Mytilene Castle

In ancient times, Mytilene had the form of a small island, delimited from the opposite mainland by Euripos, a natural strait that connected its two harbours. The naturally fortified position of the ancient Acropolis of Mytilene, the core of which was later taken over by the medieval Castle, has always been of decisive importance for the control of its two harbours, but also of Euripos, which had gradually started being filled in, probably from the 9th c. AD onwards.

The Mytilene Castle, one of the largest and most important in the Mediterranean, is located at the northeastern end of the peninsula on which the city of Mytilene is currently built. It occupies an area of an irregular, trapezoidal floor plan, approximately 91 hectares, extending from the northern ancient harbour of the town to the top of the hill, 300 m. long and 150-270 m. wide. It is a monument of fortification architecture, the initial building phases of which date back to Byzantine times, probably the period of Justinian’s reign (6th c. AD). Over the years, however, it has undergone major repairs due to the natural and military disasters (earthquakes, sieges) it suffered, as well as additions, extensions and modifications in the context of the constantly changing war tactics and defensive practices dictated by the needs of the various periods. Its present form is the result of the drastic building interventions of the Genoese House of Gattilusi, who dominated the island during the late Byzantine period (1355-1462), and of the Ottomans who occupied Lesbos from 1462 to 1912.

The first important additions and extensions to the Mytilene Castle were made by Francesco I Gattilusio (1355-1384), who helped John V Palaiologos (1341-1391) to regain his throne from John Kantakouzenos (1347-1354), receiving as a reward for his services the sister of Palaiologos, Maria, to be his wife and the administration of Lesbos as the dowry. The links between the Palaiologos and the Gattilusi are eloquently attested in the built-in coats of arms that are found around the Castle, where the four Bs of the Palaiologos dynasty and the Byzantine double-headed eagle are placed next to their own, with the fish-scaled motif.

Over the years and with the conquest of the island by the Ottomans in 1462, the Castle was further strengthened: along the more vulnerable (due to easier accessibility) southeastern and southwestern wall, an outwork was built and reinforced with circular towers, as dictated by the new warfare tactics and the extensive use of gunpowder, while at the same period, a moat was formed. In 1501, the Lower Castle was built at approximately the same position as the earlier fortified settlement of Melanoudi, while in 1644 the Castle was renovated, with the addition of the Middle Gate (Orta Kapu).

After the liberation of Lesbos in 1912, the Castle would exclusively be used for residential purposes, while in 1922, with the Asia Minor Catastrophe, it suffered its first powerful blow, as much of its building material was extensively used for the construction of the first Asia Minor refugee settlement. In the years that followed, parts of the walls of the Lower Castle were destroyed in the context of constructing a road, in addition to a municipal warehouse that was built in its northwestern part.

Following the geomorphology of the peninsula and in accordance to the three large, wide, and uneven slopes that are formed, the Mytilene Castle consists of three parts: the Upper Castle or Acropolis which was located at the top of the hill, the Middle Castle extending on its northwestern slope and the Lower Castle at the lower level, next to the northern harbour. On the northeastern side, the enclosure of the Castle, apart from the gun emplacements, did not have an outwork or a moat – like the southeastern and southwestern parts of the Castle did, which were reinforced with rectangular, polygonal and later circular towers – as it was built on the naturally formed steep, rocky terrain, which largely provided the Castle with a natural fortification.

The entrance to the Upper Castle was reached through the South Gate. This double gate opened between two bastions as an arched corridor leading to an elongated rectangular courtyard, at the northwestern end of which is an older Byzantine gate, from which one enters the main part of the Upper Castle. On the northeastern bastion of the gate, we find the built-in coats of arms of the Gattilusi and the Palaiologoi (the fish-scaled emblem of the Gattilusi, the monogram of the Palaiologoi, the double-headed eagle of the Gattilusi with the four Bs of the Palaiologoi at the corners, the eagle in stride to the left), as well as a later Ottoman inscription.

Immediately to the right of the entrance, at the eastern end of the Castle, one finds the Great Keep (Enclosure), known traditionally as the “Queen’s Tower”, probably in memory of Maria Palaiologina who, after her marriage to Francesco, settled in Mytilene. It was the most fortified part of the Castle: it had an irregular trapezoidal floor plan and was protected by five square towers and a moat on the northwest and southwest sides. Entrance was achieved through the gate of the central tower on the southwestern side, which – apart from the coats of arms and emblems of the Gattilusi and the Palaiologoi – was adorned with marble plaques depicting representations of gladiators and beast fights of Roman times. The Great Keep consisted of a wide courtyard, on the walls of which ancient building material in second use was discovered, as well as two rooms to the east. The Keep is one of the few buildings that survive in the Castle from the Gattilusi period and was the main residence of the rulers and the last refuge of its defenders. In the northwestern part of the Castle is the Gunpowder magazine, built by the Ottomans in later times, on the site of the earlier Noblemen’s Club (Loggia), as we know from an inscription on the double staircase of the building. The Gunpowder magazine consists of a semi-basement and a raised ground floor area, intended for the storage of gunpowder and the housing of the Ottoman garrison.

To the west of the Great Keep, excavation research in previous years brought to light a Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore, worshipped together with Cybele, which testifies to its long continuity of use. The sanctuary seems to have been founded at the beginning of the 4th c. BC and its operation continued uninterrupted until the Roman period. Among the most important findings of the archaeological excavations were altars, roof tiles with impressions, sacred apothetai, offering banks, burnt-offering altars, clay figurines, oil lamps and curse tablets (thin lead sheets on which curses were engraved).

South of the Sanctuary is the Kule Çami, one of the two Mosques that the Castle had, which are now in a dilapidated state. The Kule Mosque was built after the occupation of Lesbos by the Ottomans in 1462, on the site of the pre-existing Byzantine church of Agios Ioannis, erected in honour of John V Palaiologos, during the Gattilusi period. The Ottoman Mosque, apart from the characteristic sacred niche (mihrab) on its southern wall, had a loft, which was accessed by a staircase, part of which is preserved to this day. From the Christian temple, the arch is preserved, under the eastern wall of the later Mosque. Near the ruins of the Mosque, a monolithic sarcophagus of the Roman period survives in second use, with the unfinished emblems of the Gattilusi and the Palaiologoi, on one of its long sides. According to tradition, it was used for the burial of Francesco I Gattilusio, as well as his wife Maria Palaiologina.

In the southwest corner of the Upper Castle, one finds the Crypts, an underground space of 720 m², which was intended to protect the population in case of an emergency. It consisted of clusters of rooms covered by domes, communicating with each other through arched openings.

The entrance to the Middle Castle was achieved through the so-called Middle Gate (Orta Kapu) to the southwest, which was a later addition by the Ottomans, as part of the further fortification of the Castle, during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim Khan (1640-1648). From the inscription on the wall, we know that it was built by Admiral Bekir Paşa in 1644. Inside the Middle Gate is the oldest gate of the Gattilusi era, which bears their characteristic fish-scaled coat of arms, the monogram of the Palaiologos dynasty, a crowned eagle on a stride and a foundation inscription bearing the year of construction (1373). The square tower protecting it on the east is earlier, dating back to Byzantine times, as indicated by the masonry and the embedded ancient building material in second use. The third gate at the northeastern end of the courtyard, which can be found on the inside after passing the Genoese gate, also dates back to the same period.

The most important religious and secular buildings of the Ottoman period were erected in the Middle Castle. In its eastern part are the Medrese (Islamic Seminary), the Hamam (Bath), the Tekke (Ottoman monastery), the Prison, which also later served as a military hospital, a second gunpowder magazine and a complex of houses.

The Medrese is a two-storey building of square plan, the rooms of which are arranged in a pi-shape around a central courtyard. The Quran, the Arabic language, astronomy and law were taught there. Upstairs were the prayer (mihrab), teaching and living quarters for the teachers (mullahs) and students (sophtades), while the ground floor housed the kitchens, the dining room and storage rooms. All the rooms on the floor were covered with domes, as well as had a fireplace.

To the east of the Medrese, one finds the Hamam, a relatively small Bathhouse, which was an integral part of the daily lives of the Ottomans. According to a different point of view, because of the deviations from the usual typology of Baths and the existence of traces of an arch (probably from a fountain) in the front of the premises, the building is interpreted as a cistern.

Even further east, the Tekke could be found, a one-room, octagonal, dome-shaped building with a hearth that served the living and worship needs of the order of Ottoman monks (dervishes).

In the northeastern part of the Middle Castle, a large, one-storey building that is currently partially preserved in fragments, is associated with the complex of the Ottoman Prison, the work of architect Musa-Baba (1630-1692), which later also served as an army hospital. The rooms of the building were arranged around a central courtyard with peristyle, while the entrance was fortified with a turreted structure.

Across the street, one finds the Gunpowder Magazine, a massive, stone-built, three-part structure with a rectangular floor plan and an enclosure with a monumental gate, on the arched lintel of which there is a marble plaque with a passage from the Quran. It had a pitched roof which, for safety reasons (to avoid ignition), was entirely made of stone.

In the southwestern part of the Middle Castle, the houses of the Muslim population used to be found. Apart from the complex of houses located between the Gunpowder magazine and the Ottoman Prison, a typical example is an Ottoman house in the west, opposite a fountain of the same period and a tank. The square house had a main area, six rooms, a latrine and a separate room with a separate entrance, which probably served as a shop. The Ottoman Fountain, which served water supply needs, was decorated on its front with a pointed arch, typical of Ottoman architecture.

The tank at the western end is a three-part, rectangular, semi-basement building of the Byzantine era, with a capacity of 400 m3, founded on earlier remains of Roman times and drastically reconstructed during the Ottoman period.

Two earlier gateways of the Byzantine period in the northwestern part of the enclosure that connect the Middle and the Upper Castle today -before the Ottoman occupation of the Castle in 1462- were the main gates to the Castle from the northern ancient harbour of the city and the fortified settlement of Melanoudi.

In the same location (of Melanoudi) the Lower Castle, also known as Saplitza, was later built, which was an entirely Ottoman addition, with the main aim of protecting the northern harbour and its fundamental connection to the rest of the Castle. More specifically, it was built in 1501 by the brigadier general Aptoulairredin, during the reign of Bayezid II, and was a kind of fortified Ottoman settlement nucleus. The entrance was achieved through the North Gate, built inside a tower, after which one entered an elongated courtyard. At the edge of the courtyard there was a second gate, thus providing further security to the area. The northwestern part of the Lower Castle is now a storage area for antiquities. The Lower Castle was fortified with a series of circular towers, the largest of which dominated the northern end and protected the ancient harbour.

In the Lower Castle, there was a second Ottoman Fountain and a second Ottoman Bathhouse (hamam) of the 17th c., with a tripartite structure and a hemispherical dome with lighting holes. In addition to the Ottoman houses, which numbered about eighty, one could find the famous Ottoman divination houses, where the Ottoman “ntentedes” predicted the future, as well as an early Christian cult cave, the holy water/chapel of Virgin Mary Galatousa. The remaining buildings were expropriated by the Ministry of Culture, with the aim of the overall development, enhancement and promotion of the Lower Castle.

From the 1960s onwards, systematic efforts were launched by the respective Ephorates of Antiquities, with the aim of preserving, restoring and promoting the Mytilene Castle, as well as improving its visibility. Significant instances during these efforts have been the work of the Antiquities Departments in the years 2005-2007, 2010-2014, but more recently, the important work of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lesbos, in the context of which as recently as 2018, the reinforcement and restoration of parts of the northeastern enclosure of the Castle was completed.

Today, the area of the Lower Castle continues to be upgraded, within the framework of the urban renewal programme (NSRF 2014-2020), under the supervision of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lesbos, with the creation of a bicycle path, walking routes, outdoor cultural events and the restoration and conversion of two Ottoman houses into the premises for the  organisation of educational programmes and for digital multimedia applications.

The Mytilene Castle is one of the most important archaeological sites and a landmark of the city, as well as of the island of Lesbos in general. Nowadays, this timeless monument, an integral part of the ancient and modern history of Mytilene, is open to the general public.

Location

Municipality: Mytilene

Municipal Section: Mytilene

Location: Mytilene

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