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Mykonos, Greece owns its name from the son of the King of Delos. According to mythology, Hercules, in one of his twelve tasks, was fighting the Giants and, having killed them, he threw them in the sea where they petrified and turned into huge rocks, forming the island of Mykonos. Being in the shadow of the prosperous and spiritual island of Delos, only a few things are known for Mykonos during Ancient Times.
The architecture of Mykonos Greece is typically Cycladic. The superb linear Cycladic architecture sees his spare lines represented at their best in the island of Mykonos. The traditional and picturesque whitewashed cubic houses with flat roofs, wooden coloured doors and windows and flowered balconies and the multitude of paved narrow streets are particularly charming and magic in Mykonos.Those especially in the capital, built according to the free will of the owners, without following any plan and giving the impression to walk in a glimmering white labyrinth full of bright colours and harmony despite the appearing disorganisation.
The birth of Cycladic architecture is explained by the rarity of construction materials and also by the fact that the houses had flat roofs and a cubic shape to resist against the strong winds. There were painted in white to cool the high temperatures of summer time.Houses were built one very close to another, only protected by small narrow streets as a protection from the wind, from the pirates; this also shows the strong communal spirit of the epoch. The characteristic of the architecture in Mykonos, slightly different that in the other Cyclades, is that the houses, churches, chapels, and all the buildings in general, have all a smooth and asymmetrical shape on their corners, phenomenon which gives to the whole ensemble, a perfect harmony.
All the island of Mykonos is full of this beautiful Cycladic architecture, except from a small quarter called “Little Venice”, where the buildings are all, as the name indicates, Venetian houses:Coloured wooden porches and balconies, built on the seafront, almost touching the seaThis whole area creates a totally different atmosphere, also enchanting and magical, and is unique in Greece.Little Venice is one of the most famous places of Mykonos and one of the most photographed as well.
Santorini Greece is characterised by its picturesque white painted villages on the top of impressively high cliffs.The main reason the inhabitants of Santorini were choosing areas so far away from the sea was the fear of the pirates.A village in Santorini is very similar to all the villages in most of the islands of the Cyclades: small white-painted houses with blue doors and windows divided by narrow streets.This kind of architecture can be explained by several reasons:the small number of secure and easy to build on places, protection from the hard weather conditions (heavy wind in winter and solar heat in summer), a shelter from the many pirates of the area, and also scarcity of construction material. From an architectural point of view, some of the most important characteristics of the construction style in Santorini are the caves that were built in the hill and in prolongation of each house.These caves also kept an average temperature during the entire year. Because of the volcanic history and terrain of Santorini, many houses had some, or most of their interior, made by burrowing into the rock.
