Kea (island) the Hellenic Steamship Co., based on Syros island, at that time the capital of Greece. She hit the reef off Koundouros Bay at Makriopounda, Kea island on 24 February 1868 with about 120 passengers aboard. No casualties were reported owing to the proximity of land. Kea is the scene of much of Mary Renault's novel, "The Praise Singer". Kea (island) Kea (), also known as Tzia () and in antiquity Keos (, ), is a Greek island in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Kea is part of the Kea-Kythnos regional unit. The Cyclades Islands are usually defined by
History of the Cyclades of Italian, Greek and Turkish. This was an additional reason for the absence of Ottoman administration. Economically and demographically, the Cyclades had suffered harshly from the exactions first of Turkmen and Barbary pirates, then later (in the 17th century) Christian pirates. After the defeat at Lepanto, Uluç Ali Reis, the new Kapudan Pasha, initiated a policy of repopulating the islands. For example, in 1579 the Orthodox priest Pothetos of Amorgos was authorised to settle colonists on Ios, a nearly deserted island. Kimolos, pillaged by Christian pirates in 1638, was repopulated with Sifniot colonists in 1646. Christian Albanians, who had already