| Icaria,
(Ikaria, ancient name: Doliche), is a Greek island named after Icarus of Greek mythology who fell into the nearby sea. His father, Daedalus attempted to escape the prison of King Minos
in Crete. Daedalus designed wings made of feathers and wax for himself and his son. Before they took off, Daedalus told his son not to fly too close to the sun, as the wax would melt, nor too close to the sea, as the wax would
dissolve. Overcome by excitement, Icarus soared through the sky but came too close to the sun, which melted his wings. Icarus fell into the sea in the area which now bears his
name.
The temple of Artemis at Nas, on the northeast corner of Icaria, was built at the time of
Polycrates (c. 538 BC to 522 BC). Nas was a sacred spot
for sailors to make sacrifices to Artemis, a patron of seafarers. The temple
was pillaged in the middle of the 19th century. Local custom has it that there are still marble statues embedded in the
sand. The hot mineral
springs of Icaria, with known healing
qualities, have been used in hydrotherapy since 2000 BC. The Acropolis of Therma was once a popular spa town with majestic
saline baths before it was devastated by an earthquake in 205 BC.
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Today, one can only see
part of the wall of the acropolis, with a few lavatories and the remains of a
water-tank. The hot springs of Icaria
are the most radioactive springs in Europe.
The Ottoman Empire incorporated Icaria into its realm in 1521 and exerted control over it for several centuries. But on July 17, 1912, the Icarians expelled a Turkish garrison and the
Free State of Icaria was declared. The neighboring islands of
Fourni Korseon were also liberated and became part of the Free State. For five months, Icaria remained an independent state, with its own armed forces, flag, stamps, and anthem. In November 1912, the short-lived nation became part of Greece.
Etienne Cabet (1788-1856)
French idealist utopian philosopher
An ideal political democracy was popularized in Etienne Cabet's acclaimed utopian novel,
Voyage in Icaria
(Voyage en Icarie, Paris, 1840). The Icarians, a group of middle class French idealists led by Cabet, attempted to establish a utopian commune society on the Mississippi River, in Nauvoo, Illinois, in the
1850's. Cabet and his followers, commonly called bible socialists, tried to set up a Kibbutz-like community focused on
the principles of peace and justice as expounded in Cabet's book, based on Sir Thomas More's
Utopia. At its peak, the colony numbered over 500 members. After the death of Cabet, members left
the parent colony and moved to other Icarian locations in
East St. Louis, Iowa and California. Some commune society writers ignored Cabet's Christian influences.
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