Editing Hydra (island) (section)

=== Pre-history, antiquity, Byzantine and Venetian era ===
There is evidence of farmers and herders from the second half of the third millennium BCE on the small, flat areas that are not visible from the sea. [[Obsidian]] from [[Milos]] has also been found. During the [[Helladic period]], Hydra probably served as a maritime base for the kingdoms on the Greek peninsula. Fragments of vases, tools, and the head of an idol have been found on Mount Chorissa. There is also evidence of Mycenean-era aqueducts, supplying ships with water.

The large-scale [[Dorian invasion]] of Greece around the 12th century BCE appears to have depopulated the island. Hydra was repopulated by farmers and herders, perhaps sailing from the mainland port of [[Ermioni]], in the 8th century BCE. [[Herodotus]] reports that toward the 6th century BCE, the island belonged to Ermioni, which sold it to [[Samos]]. Samos, in turn, ceded it to [[Troezen|Troizina]].

For much of its existence, Hydra stayed on the margins of history. The population was very small in ancient times and, except for the brief mentions in Herodotus and Pausanias, left little or no record in the history of those times.

It is clear that Hydra was populated during the [[Byzantine]] era, as vases and coins have been discovered in the area of Episkopi. However, it appears that the island again lost its population during the [[Latin Empire]] of Constantinople as its inhabitants fled the [[pirate]] depredations. On other islands, inhabitants moved inland, something that was essentially impossible on Hydra.

==== Arvanite community ====

Among local [[Arvanites]], the first account about their settlement was written by Antonis Miaoulis, son of admiral [[Andreas Miaoulis]], after the end of the Greek war of independence (1830). According to this local narrative, the Arvanite Hydriots descend from the Albanians who directly left Albania as refugees in the 1460s due to persecution by the Ottoman Sultan [[Mehmed II]]. Historiographical research shows that the Albanians didn't settle in Hydra directly from Albania in the 15th century, but from the Peloponnese ([[Ermionida]]) due to conflicts in the region with the Venetians and the Ottomans.<ref name="Jochalas 1971" /> This first Albanian settlement occurred in the early 16th century and likely involved members of the same 1-2 clans.{{sfn|Jochalas|2006|p=40}} They created the modern town port and their presence was evident until the mid-20th century, when, according to T. Jochalas, the majority of the island's population was composed of immigrants from outside of Peloponnesus.<ref name="Jochalas 1971">Jochalas, Titos P. (1971): Über die Einwanderung der Albaner in Griechenland: Eine zusammenfassene Betrachtung ["On the immigration of Albanians to Greece: A summary"]. München: Trofenik.</ref>{{page needed|date=September 2021}} In the 16th century, the island began to be settled also by refugees from the warfare between the Ottomans and Venetians.<ref>Vanderpool, Catherine (1980) ''Hydra,'' Athens Lycabettus Press, pp. 3-4.</ref> In the early 18th century, a last Arvanite movement from nearby areas settled in the island. [[Arvanitika]] was a language spoken by all Hydriotes. By the 19th century, men had learned to speak Greek too, while women and children often didn't speak Greek. One of the reasons why Arvanitika was so enduring in Hydra as opposed to other islands which were part of the Arvanite Aegean settlements was that the language was spoken and favored by the newly emerging Hydriot urban-merchant class.{{sfn|Jochalas|2006|p=76}} Even in the 20th century families of the local magnates like the [[Koundouriotis]] spoke Arvanitika in Hydra.{{sfn|Jochalas|2006|p=140}} Hydra was also an island where church liturgy was often held in local Arvanitika, which is a rare case as in most Orthodox Albanian communities Greek was the language of liturgy even up to the early 20th century.{{sfn|Jochalas|2006|p=140}} The Arvanite community is still found on the island.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1252736820 |title=Modern Greece |date=2022 |others=Elaine Cotsirilos Thomopoulos |isbn=978-1-4408-5492-7 |location=Santa Barbara, California |page=4 |oclc=1252736820}}</ref> Nowadays they are fully assimilated.