The capital of the island of Syros is Ermoúpolis or Nea Syros. Named after Hermes, the Greek god of trade, it occupies the site of an ancient settlement of which no trace remains. It is the seat of the Prefect (governor) of the Cyclades, a Roman Catholic bishop and an Orthodox archbishop. The town owes its present extent to the influx of Greek refugees from Chios, Psará, Crete, Hydra and other islands, who settled here in 1821 after the Greek war of liberation and built the town up into a major port on the sea routes between Asia Minor and western Europe.
Towards the end of the 19th century, however, the economy of the town began to suffer from the competition of Piraeus. The town, with its handsome houses in Neo-Classical style, extends from the harbor quarter, which is also the administrative and business center, with the town hall and theater, on the slopes of two hills. Its central feature is the large marble-paved Miaoulis Square, with a bandstand and a monument to Admiral Miaoulis, commander of the Greek fleet in the war of liberation. The Neo-Classical Town Hall (designed by Ernst Ziller) contains a small but interesting museum. Beyond the Town Hall is the Apollo Theater (a copy of La Scala, Milan), which once enjoyed a considerable reputation.
The backdrop of the town is formed by its two hills: to the right Vrontado (105m/345ft), with the principal Orthodox church (Anástasis, the church of the Resurrection), and to the left Áno Syros (180m/590ft), crowned by the Roman Catholic cathedral of St George (19th C.; view).
On Vrontado is the Greek Orthodox quarter, built from 1834 onwards, which is dominated by the 19th-century domed church of Áyios Nikólaos.
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