Native name: Λέβιθα | |
|---|---|
 View of Levitha island | |
  Levitha | |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 37°00′40″N 26°27′35″E / 37.01111°N 26.45972°E |
| Archipelago | Dodecanese |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 5 (2011) |
Levitha (Greek: Λέβιθα), known in classical antiquity as Lebinthus or Lebinthos (Ancient Greek: Λέβινθος) is a small Greek island located in the east of the Aegean Sea, between Kinaros and Kalymnos, part of the Dodecanese islands. It is part of the municipality of Leros. The island is mentioned in two of Ovid's works Ars Amatoria and the Metamorphoses in connection with the saga of Daedalus and Icarus. While escaping from Crete, Daedalus and Icarus flew over Lebinthus.[1] Besides Ovid, the island is noted by the ancient authors Pliny the Elder,[2] Pomponius Mela,[3] Strabo,[4] and Stephanus of Byzantium.[5] In addition, it is mentioned in the Stadiasmus Maris Magni.[6]
As of 2009[update], the population of the island is five with a family of two children and their grandmother. The total area of the island is 9.2 square kilometres (4 sq mi) and its total coastline is 34 kilometres (21 miles).
- ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.222; Ars Amatoria 2.81.
- ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Vol. 4.12.23.
- ^ Pomponius Mela. De situ orbis. Vol. 2.7.11.
- ^ Strabo. Geographica. Vol. x. p. 487. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
- ^ Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v. Δρεπάνη.
- ^ Stadiasmus of the Great Sea, 281