Archaeological Sights and Museums of the Thyreatis Land

We welcome the anniversary events to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution.

We  proposed to our municipality, to all those responsible, to the committee “Greece 2021” and to the common mind, the four issues of the Earth Thyreatis  that undoubtedly played a catalytic importance for the organization and success of the liberation struggle. The “camp of the Berbena” played an essential and very important role in the Greek revolution.

Undoubtedly there are many other “self-evident” and well-known that the local communities celebrate and we will also promote them, such as the important battle of the liberation struggle in historic Vervena and historic Doliana.

It is no coincidence that our ancestors “lived for four hundred and so many years in the abomination and resurrection day”. In world history no nation has resisted for four hundred years and finally victoriously drove out the conquerors.

These and many more that we have, are undoubtedly very important for the success of the liberation struggle and the common mind tells us we must always distinguish and promote in local, regional and national space and in the anniversary events to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution. .

 In ancient Bervena in antiquity lived the Bervenians, an Arcadian genus, while the area of ​​today’s village belonged to ancient Arcadia. The oldest relics that have been identified in the area date back to the 2nd millennium BC. and these are stone pickaxes found at Petra. Relics of Artemis from the 9th century BC were found in the place of Panteleimon. until the Hellenistic years. In this place during the 6th c. e.g. an all-marble temple of Doric style was built.

In the revolution of 1821, Vervena played an important role, mainly due to their strategic position. The “camp of the Bervena” was the first organized camp of the struggle, it had about 2,500 fighters (the other three were from Valtetsi, Chrysovitsi and Piana) and one of the most important camps during the first days of the struggle. Here Kolokotronis had set up his headquarters, in the Tower of Augustus, before his attack against the Turks for the conquest of Tripolitsa. The first organized “Tutorial of the Struggle” also operated in historic Vervena, where the military organization, martial arts and military discipline of the spontaneous revolutionary fighters were taught. The Peloponnesian Senate was also stationed in historic Vervena to coordinate the liberation struggle. In the center of the village, is the three-storey vaulted tower-residence of the Darveris family, where the first national printing house sent from Trieste, necessary for the organization of the Greek state, was established during the years of the Revolution. On June 21, 1821, Dimitrios Ypsilantis arrived in Vervena from Odessa, Russia, where he was officially received by the Peloponnesian Senate, which is mentioned on the marble plaque, which was hung in 1920 at the reception point.

All the villages of Thyrea, without exception, helped the revolution. The Proestos and Elders of Prastos, in consultation with Kolokotronis and the people of Verveni, Karabela and Kritiko, established in Vervena the famous “Cellar”, ie the chamber of the Army, to supply Prastos with food to the army, which was attended by many Prastian fighters. Agiopetritis Protestos, Anagnostis Kontakis, writes that: “if it were not for Prastos, who fed the army for 4 months, the struggle for freedom would have been lost”. General caretaker was George Trochanis from Agianniti.

The historic Vervena and the historic Doliana (and the drum of the Turkophagus) are known from the first very important victories in the liberation struggle on May 18, 1821, which at that difficult time filled the rebellious Greeks with the necessary confidence.

The Greeks defeated the Turks in Doliana, with a few men about the Turks under the leadership of the legendary “Turkophagus”. Nikitaras in the battle of Doliana slaughtered many Turks and since then won the nickname of “Turkophagus”.

Kolokotronis mentions in his memoirs: “The horde of Berbens touched them closely. “After weighing near Doliana, the Turks also besieged Nikitas, and so Nikitas and his men came out, and took them down to the plain, hunting.”

At the same time, the Greeks victoriously repulsed the Turks in Vervena and chased them to Doliana, where they joined the men of Nikitaras and continued the pursuit of the Turks as far as Tripoli.

The Turks after their defeat in Vervena and Doliana were permanently closed in Tripolitsa.

The liberation of the nation is not donated but is won on the battlefields with the blood of our heroic ancestors who practically did their patriotic duty. Unfortunately in Dragouni on May 18, 1821, the Turks with the supremacy of the cavalry defeated the Greeks and there the Agiannitis chief Panos Zafeiropoulos Georgakis Digenis and Agiannites fighters were killed. Panos (Akouros) Zafeiropoulos participated in the battle of Vervena.

The battle of historic Vervena and historic Doliana on May 18, 1821 thwarted the dismantling of the Bervena camp and the plan of the Turks. It also boosted the morale of the revolutionaries and paved the way for the fall of Tripoli.

Undoubtedly the “Bervena camp” played a catalytic role in the organization and success of the liberation struggle.It is no exaggeration to say that the liberation of our homeland started from the “camp of the historic  Berbena”.

 In 1826 the village was set on fire by Ibrahim.

The article has been published in our contributors Astros Kynouria News

Sources

Astros Kynouria News

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The majestic church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos in Agiannis was renovated and became a patriarchal exarchate in 1638. Plenty of icy water springs just below the church of Agios Ioannis Prodromos in Agiannis. Just as the water flows through five canals, one is very low, as if the water seems to be coming through the church.

We welcome the anniversary events to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution.

It is no coincidence that our ancestors “lived for four hundred and so many years in the abomination and resurrection day”. No nation in world history has resisted for four hundred years and finally victoriously drove out the conquerors.

 Agios Ioannis (Agiannis) of Kynouria, was the capital of the Greek state in 1822 and offered many and important things in the revolution of 1821.

 Astros and Agios Ioannis (Agiannis) were for at least eight hundred years and from the first organization of the Greek state administratively a community, as today, and most importantly the inhabitants of Agiannites and Astrinos are the same inhabitants, they had and still have houses in Agianni and Astros. For many centuries before the revolution of 1821 in different reports and maps the two settlements Astros and Agiannis are mixed, Astros refers to Astros, becomes Agiannis, Kalivia Astros, Agiannitika huts and Agiannis refers to Agiannis, becomes Astros, Astros and Agiannis of Astros. It seems that Astros started from the xerokambi and the castle of Oria, Estella, which is located near Agiannis until the castle of Paralio Astros or also Estellas, and its core was the inhabitants of Agiannis and today’s Astros. Astros and Paralio Astros came from the village of Agios Ioannis, as well as other settlements. Let us remember what Thucydides told us, “the inhabitants are the states”, the cities and the castles are not states.

The Municipality of Thyreas, based in the settlement of Agios Ioannis, was established by a decree of 9 (21st) November 1834/12 May 1835, Government Gazette 16A – 24/05/1835 In 1841 the settlement of Astros is defined as the winter seat of the municipality and the settlement of Agios Ioannis is defined as the summer seat of the municipality, Government Gazette 5A – 08/03/1841. The settlement of Paralio Astros is annexed to the municipality of Thyreas Government Gazette 32A – 08/12/1845 and the settlement is detached from the municipality of Thyreas and is designated as the seat of the community of Paralio Astros Government Gazette 252A – 24/08/1912.

Agios Ioannis (Agiannis) in 1845 is defined as the summer seat of the province of Kynouria, initially the winter seat of the province of Kynouria was Prastos and later Leonidio.

 In 1912, the old Municipal system of 1834 was abolished and the communities were established. The following communities emerged from the Municipality of Thyreas: Astros, Vervena, Xiropigadou, Paralio Astros, Meligos, Platanos and Haradros. From 1912 the settlement of Astros was the seat of the community of Astros seat of the community. Government Gazette 250A – 18/07/1915). For historical reasons, Astros evolved into the Municipality of Astros in 1985. Since 1997, Astros has been the seat of the Municipality of North Kynouria.

The first official mention of the city with the name “Astros” is found in a gold bull of the year 1293. Saint John of Arcadia is mentioned for the first time in 1435 in the Chronicle of the Fall of George Sfrantzis and probably took its name from the church of St. John the Baptist , located at the bottom of the village. From the Patriarchal sigil of the year 1719, the patriarchal and Stavropegian privilege of the Loukous Monastery is renewed. This document mentions Agios Ioannis as a village near Loukous. In addition, he mentions that in 1550, the Loukous Monastery was completely renovated with the help of 6 Agianni furriers, who lived in Constantinople.

The people of Agianni never really surrendered to the conquerors and as a proof of their way they managed to keep their schools open throughout the Turkish yoke and kept the flame of the nation hidden and openly lit.

The majestic church of Prodromos in Agiannis was renovated and became a patriarchal exarchate in 1638. A very important document of that time is a sigil of 1638. According to this document “the country of Agios Ioannis is declared a crossroads after the church of the same name” and was defined < In the church of Agios Ioannis, the church of Agios Vassilios is subject to the village >>. This proclamation was mediated by Agiannite merchants living in Constantinople.

From the same sigil of 1638 we are informed that Agiannis became a patriarchal exarchate “for the sake of course of the School of Agios Ioannis, operating much older”. According to this passage, a school operated in Agios Ioannis, long before 1638. In Agios Ioannis, there were also “inferior” schools, such as that of Papakiand secret schools, first in the Metochi of the Monastery of Loukous, Agios Dimitrios and later in the narthexes of the churches of the village.

 In 1715, the inhabitants of Agios Ioannis “Nafplio” were allowed to establish a school, which is certainly Agios Ioannis of Arcadia, since during the Venetian occupation, the village belonged ecclesiastically and administratively to Nafplio. This school was “higher” and was called the School of St. John. This school was a forerunner of the historical Karytsiotis School.

In 1765, a school was founded in the church of Agios Dimitrios, part of the Loukous Monastery in Arcadia.

Our great benefactor Dimitrios Karytsiotis <1741-1819> was born in Agios Ioannis <Agiannis> and according to the tradition of Agianniti, he left “with a tsarouchi”. and in 1805 he built in Astros the branch of the School of Agios Ioannis. The school building in Astros now houses the keyed Archaeological Museum of Astros. The school of Karytsioti, operated during the years 1798 – 1826 and gained a great reputation, as students from various parts of Greece gathered.

When Ibrahim in 1826 burned down our homeland and the Karytsiotis school in Koutri in Agiannis, also then there was no state and our politicians were forced to run to the mountains to be saved. Our ancestors, the people of toil and everyday life, did not bend or surrender. They did what they could in the ashes to say in their own way the state is here, as they still offered their homes to be used for schools, after the school in its place had burned down.

“According to the historian Nikolaos I. Floudas, who saved the relevant Agianniti tradition, after the burning of the Karytsiotis School by Ibrahim Pasha, the students were taught in the basement of this mansion (there was a preacher Ioannis Mattheos today under a crypt that reached the neighboring house of Ioannis An. Vlachakis, had at its ends turakia (stone seats), where students were taught) as well as the neighboring mansion of Fourliga (Grigoriou Kourogiorgas).

“The mansion of the Kourogiorgas – Fourliga family in Agios Ioannis. It is located in the place “Elagos – Agios Vassilios”, near the source Soulinari. A lower school of the village was housed here during the Turkish occupation.

The mansion of Agiannitis prostos Ioannis Mattheos today Kourogiorga – Kapila. In the basements and in the crypt of this house, the students of the lower school (housed in the neighboring house of Fourliga) were taught during the invasion of Ibrahim in 1826 “.

“In 1829 in the village there was a Mutual School with about 150 students. In 1867 the so-called “Old School” was built.

In the period 1960 – 1965 a new Primary School was erected In 1867 the so-called “Old School” was built in the neighborhood of Soulinari.

The people of Agianni and Astrin “squid” realized very early, at least 500 years ago, that schools and “letters” were the only way to “change the lives of their children” and gave everything even today to schools and letters.

From the beginning of the revolution in 1821 there were discussions between the protestors and the chiefs to become a government of the Greek revolutionaries that would be based in Agianni. Eventually the Karytsioti school played a primary and decisive role in making Agiannis the capital of revolutionary Greece from August 15 to October 1, 1822. The “government” located very close to the Karytsiotis school of Agiannis was the seat of government. The loopholes under the windows of the building can be seen. Later in 1825 it was also unsuccessfully proposed that Agiannis become the seat of the Greek government again.

Panos (Akouros) Zafeiropoulos, is one of the most important, or rather the most important Agiannitis before the revolution of 1821 and his contribution to the Thyratida Earth and the homeland is incalculable and passed in the fine print of history, is not mentioned in the history books is strangely unknown for its great offers in our country.

The mansion of Zafeiropouloi in Agios Ioannis is located very close below the school Karytsiotis of Agiannis and above the spring Soulinari. Here Akouros saved and temporarily transported the smoked 1500 books of the Karytsiotis school, before transferring them for better protection to the castle of Paralio Astros.

 At the beginning of July 1826, the military corps of Panos Zafeiropoulos slaughtered 400 Arabs in an ambush set up by Mehmet aga of Tripoli. This was a very heavy blow to the Ottomans. That is why Ibrahim Pasha completely destroyed Agios Ioannis and the whole province of Agios Petros ” Ibrahim slaughtered and burned the entire Peloponnese, but was never able to defeat Akuros, although he had temporarily captured him, not even on August 5 and 6, 1826 at the castle of Paralio AstroSomeone had to resist and it is our great honor, that was Panagiotis Zafeiropoulos from Agiannitis (Akouros).

From the burning of the Karytsiotis School in Agiannis, 1500 books were saved, which were kept in 1827 in the house of the Zafeiropouloi (Castle of Paralio Astros). These books were, according to tradition, placed in an old wooden library located in the offices of the School. Many of these books have been saved and recorded today. These books were mostly texts of ancient philosophers and writers, ecclesiastical texts, textbooks of physics, mathematics, etc. “

The historic Agios Ioannis (Agiannis) of Kynouria, was the capital of the Greek state in 1822.

Sources

Astros Kynouria News

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Archaeological Sights and Museums of the Thyreatis Land

The Argolic has enchanting beaches and the “sun and the sea” of the Argolic is charming, whoever comes once after comes constantly.

“With the main feature of the area the” meeting “of the beautiful mountain with the sparkling sea, the Municipality of North Kynouria invites its visitors on a magical journey.”

The most picturesque Paralio Astros, “the island” Paralio Astros, is perched on the hill and the ancients called the hill the “island”. Paralio Astros has nothing to envy from any Aegean island, it has it all, it is only two hours from Athens, it is very close “to the mountain” Parnonas, from its port the access to the “Aegean islands” is easy, is located close to the most important archaeological sites of our country and is very close to the historic Astros, the historic Agiannis and beautiful historical traditional villages.

Portes beach is within walking distance ❤ km> from Astros and <2.5 km> from the port of Paralio Astros, a magical walk.

“At Portes beach ended one of the two drainage canals, built by Bavarian engineers, during the reign of Otto… (The other is our well-known canal from Moustos to the sea). The purpose of the drainage channels was to reduce the area of ​​the Moustos swamp and thus alleviate the problem of malaria, which was the scourge of the area.… The Doors were two iron doors, attached to the three elegant “legs”, which did not block the water of the Moustos to roll in the sea, but when Batis was caught the Doors closed with the blows of the first waves… Thus they prevented the marsh from being refilled with sea water… This project, limiting the extent of the marsh and the problems it created, acted as a catalyst for the development of the whole area ». (The text by our friend Nikos Mylonas)

“We are close to everything and we have it all.”

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Archaeological Sights and Museums of the Thyreatis Land

From our Municipality

The picturesque port of Agios Andreas at a distance of 3 km from the village overlooking the Myrtos Sea. Clear sea for all activities. The port does not have anarchic tourist development and offers relaxation and absolute tranquility. One beach has pebbles and stones and is the children’s favorite, while crossing the river is a second large beach with fine pebbles and transparent waters and a trademark of the ruined windmill that is in the water. The area is known to lovers of water sports, due to the winds, while south of the port there is a rocky shore suitable for spearfishing.

Next to the sea there is the “island of Agios Andreas” where one can see ruins of a cyclopean wall that belong according to the testimonies to the ancient city of Anthini. Parts of the outer precinct with towers of the 5th-4th century are preserved. e.g. Later the city was moved lower to the sea, where Late Roman ruins and additional fortifications from Byzantine times are preserved. Near the castle is preserved half a damaged arched stone bridge.

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Ο “Χερουβικός Ύμνος” όπως ακουγόταν στην ΑΓΙΑ ΣΟΦΙΑ μέχρι το 1453 – YouTube

ΨΑΛΜΩΔΙΕΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΓΙΑ ΣΟΦΙΑ- Έτσι ακούγονταν 1500 χρόνια πριν – YouTube

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On the map above the Byzantine Empire in 555 AD it was at its peak

The three maps brilliantly describe the history lessons that are very relevant today ,the war it is not over…..

On May 29, 1453, “Black Tuesday” and a frustrating day for the Greek nation, Christianity and Western civilization, “Polis Ealo”, the Queen city  was conquered and enslaved by the Ottoman “barbaric” conquerors. The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans was described as “the disgrace of the Latins” because the few fanatics who teach their children hatred of Western civilization have not stopped the war until today and the “west” accepts them without any reaction, ignoring their own fall. it becomes daily inevitable.

“Power wears out and money corrupts” in 1453 and today, we have not forgotten the “all sacrifice” prime ministers of a scorched earth …

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“The Byzantine Empire of the first years of the 13th century was in turmoil and in decline. “The economy was going from bad to worse, corruption in the state apparatus was growing, and the exploitation of the people by state officials and the systematic neglect of the provinces by the emperors had alienated the provinces from the capital.”

Essentially, the end of the Byzantine Empire began in 1204 with the fourth crusade that the “Praetorians” of power invited to the Queen city to take back the lost “spoons” from the other Praetorians. The empire after 1204 was divided into smaller “empires” and incessant civil wars between them from 1204 to 1453. they finally handed over the Queen city to the Ottomans.

Byzantine Empire after 1204 was divided into smaller “empires” and the civils wars were not ended.

The Ottomans, undisturbed by the civil wars between the Praetorian emperors, began their own grand plan to take the city, which had begun before 1204 and was completed almost 300 years later, something the Latins of Disgrace do not understand today. ».

The “marbled King” was eventually left alone with 2,000 mercenaries, 5,000 political guards and 170 Sfakians to defend the city in front of 150,000 fanatical Ottomans.

Earlier, he had outlined the proposal of Mohammed II to surrender the city in exchange for his freedom and the Despotate of Morea.

“And the city is not given to you by me, nor by the other people who live in this common opinion, we all die voluntarily and we do not live our lives.”\7

The Byzantine Empire in 1450 was ready to surrender and be enslaved to its enemies.

The Ottomans working in their plan for 300 years and they never had stop.

It was a “black Tuesday” on May 29, 1453, when Constantine Paleologos, the last emperor of Byzantium, “fell” in front of the Gate of Agios Romanos, defending the Queen.

The heroes of Sfakion continued the resistance and the massacre of the Ottomans even after the fall until the death of the latter.

The “marbled King” emperor Constantine Paleologos exclaimed loudly before his impending death.

 “Do not exists one Christian to take my head from me?”

Four hudrend years later when the Greek revolution in the second year showed the difficulties that existed, our English friends sent an admiral to reconcile the wars. The admiral met the old man of Morias in Nafplio and asked him to reconcile with the Turkish conquerors and the old man of Morias gave the answer.

Below, the old man of Moria says it all in two words.

– We never surrendered, we fought the Turkish conquerors non-stop for four hundred years in the plains and in the mountains, and to better understand the admiral continued. Fire and ax to the collaborators of the conquerors. The admiral understood well and the meeting ended quickly.

On May 29, 1453 “Polis Ealo” but the war by fortunately a few fanatics continues today, let our friends wake up one day in the “west” to avoid their own fall.

Sources

Maps from Vikipedia

See the links for more details.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine%E2%80%93Ottoman_wars

https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%91%CF%85%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%BA%CF%81%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%B1_%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%9D%CE%AF%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%B1%CF%82

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From the COMMISSION “GREECE 2021”

“The” Holy Space “of the 2nd National Assembly of the Greeks” with code GR-01724 in the electronic version of the Committee “Greece2021”

December 2021

The “Greece 2021” Committee was established by a decision of the Prime Minister in order to coordinate the formulation of the TITLE OF PROPOSAL TYPE OF ACTION anniversary program for the celebration of the 200 years after the Revolution of 1821.

To achieve its purpose, the Commission has chosen from the outset to extend an open invitation to all, so that everyone – body, club, organization, company, individual – can suggest how they want to celebrate this unique anniversary. The aim was for the National Program for the Celebration of the 200 years after the Revolution of 1821 to be formed by the society itself. At the same time, the Commission sought the greatest possible participation from all over Greece, as well as from Greeks abroad, but also from the friends of Greece, developing collaborations and mobilizing bodies of Local Government, the Greek Authorities abroad and Hellenes Abroad.

 He set the framework for the anniversary to be celebrated throughout the anniversary year 2021, and to propose actions and events that honor not only the Revolution of 1821 but the entire course of 200 years of modern Greece, as well as the Greeks who they left a strong mark on this process. In addition, in the same context, the Commission sought actions and events that would open up prospects, set goals for Greece’s future course and leave a legacy for the country.

For the submission of proposals, the Commission has developed a special electronic platform, easily accessible through its website. The platform started operating in December 2019 and remained open for submission of proposals until 31 July 2020. Due to the intense interest, the possibility of submitting proposals through a form for another month was given, as announced on the Commission’s website. Self-financed actions continued to be proposed to the Commission throughout 2021.

The response to the Commission’s call exceeded all expectations. A total of 1,827 proposals were submitted to the platform by a variety of bodies, organizations, institutions, companies and individuals, in Greece and abroad, in 47 countries on all five continents.

In order to honor and highlight the wide participation of society as a whole and of each individual, but also to leave a historical record for the future, the Commission presents this digital edition. The publication shall include basic information on the proposals submitted in response to a celebration set out by the Commission and for which the bodies and / or persons who submitted them agreed to be included.

ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΣ_ΠΡΟΤΑΣΕΩΝ_ΠΡΟΣ_ΤΗΝ_ΕΠΙΤΡΟΠΗ_ΕΛΛΑΔΑ_2021.pdf (greece2021.gr)

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To start off the Greece2021 section on this website, we first would like to tell you about the important roles that Astros, Kynourias Agiannis and other places in the area played in the War of Independence, for which we are now celebrating the 200 anniversary or bicentennial.

The plaque shown below was placed on the wall of the “Holly Space” at Astros in 1899, to commemorate the location of the Second National Assembly of the Greeks which took place here from the 30th of March to April 18, 1923.

” In this location, the Second National Assembly of the Greeks took place on March 30, 18 April 1823″

The “Holy Space” of the Second National Assembly of the Greeks is undoubtedly one of the most important historical monuments of the 1821 revolution, not only for Kynouria but also for the Greek homeland, that so many heroes fought to free from the shackles of the Ottoman empire.

Landmarks of 1821- The historic Astros of Kynouria

Astros and its surroundings are widely know because of the Second National Assembly taking place here. But there are still a lot of people who still don’t know its significance in the revolutionary war, and its role in the the subsequent formation of the modern Greek state.

One of our goals with AstrosGreece.gr is to use it as an outlet to share more knowledge and information about the significance of the Second National Assembly of the Greeks in Astros. Aslo for the improvement and acknowledgement of significant things that have bee overlooked or ignored

To that end we’ve done some significant outreach to the authorities over the last years and could use your help in to promote our history.

EVERYONE KNOWS ΑΣΤΡΟΣ ΚΥΝΟYΡΙΑΣ FROM THE SECOND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE GREEKS…

“Greece 2021”
We are pleased to announce “The” Holy Space “of the 2nd National Assembly of the Greeks” and code GR-01724, IT IS HERE IN FRONT OF US

Dear Mr. Kourogiorgas,

We are  pleased to confirm that we have received your proposal entitled "The"  Holy Space "of the 2nd National Assembly of the Greeks" and code  GR-01724, which we intend to include in a special edition that we are  preparing and will include a description of all the proposals identified  with the four axes of the Commission and which contribute to this  common national undertaking on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of  the Revolution of 1821.

Your written consent for this publication, as provided in the current legislation, will be requested in the second year.
With  regard to the possibility of the Commission supporting your proposal,  we will contact you shortly after the final plenary session and the  Commission's assessment of the financial means available.
Thank you very much for your participation in the national call.

Yours sincerely, Eleni Kyprioti
 
Responsible for Managing Platform  Proposals Greece 2021 Committee http://www.greece2021.gr  secretariat@greece2021.gr T: 7002021000, 216000400

We have proposed to our municipality, to all those responsible for the “Greece 2021” committee and to the common mind, the four topics of the Thyrea that undoubtedly played a catalytic importance for the organization and success of the liberation struggle.

These and other things the common mind tells us we must always distinguish and promote in local, regional and national space, and in the website of our municipality and in the anniversary events for the celebration of the 200 years of the Greek Revolution

1. The “Holy Space” of the Second National Assembly of the Greeks

The Archaeological Museum of Astros and the “Sacred Space” of the Second National Assembly of the Greeks are modest and imposing, they are “museums” in themselves.

The assembly responded with the proclamation, to the world and the greats of the time. “We are determined to become independent, as an autonomous and independent nation.” a little topical today…

The indigenous Pelasgians had a golden rule that for millennia until today the inhabitants of Thyrea faithfully applied, mutual respect, consensus, conciliation and the Greek measure. The “squid” Astrinos, faithful to the tradition of millennia of people of the Greek measure and national reconciliation, were called at that time by the nation to compromise the warring camps for a national dialogue and achieved it with results, under the influence and leadership of Agianitis, responsible for military security in time of war of the National Assembly, Panos Zafeiropoulos or Akouros. Astros was chosen for the National Assembly, because in Astros there were many squids and it was undoubtedly a place of common acceptance and would better help the nation.

The Archeological Agency in 1899 built the inscription on the site and the locals after the end of the Second “National Assembly” named the site “Sacred Space”, out of obvious respect, for the great contribution it offered to the Greek Nation. Here, for exaggeration, the “sanctuary” does not have a religious meaning but a National meaning, the place was recognized by the inhabitants as very important, as a “Holy Place”.
The decisions of the National Assembly were very important for the establishment and organization of the Greek State.

2) The Karytsiotis School of Agiannis

From the same sigil of 1638 we are informed that Agiannis became a patriarchal exarchate “for the sake of course of the School of Agios Ioannis, operating much older”. According to this passage, a school operated in Agios Ioannis, long before 1638. In Agios Ioannis, there were also “inferior” schools, such as that of Papakyriakos and secret schools, initially in the Metochi of the Loukous Monastery, Agios Dimitrios and later in the narthexes of the churches of the village.
The people of Agianni never really surrendered to the conquerors and as a proof of their way they managed to keep their schools open throughout the Turkish rule and kept the flame of the nation secretly and openly awaited.

Our great benefactor Dimitrios Karytsiotis <1741-1819> was born in Agios Ioannis and according to the Agianniti tradition, he left “with a tsarouchi”. in which young people from Agios Ioannis, from all over mainland Greece and our islands studied and in 1805 he built the branch of the School of Agios Ioannis in Astros.
The Karytsioti school played a primary and decisive role for Agiannis to become the capital of revolutionary Greece, from August 15 to October 1, 1822 and to hold the Second National Assembly of the Greeks in Astros in 1823. The “government” which is very close in the school of Karytsiotis of Agiannis was the seat of government. Astros is mainly known in our homeland by all Greeks and to expatriates abroad by the Second National Assembly of the Greeks that took place in 1823, for which the whole world knows us. The “squid” Astrinos, from the squid they used to write in the famous School of Karytsioti, offered a lot to the homeland during those difficult moments for our nation when everything was hanging by a thread to drown the revolution in blood. But before the National Assembly, the catalytic construction of the Karytsiotis School had preceded.

3) Agios Ioannis (Agiannis) of Arcadia

From the beginning of the revolution in 1821 there were discussions between the protestors and the chiefs to become a government of the Greek revolutionaries that would be based in Agianni. Eventually the Karytsiotis school played a primary and decisive role in making Agiannis the capital of revolutionary Greece from August 15 to October 1, 1822. The “government” located very close to the Karytsiotis school of Agiannis was the seat of government. The loopholes under the windows of the building can be seen. Later in 1825 it was also unsuccessfully proposed that Agiannis become the seat of the Greek government again.

Panos (Akouros) Zafeiropoulos, is one of the most important, or rather the most important Agiannitis before the revolution of 1821 and his contribution to Thyreatida Earth and his homeland is incalculable and passed in the fine print of history, it is not mentioned in the history books and is strangely unknown for its great offers in our homeland.

4) The “camp of the Bervena”

The battle of May 18, 1821 in historic Vervena and historic Doliana thwarted the dismantling of the camp in Vervena and the plan of the Turks. It also boosted the morale of the revolutionaries and paved the way for the fall of Tripoli. Undoubtedly the “Bervena camp” played a catalytic role in the organization and success of the liberation struggle.
From the “camp of the historical Bervena” the liberation of our homeland began essentially and militarily.
These are a few things about our heroic ancestors, but let’s get to today.

“To realize where we are and to decide where we want to go.” the president of the Committee tells us “Greece 2021 ″ Mrs. Gianna Angelopoulou.” The future is decided today – shaped by the actions of all of us in the present. We all need to be present tomorrow. Only words are not enough for that. Progress requires both effort and manner. He wants the body and the mind to work. The challenges of the future are already here… ” The pretext of the “crack” and the trap of another study (mercy now with the innumerable studies….) Of the pretext of the “static adequacy” of the building of the Archaeological Museum of Astros will not pass in the end, the local community has the first say and the competent eventually they will understand and listen to us, everyone must take on the responsibilities of today…. “Only words are not enough for that.”

“The Holy Space” of the 2nd National Assembly of the Greeks, the courtyard of the school and the Karytsioti School is modest and imposing, it is a “museum” in itself. Marbles and monuments are important and are present in all museums. We have more than monuments this wonderful modest and imposing space, WHICH IS A MUSEUM ON ITSELF, tied to our modern history which not many have. We will open our museum soon.

We have proposed to our municipality, to all those responsible, to the committee “Greece 2021” and to the common mind, the five issues of the Earth Thyreatis, which undoubtedly played a catalytic importance for the organization and success of the liberation struggle.

The most important topics we have in the Thyreatis  Earth and we must always distinguish and promote in the anniversary events of 1821.

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Recently, on August 13, 2021, the cultural center of Agiannis was inaugurated, which includes a folklore museum, a shadow theater exhibition and a lending library.

A wonderful job, as the president of the landscaping association of Agiannis Stratis Dalianis said, is the work of a group of people who helped to make it happen. The members of the landscaping association of Agios Ioannis and the friends of Agiannis, out of love and excessive interest for our village and our place, did what they could with their time and offerings, without powers, static studies and seals. Let them be followed by our competent and other fellow citizens, so that they become more self-evident for our place, such as the final and irreversible opening of the “Holy Space” of the 2nd National Assembly of the Greeks and its promotion on the website of our municipality, and finally, after so many static studies, the opening of the Archaeological Museum of Astros.

The folklore museum is housed in the primary school of Agiannis that was built in the 1960s, at the entrance of the village in Koutri, in the place that was the famous marble School of Karytsioti. Our great benefactor Dimitrios Karytsiotis <1741-1819>, was born in Agios Ioannis <Agiannis> and according to the Agianniti tradition, he left “with one tsarouchi”. Our great benefactor, a powerful Agiannitis patriot of the Diaspora, found a way to allow the 400 years of conquering Turks, before the Greek revolution of 1821, the acquisition and operation of the Karytsiotis school in Agiannis in 1798 and in the Karytsiotis school branch , which opened in 1805.

The museum will be open every day from 6pm to 8pm, otherwise if anyone wants to learn more or visit it can call 6973738850, Mr. Stratis Dalianis.

Also on the 13th of August 2021, in the place Koutri in Agiannis, an event was held by the landscaping association of the village with the theme of Dimitrios Karytsiotis Great Benefactor, School of Karytsioti, Unveiling of his bust.

Our compatriot Nikolaos Barlas, son of Michael from the Diaspora and distant Toronto, Canada, responded to the first call of the president of the landscaping association and financed the bust of Dimitrios Karytsiotis, expressing his love for the place where he lived. Nikos Barlas, a successful businessman in the foreign land he lives in, has from time to time helped other clubs and for that we are grateful and we wish him to be always well and to always have his mind in our village. The club decided to honor Nikos Barlas by appointing him an official member and awards a plaque and a commemorative diploma of honor. At this point, the niece of Nikos Barlas received the commemorative plaque and the diploma of honor and with the request to convey to her uncle the love and gratitude of the people of Agianni to him. Then the unveiling of the bust of Dimitrios Karytsiotis took place.

It is relevant to our topic how the Astros Museum started and operated in the 1950s and 1960s, our late fellow citizen “ancient Greek” our respected professor Kyriakos (Koulis) Hasapogiannis. The idea of ​​the Astros Museum was started and became a reality by our late respected professor (it was not “transformed” by anyone, it was “made” by our late respected professor). In the 1950s and 1960s Astros had a museum and today the Archaeological Museum of Astros remains closed after the pretext of the crack and with the trap of studying the pretext of static adequacy. At the same time, our municipality “forgot” the creation and catalytic offer for the Astros museum of our respected professor Kyriakos (Kouli) Hasapogiannis and distinguishes unjustifiably and narrow-mindedly on the website of our municipality by chance employees of the Ministry of Culture in 1985, let there be a museum 1950.

Our fellow citizens, members of the landscaping association of Agiannis, friends of Agiannis and the Agiannites of the diaspora practically take in their hands what belongs to them, do not wait for the Ministry of Culture and the authorities to “study” them, approve and seal them. As they did recently in Agiannis and as our professor did in the 1960s, they will soon open the “Holy Space” of the Second National Assembly of the Greeks and the Archaeological Museum of Astros, there are no more unjustified excuses and pretexts.

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Agiannis was the capital of Greece of the Provisional Government of the Revolution, from August 15 to October 1 and the neighborhood of Soulinari was the metropolis of Agiannis. “The church of Agios Vassilios was a large church which was located at the bottom of the village and specifically at the place of Matthew and near the source of Soulinari. The church, which was the metropolis of the church, was completely destroyed in 1826 and in its place today a simple shrine has been erected. many mansions of important Agiannites (such as Perros, Sarigiannis, Matthew etc. (of the Zafeiropoula brothers)) and various churches (Agios Efstratios and Agios Petros) ”, by our fellow citizen Giannis D. Kourbelis

In the summers when the village was “full”, many residents came for holidays, in Soulinari we had a festival every day. It was very crowded with about 20-30 people, who waited 2-3 hours sometimes for their turn to get water with the linens, the tessas and the barrels loaded on the donkeys. It was a pleasant social event and the gossip from the women “go cloud”, who looked at who and the like. Many went more for the gossip and supposedly for water with a small pitcher. Sometimes my grandfather would send me to the tap for “some cool water” and I would go with a very small pitcher, a clever trick, and the women who were waiting to fill their barrels would leave me first, since “I had a small pitcher”…, but most likely and for not listening to gossip.

The young men and women of the village also went to Soulinari for strange hours for a bridal market, to go elsewhere .., they went for water and they were very thirsty and when they were lucky and there were no people, they felt the first heartbeats. The young people then always made the first move, indicatively with the following ..

From Smaragdi Arvaniti.

“In Agiannis there is water, they call it Soulinari,

and whoever suffers from love to go and drink, to become!

My little Agiannitopoulos, you have burned my heart “.

And so that there is no doubt they continued their siege

“In Agiannis I fell in love with a partridge,

in Agiannis my sweetheart is imprisoned.

I will take Agiannitissa to fall and die! “

http://www.arcadians.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=242:p-&catid=89

The little water that ran at night, when the residents did not get it, we share with the barber Theodore Maglis, for watering our orchards and trees in front of the house. There was a small concrete ditch and our own small cistern made by my “versatile” grandfather. In the orchard we had tomatoes, zucchini, beans, cucumbers, aubergines, okra, maize, we even watered the large arbor about 30-40? meters that made beautiful grapes, heptakilia, aetonychia and the red agiodimitri, and our figs, how not to love Soulinari…

We are lucky that our house was close to Soulinari. At night, my mother, who was not very crowded, would carry water with the tassels and the tins for washing clothes and would fill the two cauldrons that were in our yard under the mulberries, when when I helped too. Once our teacher Tassos Kalfagiannis inspected us at the school for cleanliness, I would have been 7-8 years old then. Most of us went to school barefoot. When he reached me he told me to go home to wash my feet. I run to our house and dip my feet in the cauldrons that had water for washing. and on the way to school, my mother shouted from behind “Turkish boy” you ruined my water. I go to school my feet as they were wet were filled with dust, street gallows and when the teacher saw me like that he laughed non-stop, well done you washed them nicely, but next time your mother washes them

Just above Soulinari was the house of Tsaroucha who came in the summers, he was very old in the 80’s, and he played music non-stop even at noon with a musical instrument that he played on foot, a lantern? I did not know his name. On the roof of this house once around Easter, the tsarouchas had not come yet, all the children of the neighborhood <girls and boys> had a party and danced, I was very young, suddenly the dancers inadvertently pushed me under the roof in Soulinari, but hard nut I did not suffer anything, I was accustomed to the hardships. , it seems that Santa Claus saved me that time .. Once again I had straightened Sourlis’ elbow in the well with my head, I still have the marks, when the oss of our donkey was cut or my echo

Someone called me and knocked me down. the cork, or both together, I do not remember what we called them.

Since we are talking about caravan and cork, the best was when I was carrying the bundles from our fields to the “kakoleo” with our mules. russia and cobra. My father would load them for me and wait for me in our fields, and I would manage to get rid of them and put them hard on our lawn. On the way back I was enjoying the carriage, as if once the cobra loaded with limbs in the xerokambi turned me over and I cut the ingla with rags and I came back empty-handed and scared, but my father welcomed me with a smile, as I always did.

We had our policies even then. Once my mother, above our oven in the fig tree, was caught by the hair with her neighbor with a lot of French… because the neighbor wanted us to let old Kapyla, my grandfather’s brother, vote for her party. When I was very young I was sitting with the old man Kapyla, barba Costa Kourogiorga, on our porch, he could not move because he was crippled, he had fallen from his arbor on the terrace with the stones behind our house, and we were enjoying the spectacle, it was nothing Dozens of women and men who were trying to separate them, but were holding their hair tightly .. Natos and the barba Giannis Stathogiannis, almost squealing, were very old, over our cistern on the side of the road to Soulinari he was coming with his big mustache and his white hair with a curl up and he was shouting loudly \

Fortunately, at that time, Pagios came again, he was coming from Soulinari, he would be in Xerokambi, riding a horse with also a big mustache and white hair, with the tsemberi tied like a fez and his dark fustanelles and behind him with many mules loaded on foot about a dozen servants of Agiopetrites. Do you want out of respect for Pagios to pass or did they get bored of the debauchery, the battle stopped, and those involved withdrew, continuing their French, and Barba Kapylas made his cross ..\

The former house of Panagiotis Giannoukos (Pagiou), benefactor of the community of Astros. This mansion belonged to Agiannitis, a friendly and friendly Panos Sarigiannis. Panos Sarigiannis was one of the most important personalities that Agios Ioannis has highlighted. He was the son-in-law of the also prominent Anagnostis Papazoglou, the protagonist of the struggle, with active participation in the It is located at the bottom of the village, between the Old School and the Soulinari spring. A few meters lower were the ruins of St. Basil, once the metropolis of St. John, which was completely destroyed by Ibrahim in 1826. This building has a large size and impressive dome. Next to this house there are the mansions of Perros and Matthew “, by our fellow citizen Giannis D. Kourbelis

“The mansion of the Kourogiorgas – Fourliga family in Agios Ioannis. It is located in the place “Elagos – Agios Vassilios”, near the source Soulinari. A lower school of the village was housed here during the Turkish occupation “

When Ibrahim in the revolution in 1826 burned down our homeland and the school of Karytsiotis in Koutri in Agiannis, also then there was no state and our politicians were forced to run to the mountains to be saved. Our ancestors, the people of toil and everyday life, did not bend or surrender. They did what they could in the ashes to say in their own way the state is here, as they still offered their homes to be used for schools, after the school in its place had burned down.

Our house was relatively large, had a large loggia in front and a wooden balcony downstairs where our threshing floor was located on the border with the area of ​​Santa Claus. It had a large linen of about 25 sq.m. My grandfather Michalis Stravosogias was always in front of such people, he was always in front of them for such things, singing them with his stories. Knowing the place, I guess linen was the school room in 18 they were finished with the sea bream we were looking forward to playing with the sea bream, we are leaning and belly up to the threshing floor. It also had the basement, about 20 sq.m. under the winter house, which was something like a hiding place since there was a waterfall with a vertical staircase from the winter house, and the stones from the wall that were built quickly in an emergency or in possession of the small inner door so that nothing but a wall could be seen, is still inside our homes. You should have known to find the one covered under the chest and a rag and shaker to enter the basement. In the 1950s we had two large wine barrels in the basement, for about twelve barrels of wine, two meters long and almost two meters high, which I stepped in to clean in the fall. one still exists today. In the neighboring house of Kapylas, old of Matthew, there was a similar hiding place that some said reached the hiding place of the forerunner ???. Before the harvesters came, our threshing floor was used by many neighbors for threshing, I remember 20? piles around. The good thing was for fun we slept on the lawns and at night we listened to the stories about ghosts and fairies from the older neighbors. We were fed up with threshing when we were threshing, with mules and horses crawling around, and many times we crawled behind the haystack in the straw, but you had to be very fast if you fell because the mules would step on you, that’s why my uncle Costas Kourogiorgas the joke, leather strap. saying “sputum” you will leave as if the mules are pressing. In front of our house was Soulinari, below the border with the threshing floor is the area of ​​Agios Vassilis, behind the mansions of Matthew, Barleika, Pagios, Perros, then two houses, after the old primary school and more beyond the neighborhood of Prodromos, other houses and Prodromos. This was the Soulinari neighborhood.

The mansion of Matthew with its peculiar big chimney, which had the underground large crypt, today owned by Kapyla (descendants of Kostas Kourogiorgas).

In the 1950s it was beautiful in the village. There was excellent social contact and mutual respect with everyone and everything, at festivals, in churches, in daily life in the precincts of the precursor and in Soulinari, in joys and sorrows. We respect the elders, they were all barbarians and aunts (uncles) and aunts).

During the holidays we wore our “goodies”, we went to the church and to the dances, which everyone danced in the square, if we had any drachma we drank an orange juice. We are happy and happy for what we had and we did not know better, nor did we want to know. We had it all and it was enough, they just did not have money but we do not need it… ..

Personally, I did not feel comfortable during the festivities and the big riots with my ornaments and my “good”. I felt better and I preferred to go to the “tsoulaftra” for watering and to play with the neighbors with the tsipoura, the letharia and the soil in Soulinari.

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5-6 years ago we published the following, today it seems something is finally happening or will happen soon, after all the obstacles collapsed. With a few small changes we publish them again, because we believe they are still relevant today.

We recently read about the small problems with the road signs, which we are still waiting to be corrected, better late than never, because they are very important for our visitors, certainly not so important for the competent and locals who know where to go without looking at them. our road signs, and we ask everyone who knows about these mistakes to report them to the competent service of the municipality, someone has to do it, no autopilot will do it, maybe the municipality does not know them or forgot them to correct them We want to believe that one day the municipality will understand these small mistakes are very important and we will not forget them ……….

We remembered that it was Astros in the sixties that everything changed drastically and so hastily, as if everything happened in the sixties.

In the sixties many great changes took place in our daily lives locally, nationally and globally. This “generation of sixty” decided to change everything everywhere. Let us mention some such as May 68, Che, the peace movements, the emancipation of women, the hippies who used to tell us every day “Make Love, not War”, “socialism with a human face” by Dubeskek and the insight of Willy Brandt At the national level, the dictatorship of 1967 stopped the social and political changes and temporarily put this “generation of sixty” in plaster, killed its Levantine soul and restored the morale of the cops and collaborators with the known results. We will leave the global and national for others and for the past. Let us come to Astraina of the sixties.

Here the idea of ​​the Astros Museum was built by the “ancient Greek” Koulis Hasapogiannis, (these we had, we could always do with “measure”, these we did)

The Astros Museum

Astros before 1960 had a museum and promoted as much as possible our cultural heritage. In the photo above is “the first Astros museum as it was before the demolition. Here the “ancient Greek” Koulis Hasapogiannis built the idea of ​​the Astros Museum, carried the marble statues with his fellow villagers and sometimes asked for the help of Panos Kampilis, who was younger and stronger, to raise them on the staircase. His age also caught him ostensibly from one end to help. The railings on the windows for safety by the archaeologists were not put by Karytsiotis or the agronomist and gardeners of the garden, they were put by his hands μας our late professor and inspected them every time he opened the Astros Museum.

The Karytsioti School became the Astros Museum and served the place beautifully for several years, (we had these, we could always do this with “measure”, we did these), until it became the “pretext of the crack” and closed indefinitely.

I’m sure if he lived today, he would gather us all in the square, give us a nice festive speech and put us all in front with trowels and cement to close the “pretext of the crack” today …… Everyone, the mayor in front, would have him convince him certainly would not disappoint him. He would sit next to you and do whatever he could to help or stir the mud, but more to make sure we did a good job and finished it, today.

The “ancient Greek” Koulis Hasapogiannis, was accidentally born 2,500 years later. His whole social and professional life was full of “mutual respect”, “Greek measure”, unparalleled “ethos”, and “excessive courtesy” for the smallest detail, even when some of his students teased him, he smiled sweetly and politely and he quickly turned to his own subject so that the students could learn something, even though they wanted a break…. , these were our teachers. ”

Today we do not have a museum and today we do not want to promote our cultural heritage, because we let some “stupid employees”, as one of our great poets used to say, insist on having closed and inaccessible today, not only the Museum, but still without any excuse the pretext and the “Sacred Space” of the Second National Assembly of the Greeks.

Today the head of EFARK, Ephorate of Antiquities of Arcadia, decided without any excuse and does not want anyone to see the walls and an inscription of the archeological service of the “Sacred Space” of the Second National Assembly of the Greeks, nothing else exists in this area, and this in her opinion highlights our cultural heritage. We do not understand this persistence, crookedness and narrow-mindedness.

We know that we “must build Romeiko in the space and sector in which we are” and we must all take public positions on all issues. We wonder why until today the local “leadership”, our elected representatives, the mayor, the regional governor and our deputies do not make a public intervention to the competent “stupid officials” and on the issue of the “Sacred Space” of the Second National Assembly of the Greeks. At least let us tell them their position publicly. We will soon find them in front of our elected representatives.

In the final analysis, not all these “competent” people do nothing, but it is our fault that we allow them and as we understand, they will soon take their place.

We do not understand why “the stones do not rise” to open the “Holy Space” permanently and irrevocably.

The water

The whole village before the sixties had 3-4 fountains. We went with the barrels and the sinks very far for water. Around sixty they brought fountains all over the village in every neighborhood and slowly added water to the houses later. With the water, the village slowly changed, the inhabitants planted the first oranges and cultivated their pergolas.

The “farm”, the large space that starts from where OTE is located, and this space belonged to the farm, to the cemetery and from “west to east”, with all the schools, stadiums and squares, its space Zafeiris Foundation, were donated by the biggest benefactor of our place D. Karytsiotis to the School to pay for tuition the teachers of the school with the fruits and the fruits of the “farm” such as grapes, medlars. The water was also brought by Karytsiotis from the “manna of water”, above Loukou, with a stone spit, (aqueduct) that still exists, so that the village has water and the farm garden is watered so that the School is open . ”

At this point of the aqueduct it had been spread by the older and the younger ότι. That Karytsiotis had given instructions to the Arab keeper and gardener of the garden “to cut the water” from the village, when he learned the Astros museum was closed. Of course he would pass the farm back because there was no reason for the residents to have it anymore. Two hundred years ago the great benefactor brought us water for the village, gave us the farm and built the school. Today, two hundred years later, we are not even worthy to open the “sacred space”, let alone the museum, which we left to be demolished ten years ago….

Electricity

Electricity also came around sixty. I still remember reading with the oil lamps and the lamps.

The streets, The society and the politics of the time

After the water and the electricity, it was time to open the roads, another great work of the time. Before the sixties in Astros there were three taxis and 2-3 trucks, people were moving by buses, in Agiannis There were two buses upstairs and two downstairs. Children in Agiannis we went on foot. Let us remember how the roads were made.

Let us say a few words about the society and politics of the time to better understand what we are saying. After the occupation, the civil war and the guerrillas, the people of toil closed themselves to survive one more day. The left was now defeated and chased in relentless persecution. The democratic faction was frightened and also persecuted by the dictatorship of Metaxas and the civil war, it was questioned and despised by the establishment. The right was in its greatness.

The deputies of Arkadia in 1958 were the 6 of the right-wing EPE, Triantaphyllakos, Papailiou, Aposkitis, Michas, Pavlopoulos, Kalteziotis, Papadimitriou, and N. Bakopoulos of the Democratic Party, Liberal Party and in 1961 the E, T Aposkitis, Michas, Pavlopoulos, one of the right-wing Markezini Tsakalos KP and one the democratic N. Bakopoulos EK. The numbers tell the truth convincingly, no analysis is needed. At that time, the leftists in Astros were counted on the fingers of “one hand”, leftists, there were no communists then, because the word was “myasma”, no one said that word. The Democrats were a little more numerous, but most of them for the sake of survival hid and read the Democratic newspapers secretly or folded them in when they bought them so that they would not be seen. Astros was more right-wing than Arcadia and almost everyone in Astros voted for Dimitraki and Apostoli, say about 80% and almost all the other right-wing party leaders…. At that time, the village was ruled by Dimitrakis Efthymiou and Apostolis Hasapogiannis. They were the two “big party leaders” of the village, there were other small party leaders, who as more affluent had many political friends, some of whom worked part-time in their jobs and out of obligation always voted for their friends, the powerful political deputies for many years. .Triantaphyllako and E. Papailiou, father of the current MP Arkadia of SYRIZA, here we are not talking about nepotism and family rule, but the people say in similar cases “the kingdom goes to work” …… Although Dimitrakis and Apostolis belonged to the same party of the right (EPE) were fierce enemies for their own reasons, perhaps for the plots they shared. They and their friends, or as their leaders or minions called them, hardly talked to each other, they were political opponents.

Then a miracle of unity and understanding took place. Dimitrakis and Apostolis agreed to make Saranto Kanellopoulos, a left-wing communist, not an “initiated” communist, president of the community, to do any work. Sarantos was “a leftist ideologue, but respected by the inhabitants..His first job was to open the streets. He would go in front of the bulldozer with the cigarette in his mouth and a chisel and say to the bulldozer “varto, varto” .. to throw the olives. , and kept Sarando for good and for bad for his boss Dimitrakis. In fact, a cousin of my uncle, let’s not say names, took him to court because he opened the way for him to pass and the judge assumed and asked the cousin “there is his house across the street, he also cut from his own field” the cousin as she was honest without thinking he confessed “he cut more of his own” which was the truth, and so the judge easily concluded “the accused is innocent”, with the cousin looking curious .. My father came from Agiannis and saw the hatred Our pergola was missing the fence spikes, the zucchini and the “batakes” were on the way down the road. My Uncle had overdone it. He disliked the trout and the zucchini, but he liked the road, as a progressive man he was he laughed with joy, he could not go and his brother to the courts.  Besides, my grandfather built the house at this point in 1915 and had entered a lot since then, on the contrary, many did and let them have space, once the road in front of our house used to pass by with difficulty only a donkey loaded…. So somehow fortunately the roads we have today opened ..

Paralio Astros in the 1950’s

The Karella factory

I happened to be present when the late Tzimis Gardikiotis and Alkis Hasapogiannis both started with a lot of passion and love for the place the first conversations in the late sixties to build a factory in Astros “for the good of the village” the factory became later and changed the village.

University fees have been abolished

We mention this here, let it not be a local issue, because it had very great, I would say indescribable effects on the Greek and local society.

In November 1963, the Democratic Party and the old man of democracy won the national elections and the old man of democracy, under the influence of E. Papanoutsos, abolished the tuition fees for the universities. Then, in order to go to university for a year, your father had to sell a field if he had one. As a result, all the toiling people could now more easily educate their children to change their lives. When I finished high school we are 40 students and I think 36-38 went to universities, in Law we are 6.

The names of the streets

I do not know what happened to the street names, I did not follow that, and I’m sure, mistakes would be made that we can correct later, we all have to have suggestions. I will be allowed to suggest some street names that I consider important, if they have not been made and do not exist, I hope that those in charge will take them into account in the future.

We must have a road in Astros called.

Giannis Mattheou, Kyriakou Hasapogianni, Sarantou Kanellopoulos, Tzimis Gardikiotis. (the street that is our home), Alki Hasapogianni

These names are with us, they are full of Astros, let’s say otherwise there can be no Astros without… .Kyriakos Hasapogiannis… ..My uncle vice-president, I will not mention him for anti-nepotist reasons, let his cousin’s descendants mention him ……….

astrosgr.com/en / John Koutogiorgas

Astros and the Karella factory, let us thank Tzimis Gardikiotis and Alkis Hasapogiannis.

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“Panos Kon. Barlas or Katsianos plays the clarinet next to George Fot. Γαΐτάνης. “

The photo is from the website Θυρεατις γη (βορεια κυνουρια

Barba Panos Barlas or Katsianos was a real helper, without knowing who Epikouros was, who played the clarinet in Agianni in the fifties to entertain himself more and less his fellow villagers. His house was next to the traditional guesthouse “Fountas”

Barba Panos decided with his savings from the clarinet to acquire a ribbon, a small carpentry craft for the younger ones, next to his house which was a rock, so that he could easily supervise.

The work on the ribbon was done by his two older children, the work was good and they needed more space to expand their industry. Barba Panos supervised everything and caught a board in grace and appearance.

Then he decided to build a carriage, which was a larger cart, with two large wheels, to throw away the soil and rock that his children dug almost every day for about 20 years to grow the area of ​​the ribbon, where today is traditional hostel “tassel”.

Loufolias did a lot of work, for a glass of wine or 2-3 cigarettes, from time to time and for a plate of cuts. Loufolias, when he did not carry the trumpets from Karamatzanis alone today on the ribbon, very large wood for planks, carried by 2-3 people normally if Loufolias did not want, most of the time he worked the cart and threw the soil and the rocks outside the village, on the side of the road in Perdikoneri.

But Barba Panos was forward-thinking and had reserves.

Plastira was putting Giannis Koutivas to pick up other children and throwing some carts, because Loufolias would be drunk somewhere.

The plan was for everyone to push or pull the loaded body up to the peridoneri, you could see maggofa uphill, and on the way back everyone went up to the body and Plastiras confidently and confidently led the body downhill back to the ribbon quickly to catch up and we go many times… ..

One fine summer day, when I beat all the players of Plastira behind the school of Agiannis, we had to go late to the ribbon of Barba Panos, it was arranged.

We went out to the pond and gathered about a dozen children to help us take the carriage to the perdikoneri and the maggoufa uphill, mostly younger ones I do not remember now. Was it written that day to stop temporarily or for a few years…? Barba Panos’s plan to grow the ribbon, I think the program stopped that day.

Plastiras was driving the carriage full of children too fast, from his coffin that he lost the players earlier, a very big case, or because we were late, his carriage left at the turn that was the hut of Loufolias and the side over the Canelias’s house, fortunately no one died or was seriously injured and the wheels got lost in the paddocks in the mills under the forecourt, they are still rolling… and Barba Panos’ body became a mess.

Little by little, all of us limping and groaning, we kicked her under the lacquer, so that Barba Panos would not take us for granted, and we left him waiting for the carriage, which you could see, and other soils that he left necessarily and definitively for Founta.

Let us mention here something about the organ players and a nice story.

The ones I remember are Barba Panos Kon. Barlas or Katsianos ►8 on the clarinet that he always played with fun, in times of need his brother Barba Mitsios- Mitsiaronis also helped. Tassis Dikaios – Drapetis – on the lute, Marinos Aloupogiannis on the violin, Sakkas (Tassis Kon Barlas) on the pipe and Lampis Kampilis on the drum.

From the surrounding villages the most famous were Angelletos or Bahatis from Meligou on clarinet, barba Giannis Mourloukos or Seliverdes from Verneva on lute and Perrai from Platanos on violin.

But let’s say something about Barba Panos Katsianos. He was a very gentle and happy man with what he had. He told us that he had never been ill, had never had a headache and had never taken medication or aspirin. In the summer evenings we took him for chants to Agiannis guys then. He was very happy to play the clarinet with us for many hours.

Stratis Dalianis or Lokanikas, an old mayor, was collecting money from everyone to pay Barba Panos. I remember once he had a penny (50 drachmas) and he put it in a pocket of Barba Panos. After a while he would take it and put it in the other pocket and he did it all night to make Barba Pano believe that he was putting a lot of money into it.

Of course, Barba Panos understood that, but he continued the clarinet with joy the next day when he finally found it. the fifty asked us on the ribbon we were going when we were going to sing. He wanted to play the clarinet and enjoy watching everyone have fun.

At that time, at the festivals, everyone danced together in Agiorgis Square, let’s say without exaggeration, and 100 people danced together. Anyone who had money and was anxious – got into fun and threw something for the instruments.

Later, Bahatis from Meligou, after each dance after each song, played the clarinet for a long time to give him money to play and dance. This tuning had been exaggerated, which people no longer wanted, but it gradually became a habit for everyone.

Once it was Easter days and people were dancing in Agiorgi next to the mulberries and then the other organ players started playing for money and since no one was throwing anything because they could not, with the loud crowd, who usually spoke very slowly, hear it everyone, Barba Panos Katsianos, said: “You guys are dancing, let the world dance in the air, we are selling them !!!” and he started playing alone and then the others followed him what to do. ”

Since we mentioned our friend Plastiras, who greeted us for the other world, I remembered another short story. Plastiras, Stelios Katsianos, who also greeted us for the other world, Giannis my cousin Lefikis, and I Giannis the Lord, we had good company, we smoked in the house of Korobokos which was closed under Katsianos…. and at noon we went for nuts and cucumbers to the pergolas in the mills, everyone slept at noon and whoever gets the grace…. the guard Tsioros and Matzouranis did not catch us with anything., that we did not eat we played in the mantra of Prodromos until the final victory and at the end everything was taken by a lucky person of the day. My cousin John left for Canada when he was young and when he returned after many years he found his company. old friend and after they kissed warmly he said.

Look at “the chief thief <he meant the nuts ,,,> they called him chief warden” and they started laughing non-stop that they remembered our glorious days ..

I do not think it resembles anything today ………

astrosgr.com/en / John Koutogiorgas

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