Siphnus

island, Greece

Also known as: Sífnos, Síphnos

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Modern Greek:: Sífnos

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Siphnus, Greek island of the Cyclades (Modern Greek: Kykládes) group, consisting of a limestone ridge whose principal peaks, Profíts Ilías (2,277 feet [694 metres]) and Áyios Simeón (1,624 feet [495 metres]), are crowned by Byzantine churches. It constitutes a dímos (municipality) in the South Aegean (Nótio Aigaío) periféreia (region). In antiquity Siphnus was colonized by Athens. Its gold and silver mines financed a treasury at Delphi about 525 bce, but by the 1st century ce they were flooded. A refuge from iconoclastic persecutions at Byzantium during the early Christian era, the island has many Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches and monasteries, ...(100 of 178 words)

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