The Ecomuseum at Ano Meria, Folegandros, was opened in the summer of 1988. It presents the way of life of a rural homestead in days gone by and its form is best understood by briefly describing its spatial, social and economic context, divorced from the historic past of the island which, in general terms, was much the same as that of the other nearby islands of the Lesser Cyclades. Throughout all periods Folegandros was of marginal importance, a non-participant in the political and cultural developments of Hellenism, a tiny insignificant island lost among the waves of the Aegean. This was largely due to its isolated location and the configuration of its terrain.