A Greek island in the Ionian Sea will go up for sale at an auction this summer with a starting price of 3.8 million euros ($4.3 million).
Makri Island in the complex of Echinades is an isolated paradise off the coast of Aitoloakarnania. Six of the Echinades islands, including Oxeia the largest, are owned by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, who purchased them in 2013 for a reported $10 million.
Makri, along with the rest of Echinades is part of the Messolonghi-Aetolian Lagoon National Park which is the largest in Greece, and the second-largest in the Mediterranean.
The island is less than one square kilometer (0.38 sq. miles) and its highest point is at 126 meters. The remains of three buildings are still visible on Makri, including a small chapel, a cistern, and a small house.
Greek island for auction mentioned by Homer
Several of the Echinades islands have been joined to the mainland by alluvial deposits.
Herodotus says that half of the islands had been already united to the mainland in his time; and Thucydides expected that this would be the case with all of them before long, since they lay so close together as to be easily connected by the alluvium brought down by the Achelous River.
This expectation, however, has not been fulfilled, which Pausanias attributed to the Achelous bringing down less alluvium in consequence of the uncultivated condition of Aetolia; but there can be little doubt that it is owing to the increasing depth of the sea, which prevents any perceptible progress being made.
The Echinades are mentioned by Homer, who, in the Iliad, says that Meges, son of Phyleus, led 40 ships to Troy from Dulichium and the sacred islands Echinae, which are situated beyond the sea, opposite Elis.
In the Odyssey, Dulichium (which may be an island in the Echniades) is frequently mentioned along with Same (Kefalonia), Zacynthus, and Ithaca as one of the islands subject to Ulysses, and is celebrated for its fertility.
Related: Top 10 Private Islands for Sale in Greece
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