Lésvos

Lésvos or Lesbos, island, eastern Greece, in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Turkey (west of İzmir), at the entrance of the Gulf of Edremit. Lésvos was a noted cultural centre of ancient Greece, especially in the 7th and 6th centuries bc, when it was the birthplace and home of the lyric poets Sappho and Alcaeus. It was later a part of the Ottoman Empire until it was annexed by Greece in 1913 after the Turks were defeated in the Balkan Wars. The island is frequently called Mytilini, after the chief city; the population of the island (1981) is 104,620. The highest peak is Olympus (Áyios Ilías), 968 m (3,175 ft) high, and the island's area is 1,637 sq km (632 sq mi). The principal products are olives, olive oil, figs, and grain; tanneries and soap factories are also here.