Thásos

Thásos, island, north-eastern Greece, in the Aegean Sea, near the coast of Macedonia. The principal industries are timber, olive oil and wine production, sheep and goat raising, and fishing. Its mineral deposits include lead, zinc, and marble. The land is mountainous, rising to an elevation of 1,203 m (3,947 ft) at Ipsárion, and having an area of about 375 sq km (145 sq mi). Thásos is also the name of the principal town on the island, whose population (1981 estimate) is 13,111. Thásos was settled by the Parians in the late 8th century bc. It was held successively by Persia, Athens, and Sparta before it fell (340 bc) to Philip II, King of Macedonia. It was held by Rome after 197 bc. Thásos was part of the Byzantine Empire from the 4th century until 1453, when it fell to the Ottoman Turks. It was ceded to Greece by the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913.