Portianou
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Portianou Πορτιανού |
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 Portianou
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| Coordinates: 39°53′N 25°11′E / 39.883°N 25.183°ECoordinates: 39°53′N 25°11′E / 39.883°N 25.183°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | North Aegean |
| Regional unit | Lemnos |
| Municipality | Lemnos |
| Municipal unit | Nea Koutali |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Rural | 314 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Portianou (Greek: Πορτιανού) is a village on the Greek island of Lemnos, located northeast of Myrina. Its population was 314 in 2011.
Originally the village was located further west near the area known as Ayios Spyridon, where we find remains of a cemetery and traces of old houses. According to old testaments, which cannot be verified, about three centuries ago a plague forced the population to move the village to its present position. In any event, the village’s name is not mentioned in any record kept by the Byzantine monasteries in Lemnos, as is the case with most other villages in the island. The first encounter of the name can be traced in 1785 on a map by Choiseul-Gouffier with the name of Portiano, a fact that leads us to conclude that the village was actually established three centuries ago.
From later-day travelers like: Conze (1858), De Launay (1898) and Fredrich (1904) the place name is noted as Portianos in the male gender. In community documents it is referred as Portianou. Finally, it was recorded as Portianon (neutral).
The place name is of Latin origins and seems to come from the merging of two words: “porto juno: new port”, referring to a small port that once existed to the southeast of the village, in an area known as Melagga (=black earth). The remains of an old watchtower (vigla) are still visible there, overlooking the port. It was probably built by the Venetians during their brief occupation of the island between 1656-57. Until 1940 the remains of the tower stood at approximately 6 meters (20 ft) high, however it was almost destroyed during the German occupation of the island during World War II.
From the old community documents we learn that during 1854 the village had a priest named Margaritis. In 1856 it had 147 young men who paid 2.070 “grossia”γρόσια to avoid military service. In 1863 it had 71 resident families which in 1874 became 80, proof of a growing population. In the same year (1874), 97 houses were recorded in the village, which belonged to the municipal area of Kondias. The Portianites had also the right to send two representatives to the Pan-Lemnian regional council.
At the end of the 19th century the community had circulated coins stamped with initials ΧΠ Χωρίον Πορτιανού (Chorion Portianou =Portianou Village), whilst in 1912 the village hosted local post office with its own distinct seal. During that period the village was used as a midway station and crossing point of the Moudros Gulf for all those wishing to cross to the east side of the island and vice versa. This was due to the difficulty of crossing the “Varos” bridge which became impassable during the winter months due to the overflowing of the stream of Metropolis. There were close ties and social contact with Moudros because many merchants had shops on both sides of the bay. There were reports of shipping activities with special mention of the ship-owner Podaras around 1875.
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