Póros

Altitude: 345m/1,130ft

Chief place: Póros

The island of Póros, ancient Kalaureia, lies southwest of the Methana peninsula (Peloponnese), separated from the north coast of the Argolid by a strait between 250m/275yd and 1,000m/1,100yd wide, 1.5km/1mi long and up to 4m/13ft deep. Most of the island is covered by thin woodland and macchia. The inhabitants, many of whom are of Albanian descent, live by farming the fertile coastal areas on the mainland which belong to Póros and, increasingly, by the tourist trade.

In Mycenaean times there was a settlement on the site later occupied by the sanctuary of Poseidon. The ancient city was abandoned after the Roman period, and the modern town was established only in the late Middle