the town is the island's only large settlement, stretching along the shore from Kounoupitsa past the Dapia to the Old Harbour. Its population fell for nearly a century after independence, grew strongly from the 1960s to 2011, and declined again at the 2021 census. The municipality also takes in the uninhabited islands of Spetsopoula, Falkonera and Velopoula.

Tourism is the economy. The main Athenian season lasts only two months, though most hotels and restaurants open from Easter until October. The private Anargyrios and Korgialenios School is a landmark of the town.

The ban on private cars shapes daily life: islanders get about on mopeds, motorcycles and bicycles, horse-drawn carriages run in high season, and water taxis cross to the mainland. Residents and regular visitors complain that the noise of mopeds and motorbikes has grown to rival busier islands. Winter is quiet, with few ferries and many businesses closed.

Spetses eats from the sea. Kounoupitsa has a well-known fish taverna on the water west of the Dapia, and the Old Harbour is lined with cafés, bars and restaurants; in the upper town of Kastelli a simple taverna serves barrel wine. At Zogeria beach the taverna is known for chicken in tomato sauce served with spaghetti or chips.

Meals follow the Greek island pattern: a spread of meze — tzatziki, taramosalata, a spread of fish roe with olive oil, lemon juice and bread or potato, melitzanosalata, dolmades and grilled octopus — with horiatiki, the village salad of tomato, cucumber, onion, olives and a slab of feta, followed by grilled fish, baked dishes such as moussaka, pastitsio and gemista, or souvlaki in pita. Ouzo is drunk with meze, retsina and Greek wines with meals.

Frappé coffee is part of the Greek breakfast, and sweets follow the national repertoire: loukoumades, fried dough balls often spiced with cinnamon and drizzled with honey, or baklava.