Greece-A.Saronic Islands

Greece - The Argo Saronic Islands

The Greek islands are traditionally grouped into the following clusters: The Argo-Saronic Islands in the Saronic gulf near Athens, the Cyclades, a large but dense collection occupying the central part of the Aegean Sea, the North Aegean islands, a loose grouping off the west coast of Turkey, the Dodecanese, another loose collection in the southeast between Crete and Turkey, the Sporades, a small tight group off the coast of Euboea, and the Ionian Islands, located to the west of the mainland in the Ionian Sea;

The Saronic Islands or Argo-Saronic Islands is an archipelago in Greece, named after the Saronic Gulf in which they are located, just off the Greek mainland. The main inhabited islands of this group are:

 Salamis island 
 formerly known as Koullouri , is the largest Greek beautiful island in the Saronic Gulf, about 1 nautical mile (2 km) off-coast from Piraeus and about 16 km west of Athens. The chief city, Salamis or Salamina, lies in the west-facing core of the crescent on Salamis Bay, which opens into the Saronic Gulf. The island's main port, Paloukia, in size second only to Piraeus, is on the eastern side.

 Aegina Island 
is one of the Saronic beautiful Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, 17 miles (27 km) from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.
The beautiful island, along with offshore islets, comprises the Municipality of Aegina in Piraeus Prefecture, a part of the Attica region. The capital is the town of Aegina (pop. 7,410 in 2001 census), situated at the northwestern end of the island. Due to its proximity to Athens, it is a popular quick getaway during the summer months, with quite a few Athenians owning second houses on the island;

Angistri  Island 
 also Agistri and Ankistri or Agkistri ,is a very small beautiful island community in the Saronic Gulf in Piraeus Prefecture, Greece. Angistri is a pine-covered island only a few kilometres across the harbor of Piraeus. Angistri is very close to the larger Saronic island of Aegina. The island can be reached from Aegina by a number of boats in few minutes;

Poros Island 
 is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, at a distance about 58 km (31 nautical miles) south from Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a 200-metre wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the strait. Its surface is about 31 square kilometres (12 square miles) and it has 4,117 inhabitants. The beautiful itown of Poros island has 4,102 of these inhabitants. The only other inhabited settlement is Ágios Nektários (pop. 15). The ancient name of Poros was Pogon. Like other ports in the Saronic, it is a popular weekend destination for Athenian travellers.

Poros consists of two islands: Sphairia, the southern part, which is of volcanic origin, where today's city is located, and Kalaureia, also Kalavria or Calauria (meaning 'gentle breeze'), the northern and largest part. A bridge connects the two islands over a narrow isthmus;

 Hydra  Island
 sometimes in English spelled Idhra to reflect the Greek pronunciation) is one of the beautiful Saronic Islands of Greece, located in the Aegean Sea between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Gulf. It is separated from the Peloponnese by narrow strip of water. In ancient times, the beautiful island was known as Hydrea (Υδρέα, derived from the Greek word for "water"), which was a reference to the springs on the island.

 Hydra is also a municipality and one of the few provinces in Greece to have two municipalities — which includes the beautiful island of Dokos  — yet fewer than five communes. However, there are no municipal boundaries on the island and its smaller islands.

Dokos Island 

 is a small Greek beautiful island of the Argo-Saronic Gulf, adjacent to Hydra, and separated from the Peloponnese by a narrow strait called on some maps "the Hydra Gulf." It is part of the municipality of Ýdra (Hydra) in Piraeus Prefecture and reported a population of 13 persons at the 2001 census. The island is populated only by some Orthodox monks and perennial sheep herders.

The island is rocky reaching a height of 308 meters. It has since the ancient years considered to be a strategic location. On the east side you can find the ruins of a great Byzantine - Venetian Castle. During the Greek War of Independence Dokos was used by the forces of Ydra as a port;

 Source: Wikipedia