PELION - SKIATHOS

The oldest lighthouse

The metal lighthouse located in the middle of the sea, just above the Lefteris reef, has its own story, described by Ross Robertson, a diver.

The Lefteris reef is located between the mainland of Pelion and the island of Skiathos and is a small submerged ridge of rocks, associated with some remarkable historical events.

According to the Greek historian Herodotus, at least three Persian ships hit the reef and sank during the failed second Persian invasion of Greece, in 480 BC. King Xerxes then ordered the construction of a stone column from pieces of rock weighing up to half a ton, to avoid further losses. Two centuries before the lighthouse of Alexandria, this column is the oldest naval mausoleum known in historical records. In more modern times, Alexandros Papadiamantis (1851-1911), wrote to the Poor Saint that "Lefteris freed from time to time, relieving the ships of the weight of the cargo, and the sailors of the temporary burden of life".