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{{Infobox islands
| name = Snake Island
| native_name = острів Зміїний▼
| native_name_lang = uk
| image_name = Селище Біле, острів Зміїний (2008).jpg
| image_caption = 2008 photo of the island
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| pushpin_relief = 1
| pushpin_map_caption =
▲| native_name = острів Зміїний
| nickname =
| location = [[Black Sea]]
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| country_leader_title =
| country_leader_name =
| population =
| population_as_of =
| density_km2 = 600
| ethnic_groups =
| additional_info =}}
{{Coord|45|15|18|N|30|12|15|E|type:isle|display=title}}
'''Snake Island''', also known as '''Serpent Island''', '''White Island''', '''Island of Achilles''' or '''Zmiinyi Island''' ({{lang-uk|острів Змії́ний|ostriv Zmiinyi}}; {{lang-ro|Insula Șerpilor
The island has been known since [[classical antiquity]], and during that era hosted a [[Ancient Greek temple|Greek temple]] to [[Achilles]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rusyaeva |first=Anna |date=2003-01-01 |title=The Temple of Achilles on the Island of Leuke in the Black Sea |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/acss/9/1-2/article-p1_1.xml |journal=Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia |language=en |volume=9 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1163/157005703322114810 |issn=0929-077X}}</ref> Today, it is administered as part of [[Izmail Raion]] of Ukraine's [[Odesa Oblast]].
The island is populated, reported to have under 30 people in 2012. A village, [[Bile, Odesa Oblast|Bile]], was founded in February 2007 with the purpose of consolidating the status of the island as an inhabited place. This happened during the period in which the island was part of a border dispute between Romania and Ukraine from 2004 to 2009, during which Romania contested the technical definition of the island and borders around it. The territorial limits of the [[continental shelf]] around Snake Island [[Maritime
In the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], two Russian navy warships [[
==Geography==
[[File:Скелясті береги острова.jpg|left|thumb|Rock outcrop of conglomerate on the island]]
Snake Island is located 35 km from the coast, east of the mouth of the [[Danube|Danube River]]. The island's coordinates are {{Coord|45|15|N|30|12|E|type:isle}}. The island is X-shaped, 690 meters from S-W to N-E by 682 meters from N-W to S-E, covering an area of {{cvt|0.205|km2}}. The highest area is {{convert|41|m|ft}} above sea level. The island does not have a prominently featured mountain, but rather a low-slope hill.
The bedrock of the island consists of [[Silurian]] and [[Devonian]] sedimentary rocks, primarily [[Metamorphism|metamorphosed]], highly [[Cementation (geology)|cemented]] [[quartzite]] [[Conglomerate (geology)|conglomerate]]-[[breccia]]s, with subordinate conglomerate, [[sandstone]] and [[clay]], which form cliffs surrounding the island up to 25 metres high. The [[structural geology]] of the island is defined by a wavy [[monocline]] orientated to the northeast, with a small [[anticline]] in the eastern part of the island. The island is crisscrossed by [[Fault (geology)|faults]] with both N-S and NE-SW orientations.<ref>{{Cite
The nearest coastal location to the island is Kubanskyi Island on the Ukrainian part of the [[Danube Delta]], located {{convert|35|km|mi|abbr=on}} away between the [[Bystroye Canal|Bystroe
For the end of 2011 in Zmiinyi Island coastal waters, 58 fish species (12 of which are included into the Red Book of Ukraine)<ref>''Snigirov S, Goncharov O, Sylantyev S.'' The fish community in Zmiinyi Island waters: structure and determinants. [https://www.springer.com/life+sciences/ecology/journal/12526 Marine Biodiversity] 2012. {{doi|10.1007/s12526-012-0109-4}}</ref> and six crab species were recorded. A presidential decree of 9 December 1998, Number 1341/98, declared the island and coastal waters as a state-protected area. The total protected area covers {{convert|232|ha}}.
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| image = [[File:Insula Serpilor in 1896.JPG|200px]]
| image_alt =
| caption = The lighthouse
| map_type =
| altitude = {{convert|40|m|ft}}
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The lighthouse was heavily damaged during [[World War II]] by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] aviation and [[Nazi Germany|German]] retreating forces. It was restored at the end of 1944 by the [[Odesa]] military radio detachment. In 1949 it was further reconstructed and equipped by the [[Black Sea Fleet]]. The lighthouse was further upgraded in 1975 and 1984. In 1988 a new radio beacon "KPM-300" was installed with radio signal range of {{convert|150|nmi|km|disp=flip}}.
In August 2004, the lighthouse was equipped with a radio beacon "Yantar-2M-200", which provides differential correction signal for global navigation satellite systems [[Global Positioning System|GPS]] and [[GLONASS]].
The lighthouse is listed as UKR 050 by ARLHS, EU-182 by IOTA, and BS-07 by UIA.
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==History and mythology==
[[File:Map of Mercator Tavrica Chersones 1613.JPG|thumb|Fidonixi on the Mercator's map|left]]
[[File:Roman provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, Dacia, Moesia, Pannonia and Thracia.jpg|thumb|left|The island carries the name of Leuce on this map of [[Johann Gustav Droysen]]
=== Ancient history ===
The island was named by the Greeks '''{{lang|grc-Latn|Leuke}}''' ({{lang-grc-gre|Λευκή}}, 'White Island') and was similarly known by Romans as '''{{lang|la|Alba}}''', probably because of the white marble formations that can be found on the isle. According to [[Dionysius Periegetes]], it was called Leuke, because the serpents there were white.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/201#540 Dionysius of Alexandria, Guide to the Inhabited World, §540]</ref> According to [[Arrian]], it was called Leuke due to its color.<ref name=Arrian_32>[https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/Περίπλους_Ευξείνου_Πόντου#32 Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea, §32]</ref> He and [[Stephanus of Byzantium]] mentioned that the island was also referred to as the '''Island of Achilles''' ({{lang-grc-gre|Ἀχιλλέως νῆσος}}<ref name=Arrian_32/> and {{lang|grc|Ἀχίλλεια νῆσος}}<ref name="Stephanus of Byzantium">[https://topostext.org/work/241#A152.9 Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §A152.9]</ref>) and the '''[[Racecourse of Achilles]]''' ({{lang|grc|Δρόμον Ἀχιλλέως}}<ref name=Arrian_32/> and {{lang|grc|Ἀχίλλειος δρόμος}}<ref name="Stephanus of Byzantium"/>), though this is now identified with the [[Tendra Spit]].
The island was sacred to the hero [[Achilles]] and had a temple of the hero with a statue inside.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:3.19.11 Pausanias, Description of Greece, § 3.19.11]</ref> [[Gaius Julius Solinus|Solinus]] wrote that on the island there was a sacred shrine.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/747#19.1 Solinus, Polyhistor, §19.1]</ref> According to Arrian in the temple there were many offerings to Achilles and [[Patroclus]].<ref name=Arrian_32/> Furthermore, people came to the island and sacrificed or set animals free in honour of Achilles.<ref name=Arrian_33>[https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/Περίπλους_Ευξείνου_Πόντου#33 Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea, §33]</ref> He also added that people said that Achilles and Patroclus appeared in front of them as hallucinations or in their dreams while they were approaching the coast of the island or sailing a short distance from it.<ref name=Arrian_34>[https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/Περίπλους_Ευξείνου_Πόντου#34 Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea, §34]</ref> [[Pliny the Elder]] wrote that the tomb of the hero was on the island.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/148#4.26.1 Pliny the Elder, Natural History, §4.26.1]</ref> According to the legend, on the island no bird flew higher than the temple of Achilles.<ref name="Marta González">{{cite book| author = Marta González González| title = Achilles | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1TFDDwAAQBAJ| publisher = Routledge | date= January 2018| isbn =
The uninhabited isle {{lang|grc-Latn|Achilleis}} ("of [[Achilles]]") was the major sanctuary of the hero, where "seabirds dipped their wings in water to sweep the temples clean", according to Constantine D. Kyriazis. Several temples of Thracian [[Apollo]] can be found here, and there are submerged ruins.
According to Greek myths the island was created by [[Poseidon]] for Achilles to inhabit, but also for sailors to have an island to anchor at the [[Euxine Sea]],<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0638.tlg004.perseus-grc1:746 Philostratus, Heroica, §746]</ref> but the sailors should never sleep on the island.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/222#747 Philostratus, Heroica, §747]</ref> According to a surviving epitome of the lost [[Trojan War]] epic of [[Arctinus of Miletus]], the remains of [[Achilles]] and [[Patroclus]] were brought to this island by [[Thetis]], to be put in a sanctuary, furnishing the {{lang|grc-Latn|[[aition]]}}, or founding myth of the Hellenic cult of Achilles centred here. According to another myth Thetis gave the island to Achilles and let him live there.<ref name=Arrian_32/> The oracle of [[Delphi]] sent [[Autoleon|Leonymus]] (other writers called him Autoleon<ref>[http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/erudits/photius/conon.htm Conon, Narrations (Photius), 18]</ref>) to the Island, telling him that there [[Ajax the Great]] would appear to him and cure his wound.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:3.19.12 Pausanias, Description of Greece, §3.19.12]</ref> Leonymus said that on the island he saw Achilles, Ajax the Great, [[Ajax the Lesser]], [[Patroclus]], [[Antilochus of Pylos|Antilochus]] and [[Helen of Troy]]. In addition, Helen told him to go to [[Stesichorus]] at [[Himera]] and tell him that the loss of his sight was caused by her wrath.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-grc1:3.19.13 Pausanias, Description of Greece, §3.19.13]</ref> [[Pomponius Mela]] wrote that Achilles was buried there.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/145#2.98 Pomponius Mela, Chorographia, §2.98]</ref>
In ''[[Andromache (play)|Andromache]]'', work of [[Euripides]], Thetis mention the island and said that Achilles was "dwelling on his island home".<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0090:card=1231 Euripides, Andromache, 1231]</ref>
Ruins believed to be of a square temple dedicated to Achilles, 30 meters to a side, were discovered by the Russian naval Captain N. D. Kritzkii in 1823, but the subsequent construction of a lighthouse on the very site obliterated all trace of it.<ref>[https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55199ba1e4b05c72e7fcfae6/t/58714438a5790a9fba84cd6d/1483818079390/The_Temple_of_Achilles_on_the_Island_of+%281%29.pdf Anna S. Rusyaeva, "The temple of Achilles on the island of Leuke in the Black Sea"].</ref> [[Ovid]], who was banished to [[Constanța|Tomis]], mentions the island, so do [[Ptolemy]] and [[Strabo]].<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/2E2*.html ''Geography'', book II.5.22]</ref> The island is described in [[Pliny the Elder]]'s ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'', IV.27.1. It is also described in [[Arrian]]'s Letter to [[Hadrian|Emperor Hadrian]], a historical document movingly drawn upon by [[Marguerite Yourcenar]] in her ''[[Memoirs of Hadrian]]''.
Several ancient inscriptions were found on the island, including a 4th-century BC [[Olbia, Ukraine|Olbiopolitan]] decree which praises someone for defeating and driving out the pirates that lived on the "holy island". Another inscription which found on the island and dates back to the fifth century BC writes: "Glaukos, son of Posideios, dedicated me to Achilles, lord of Leuke"<ref name="Marta González"/>
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A fragment was found on the island which was signed by the famous ancient painter [[Epiktetos]] and the potter [[Nikosthenes]].<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0003:entry=no.118&highlight=leuke L. D. Caskey, J. D. Beazley, Attic Vase Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 118. 00.334 KANTHAROS from TARQUINIA PLATE LXVIII]</ref>
The island was one of the three sites in the Black Sea which stand out in the cult of Achilles, the other two were the [[Racecourse of Achilles]] and the [[
===Ottoman era===
[[File:Snake Island by Carlo Bossoli, 1856 - Карло Боссоли. Остров Змеиный (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|Snake Island (Ostriv Zmiinyi) by [[Carlo Bossoli]], 1856]]
The Greeks during the Ottoman Empire renamed it '''Fidonisi''' ({{lang-el|Φιδονήσι}}, 'Snake Island') and the island gave its name to the naval [[Battle of Fidonisi]], fought between the Ottoman and Russian fleets in 1788, during the course of the [[Russo-Turkish War
In 1829, following the [[Russo-Turkish War
In 1877, following the [[Russo-Turkish War
=== World War I and interwar period ===
As part of the [[Romania
The 1920 [[Treaty of Versailles]] reconfirmed the island as part of Romania. The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1922.{{cn|date=June 2023}}
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On 7 September 1941, two Soviet submarines of the [[Shchuka-class submarine|''Shchuka'' class]] (''Shch-208'' and ''Shch-213'') and three of the [[Soviet M-class submarine|M class]] (''M-35'', ''M-56'', and ''M-62'') conducted a patrol near the island.<ref>Donald A Bertke, ''World War II Sea War, Vol 4: Germany Sends Russia to the Allies'', p. 260</ref>
On 29–30 October and 5 November 1942, the Romanian minelayers {{ship|NMS|Amiral Murgescu||2}} and ''Dacia'', together with the Romanian destroyers {{ship|NMS|Regina Maria||2}}, {{ship|NMS|Regele Ferdinand||2}}, the Romanian [[flotilla leader]] {{ship|NMS|Mărăști||2}}, the Romanian gunboat ''Stihi'' and four German [[R
On 1 December 1942, while the Soviet cruiser ''[[Soviet cruiser Voroshilov|Voroshilov]]'' together with the destroyer ''[[Soviet destroyer Soobrazitelny (1940)|Soobrazitelny]]'' were bombarding the island with forty-six 180 mm and fifty-seven 100 mm shells, the cruiser was damaged by Romanian mines, but it managed to return to [[Poti]] for repairs under her own power. During the brief bombardment, she struck the radio station, barracks and lighthouse on the island, but failed to inflict significant losses.<ref>{{cite book|author-first1=Jipa|author-last1=Rotaru|author-first2=Ioan|author-last2=Damaschin|title=Glorie și dramă: Marina Regală Română, 1940-1945|trans-title=Glory and drama: Romanian Royal Navy, 1940-1945|location=Bucharest|publisher=Ion Cristoiu Publishing|date=2000|pages=93–94|isbn=978-9-73995-447-1|language=RO}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Timothy C|last=Dowling|title=Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond|location=Santa Barbara|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2015|page=128|isbn=978-1-59884-947-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Spencer C|last=Tucker|title=World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia|location=Santa Barbara|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2012|page=114}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Nicolae|last1=Koslinski|first2=Raymond|last2=Stănescu|title=Marina Română in al Doilea Război Mondial Vol 2: 1942-1944|trans-title=Romanian Navy in the Second World War Volume 2: 1942-1944|location=Bucharest|publisher=Editura Făt-Frumos|year=1997| page=56|oclc=493419659|language=RO}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Yakubov|first1=Vladimir|last2=Worth|first2=Richard|chapter=The Soviet Light Cruisers of the Kirov Class|editor-last=Jordan|editor-first=John|title=Warship 2009|page=92}}</ref>
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{{Main|Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea case}}
[[File:Snake Island (Aug 2021).jpg|thumb|Snake Island with Ukrainian flag in August 2021]]
The status of Snake Island was important for delimitation of [[continental shelf]] and [[exclusive economic zone]]s between Romania and Ukraine. If Snake Island were recognized as an island, then [[continental shelf]] around it should be considered as Ukrainian water. If Snake Island were not an island, but
On 4 July 2003, the [[President of Romania]] [[Ion Iliescu]] and the [[President of Russia]] [[Vladimir Putin]] signed a treaty about friendship and cooperation. Romania promised not to contest territories of Ukraine or Moldova, which it lost to the [[Soviet Union]] after [[World War II]], but requested that Russia as a successor of the Soviet Union recognized in some form its responsibility for what had happened.<ref>''[https://web.archive.org/web/20141207132714/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/russia/newsid_3044000/3044486.stm Russia and Romania: compromise on history]''. BBC Russia. 4 July 2003</ref>
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* [[Romania–Ukraine relations]]
* [[Soviet Navy surface raids on Western Black Sea]]
* [[Russian warship, go fuck yourself]]
==References and footnotes==
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[[Category:Romania–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:Romania–Ukraine relations]]
[[Category:Geography of Izmail Raion]]
[[Category:Landforms of Odesa Oblast]]
[[Category:Romania–Ukraine border]]
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[[Category:Military history of the Black Sea]]
[[Category:Achilles]]
[[Category:Vylkove urban hromada]]
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