Mljet (pronounced [mʎɛ̂t]) is the southernmost and easternmost of the larger Adriatic islands of the Dalmatia region of Croatia.

The island was first described by Scylax of Caryanda in the 6th century BC; others prefer the text, Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax.

[5] Agesilaus of Anaxarba in Cilicia, the father of Oppian, was banished to Mljet by the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus (AD 145–211)[6] (or to Malta by Lucius Verus).

Mljet is mentioned around 950 by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos in his De Administrando Imperio as one of the islands held by the Narentines.

Ancient Greeks called the island "Melita" or "honey" which over the centuries evolved to become the Slavic name, Mljet (pronounced [mʎɛt]).

They came ashore in the Sutmiholjska cove and in 1187–1198 Desa, Grand Prince of Serbia, of the House of Vojislavljević built and donated to them the Church and Monastery of Saint Mary on the islet in the Big Lake (Veliko jezero) towards the north-west end of the island.

The first president of the Congregation was Mavro Vetranović, the abbot of the Mljet monastery and the famous poet.

It is of volcanic origin,[citation needed] with numerous chasms and gorges, of which the longest, the Babino Polje, connects the north and south of the island.

[8] The island's geological structure consists of limestone and dolomite forming ridges, crests and slopes.

A few depressions on the island of Mljet are below sea level and form non-permanent brackish lakes known as blatine ("mud-lakes") or slatine ("salt-lakes").

Precipitation (mostly falling between October and April) averages between 35 and 45 inches annually, with the hills receiving the highest amounts.