Stories of Pirates and Vampires

There is a small rough island on the westward side of Mykonos not far from her famous windmills and Little Venice. The single white church with it’s red dome is often photographed by tourist heading by boat to Delos. This is the Chapel of Saint George which was actually built to honour a pirate!

Pirate Baos

The well-known Pirate George Bao, a legendary defender of Mykonos during the first revolution of 1770 chose this small island as a strategic position to fight bravely against the Turks and protect the Mykonians. From his island vantage point, Pirate Bao was able to loot and fight off enemy ships anchored on the narrow passage between the two islands. The little island was given to Baos to reward him for his bravery. Later the chapel of Saint George was built on the island honouring the man who guarded Mykonos so well.

Vampires , “Vrykolaka” of Mykonos!

During the 1700’s the belief in spirits, ghosts and vampires in Europe was quite common. Some still take it seriously today. According to legend, Mykonos had it’s very own vampire living on the island.

The story suggests that a Mykonian islander was killed by a stranger while working in his fields. Although buried, he continued to roam the island. In the beginning he appeared harmless, simply knocking over furniture and hugging people. Eventually the islanders became annoyed, buried him and removed his heart. This provoked the vampire to create more havoc on the island. In turn the islanders had him removed to the island of Baos and burned. Some say that since the island is surrounded by salt which vampires are not supposed to like, it would keep him at bay.