1896 is a landmark date for the country as it is the year of the revival of the Olympic Games and their celebration in the place where they were born. The Panathenaic Stadium is preparing to put on its festive clothes, just 3 years after the bankruptcy declared by Trikoupis and 1 year before the unfortunate Greek-Turkish war.
In the year when the first car was registered in the capital Athens, the countryside was bustling with life. Poverty has not yet melted the social fabric and the first migratory flows have not yet drained the inner landscape of its human potential.
Thus, the census carried out that year, shows an island of Kythera with a very small population.
As Eleni Harou writes in her personal blog, «in 1896 Kythera had 22,751 citizens and 12,306 permanent residents». In short, the island is home to three and a half times more citizens than those recorded by the latest census a few months ago. A shocking fact, considering the poverty of the times and the uncertainty of the future.
The distribution in the two municipalities and the villages - champions
At that time, in Kythera we had two demoi. The municipality of Kytheria and the municipality of Potamia. The distribution of the population was roughly equal, with the “Inner Municipality” seeing Mylopotamos and Chora “competing” for the lead, but it was the head village of the “Outer Municipality”, Potamos, that held the lead throughout the island.
The following is a detailed distribution of the population, as it is indicated on the website of Eleni Charos, with the source being the newspaper “Kytheraiki Avgi” (January 1898):
MUNICIPALITY OF KYTHIRIA
COUNTRY 814
ST. ELIAS 103
ALEXANDRIANS 141
DANNY 494
AREOS 118
AYLAMONAS 45
VIARADIKA 328
DOKANA 103
DRYMONARI 73
CALAMOS 125
DRYMON 200
GOOD EVENING 128
SUMMER 188
CARBUNCLES 128
GOATS 222
CAPSALI 297
KATUNI 95
LIVADI 240
KERAMONTON 187
SHORT-STEMMED 60
MYLOPOTAMOS 872
PICES 239
FRATESIA 495
FATSADIKA 270
STRAPODE 105
MIRTIDIA 27
SCULIARIANS 58
STATHIANICS 93
DOORMAN 180
MUNICIPALITY OF POTAMIA
RIVER 973
SAINT ANASTASIA 129
ST. PELAGIA 21
308
ARONIADIKA 429
COTTON GIN 41
GERAKARI 141
CARAVAS 554
CASTRIES 274
CUSUNARI 122
CYPRUS 300
LIANIANIANIKA 76
LOGOTHETICAL 450
MELITIANS 85
MATA 503
PERLEGIANICS 196
PETRUNI 110
PITCHES 102
HOLIDAY PARTY 75
ZAGANICS 64
DESPINA 90
CLOVER 120
CHRISTOPHORIAN 161
GOATS 226
HOLY MONEY 7
