Antikythera Island: The Peaceful Paradise at the Edge of the Aegean Sea

Almost all the things which the few dozen permanent residents need to live on the island arrive by boat, including food and gas for the handful of vehicles there.

Life on the isolated Greek island of Antikythera, lying at the edge of the Aegean Sea between Crete and the Peloponnesian Peninsula, can be tough if the supply boat does not arrive, as often happens during the winter.

Almost all the things which the few dozen permanent residents need to live on the island arrive by boat, including food and gas for the handful of vehicles there.

“Sometimes, when the sea is rough, it is impossible to approach the port,” says Panagiotis Pavlakis, the sub-lieutenant of the ferry that brings essential supplies to the tiny outpost.

But for the local people, the island is more than worth all this trouble. It is an earthly paradise. “There is no other place in the world where you can find such absolute peace and quiet,” says Giannis Tzinakos, a retired Greek Air Force general, who now spends most of his time on Antikythera.

The aging population has seen the village shrink to just twenty residents, with the school, previously shuttered for twenty-four years, only opening again last year after a young family with children moved to the island.