Antissa, now Ovriokastro, 16 km. south-west of Methymna, is, of all ancient sites in the island of Lesbos, the loveliest and the most isolated. On the land side it is cut off by the lower slopes of the massif which culminates in Mt. Ordymnos; on the sea side it is unsheltered and provided with the shallowest anchorage. Nowadays, a small caïque can only call during the hours when the wind drops: long ago, before the change of coast level, deeper water may have provided easier approach.
Koldewey has proved the identification of Ovriokastro with Antissa beyond dispute, and must be referred to for general discussion and for comments on the Genoese and Turkish fortifications. For our own purposes, the site, which is extensive, may be divided into four parts : (1) The Castro. This is a round, hilly promontory, almost separated from the mainland by the mediaeval moat, and built over with Genoese and Turkish walls.