Aegina (redirected from Egina)

Aegina, island, Greece

Aegina or Aíyina (ā`yēnä), island (1991 pop. 12,430), 32 sq mi (83 sq km), off SE Greece, in the Saronic Gulf (or Gulf of Aegina), near Athens. Sponge fishing and farming (figs, almonds, grapes, olives, and pistachios) are the most important occupations. Tourism is also important. The chief town is Aegina on the northwest shore. Points of interest include the temple of Aphaia, where the Aeginetan Marbles (see Aegina, marble sculptures) were discovered in 1811.

The island, inhabited from late Neolithic times, was named for the mythological figure Aegina. Its culture was influenced by Minoan Crete. Conquered by Dorian Greeks, it grew rapidly as a commercial state and struck the first Greek coins. In 431 B.C. the Athenians, against whom Aegina sided in the Peloponnesian War, expelled the population of the island, and Aegina fell into insignificance. In the 12th cent. it served as a haven for pirates, and the Venetians, in suppressing the outlaws, conquered the island. Albanians settled there in the 16th cent. During the Greek War of Independence the town of Aegina was (1828–29) the capital of Greece.

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Aegina, in Greek mythology

Aegina (ējī`nə), in Greek mythology, river nymph, daughter of the river god Asopus. She was abducted by Zeus to the island Oenone, where she bore him a son, Aeacus. Aeacus later renamed the island in her honor.

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Aegina, sculptures

Aegina, c.500–480 B.C., marble sculptures from the temple of Aphaia discovered in 1811 and erroneously restored by Thorvaldsen. They originally decorated the pediments of the temple and represent scenes from the Trojan War. They are now in the Glyptothek at Munich.

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Aegina

The temple of Aphaea, Aegina, Greece

(credit: Susan McCartney-Photo Researchers)

Island in the Saronic group of Greece. Located 16 mi (26 km) southwest of Piraeus, it has an area of 32 sq mi (83 sq km). Its chief town and port, Aegina, lies over the ancient town of the same name. Inhabited since c. 3000 BC, it became a maritime power after the 7th century BC; its period of glory, reflected in Pindar's poetry, was in the 5th century BC. Its economic rivalry with Athens led to frequent warfare, and in 431 BC the Athenians deported all its population. It came under Roman rule in 133 BC. It was briefly the capital of independent Greece (1826–28).

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Aegina

1. an island in the Aegean Sea, in the Saronic Gulf. Area: 85 sq. km (33 sq. miles)

2. a town on the coast of this island: a city-state of ancient Greece

3. Gulf of. another name for the Saronic Gulf