The Castle in the small town of
Methymna, on the island of Lesvos, is the second largest and most significant
castle on the Greek island, after the one in the capital city of the island –
Mytilene. Built upon the remains of ancient walls, in order to repel attacks by
Franks and Turks, it is a robust monument of red and brown trachyte. Its
present aspect is mainly the work of the Gatelusi. Only the cistern survives
from the Early Byzantine phase. Lesbos passed into the possession of the
Genoese Gatelusi family in 1355, by which time the Castle seems to have been
destroyed, since the new rulers rebuilt it. The use of pseudo-isodomic masonry
with large ashlar blocks, characteristic of the Gatelusi’sbuilding activity, is
observed in the greater part of the Fortress of Methymna. In 1462, after the fall
of Lesbos to Mohamed II, the Ottomans hastily embarked on reconstruction works.
On the southwest side there is a redoubt and access to the Castle was via three
gateways. The outer entrance is an Ottoman construction with pointed arch and
has an inscription incorporated in the wall.
Due to developments in
fortification architecture, necessitated by the use of gunpowder, cannon
emplacements were constructed in the first half of the sixteenth century. In
the first half of the seventeenth century a second enceinte was raised with an
advance line of defence. The Castle’s defensive system included cannon
embrasures only on the south and the west side of the walls, as artillery
weaponry was essential for the protection of the settlement and the harbour
entrance. The positions of the towers bear witness to this fact. After the 1867
earthquake the Castle was abandoned completely.
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