SIPHANTO, SIPHENO, or SIPTINO (ancient Greek ,(st.vos), an island of the Greek Archipelago, in the nomarchy of the Cyclades, 30 miles south-west of Syra. It has an area of 28 square miles, and the population in 1879 was 5762. A ridge of limestone hills - whose principal summits, Mount Elias and St Simeon, are crowned by old Byzantine churches - runs through the island ; for about 2 miles along the western slope stretches a series of villages, each white-washed house with its own garden and orchard. Apollonia, one of the five (so called because built on the site of a temple to Apollo), is the modern capital ; formerly this rank belonged to Kastro (also called Seraglio), an "old-world Italian town" with mediaaval castle and fortifications, and an old town-hall bearing date 1365. Inscriptions found on the spot show that Kastro stands on the site of the ancient city of Siphnos ; and Mr Bent identifies the other ancient town of Minoa (see Stephanos) with the place on the coast where a Hellenic white marble tower is distinguished as the Pharos or lighthouse and another as the tower of St John. Churches and convents of Byzantine architecture are scattered about the island. One building of this class is especially interesting - the school of the Holy Tomb or school of Siphnos, founded by Greek refugees from Byzantium at the time of the iconoclastic persecutions, and afterwards a great centre of intellectual culture for the Hellenic world. The endowments of the school are now made over to the gymnasium of Syra. In ancient times Siphnos was famous for its gold and silver mines, the site of which is still easily recognized by the excavations and refuse-heaps. A French company has started mining operations at Katnara. As in antiquity so now the potters of the island are known throughout the Archipelago. The wealth of the ancient Siphniotes was shown by their treasury at Delphi, where they deposited the tenth of their gold and silver ; but, says the legend, they once sent Apollo a gilded and not a golden bull, and he in his anger flooded their mines. That the mines were invaded by the sea is still evident ; and by Strabo's time the inhabitants of the island were noted for their poverty. During the Venetian period it was ruled first by the Da Corogna family and after 1456 by the Gazzadini, who were expelled by the Turks in 1617.

surface of the liquid in jar a, the longer in jar b. The pressure in the tube at A is atmospheric pressure minus that of the vertical column AB', while that at C is atmospheric pressure minus that of the column CB". When CB" is longer than AB' the pressure at C is of course less Siphon. than that at A, and a current flows in the direction ABC through the siphon. When AB' ---- B"C, that is, when the liquid stands at the same level, pressure is equal in the two limbs, and the current ceases. The siphon has practically a certain minimum diameter for each liquid, as capillarity prevents a- fluid from flowing out of tubes of very small bore unless under the influence of electricity, heat, or great pressure. The instrument is largely employed for chemical work, both in the laboratory and in manufacturing processes ; it is formed of glass, india-rubber, lead, or other substance, according to the purpose for which it is intended. The simple siphon (see fig.) is used by filling it with the liquid to be decanted, closing the longer limb with the finger and plunging the shorter into the liquid, and it must be filled for each time of using. Innumerable forms have been devised adapted for all purposes, and provided with arrangements for filling the tube, or for keeping it full and starting it into action automatically when required. The former purpose is usually effected by blowing into the vessel through a second opening in the stopper through which the siphon passes, or by means of a sucking or blowing tube attached to the longer limb, or by pouring in liquid through a flexible tube attached at the bend. The second plan is frequently realized by having a stopcock on the longer limb and a valve opening upwards on the shorter, or by having both limbs of equal length and each standing in a cup, in which case when the level changes in either cup the siphon tends to equalize it by conveying liquid from the higher to the lower. Many other forms are in constant use in the arts, and the siphon is also employed in some of its modifications in surgery, in engineering, and in other sciences.