Skyros is the largest of the Sporades, standing alone east of Euboea. It is split in two: a green, pine-covered north and a mountainous, bare south. In myth his mother Thetis hid the young Achilles here, disguised as a girl among the daughters of King Lycomedes, to keep him from the Trojan War; Odysseus unmasked him with a trick. Legend also says Theseus died on Skyros.
Chora climbs a crag crowned by the Byzantine-Venetian castle and St George's monastery. Traditional houses are famous for interiors decorated with ceramic plates, copper and carved wooden furniture, a tradition born from contact with merchants and pirates. Below the town a statue honours the English poet Rupert Brooke, who died in 1915 aboard a hospital ship and is buried at Tris Boukes bay.
The Skyros carnival is one of the oldest in Greece: the Geri, in goatskin masks with dozens of bells at their waists, dance through the village. The island also has a rare breed of small horse, the Skyros pony, now protected.
Beaches: Molos and Magazia below Chora, Atsitsa and Agios Petros among the pines in the north, Pefkos.
Getting there
Ferries from Kymi, on the east coast of Euboea (about 2 hours); a small airport has flights to Athens and some summer charters.
See also Achilles and the Sporades.