Cyclades Cyclades The Cyclades (; ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands "around" (κυκλάς) the sacred island of Delos. The largest island of the Cyclades is Naxos. The significant Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Cycladic culture is best known for its schematic, flat idols carved out of the islands' pure white marble centuries before the great Middle Bronze Age Minoan civilization arose in Crete to the south. (These figures
History of the Cyclades was in essence limited. In contrast with the prisons, where detainees were housed and fed, deportees on the islands had to procure shelter, food, eating utensils, etc. for themselves, making it cheaper for the government. Certain of the Cyclades were partly depopulated by the rural exodus since the mid-19th century, so empty houses were at the disposal of the deportees, who had to rent them. Poor exiles received a daily allowance of 10 drachmai (a quarter of an agricultural labourer's salary) for food and lodging; exiles deemed “prosperous” received nothing. The exiles had to put in place a form of