Sifnos is an island municipality. The main town, near the center, known as Apollonia, is home of the island’s folklore museum and library. The town’s name is thought to come from an ancient temple of Apollo on the site of the church of Panayia Yeraniofora. The second-largest town is Artemonas (800), thought to be named after an ancient temple of Apollo’s sister-goddess Artemis, located at the site of the church of Panayia Kokhi. The village of Kastro (118), built on top of a high cliff on the island’s northwestern shore on the site of the ancient city of Siphnos, today has extensive medieval remains and is the location of the island’s archeological museum. The port settlement, on the west coast of the island is known as Kamares.
Sifnos lies in the Cyclades between Serifos and Milos, west of Delos and Paros, about 130 km (81 mi) from Piraeus (Athens‘ port). It has an area of 74 square kilometres (29 sq mi) and is 15 km (9 mi) long and 7.5 km (4.7 mi) wide. and a shoreline of 70 km (43 mi), with a permanent population of 2,625. The island is reached on the ferries which run on the Piraeus- Kythnos- Serifos- Sifnos- Milos- Kimolos line. There are also infrequent sailings to other islands in the Cyclades.
Little is known of Sifnos during the Ottoman rule of the Cyclades from 1537 on. It seems likely that, as in most of the Cyclades, Ottoman rule on Sifnos was fairly loose, consisting mainly of the collection of taxes, with the islanders largely administering their own affairs. By the early 17th century Sifnos was a significant commercial center, and from 1821 the island played an important role in the Greek national revolution.
Notable figures from Sifnos in modern times include the educator and revolutionary leader Nikolaos Chrysogelos (1780–1858), who served as Greece’s Minister of Education, and the chef Nikolaos Tselementes (1878–1958), who wrote a classic cookery book still used in Greece today. The island’s rich clay veins, sunny weather and temperature have made Sifnos a capital of pottery in the Aegean, with unique jars and pots that are a “trademark” of the island. They are typical of the Sifnian everyday life, such as ashtrays, cooking and food vessels, “masteles”, “foufoudes” (kind of chimneys) etc. Locally, ‘Sifnios’ was a variant word for potter. The oldest potteries were found in central regions such as Artemon and Ano Petali to avoid pirate attacks.
