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Modern Description: From Arkesíni the road continues west and descends to Kolophána (22km): to the right, below the road (400m before Kolophána) are some ruined buildings with a small, white, flat-roofed structure in their midst. This is the remarkable church of the Panaghia tou Polití (also known locally as the ‘Panaghia Giorgianí'): once a small temple in the midst of a protected and fertile area, it is now a chapel with three ancient columns and capitals (2 Doric, 1 Ionic) supporting a roof of ancient stone rafters. All around the immediate area lie other fragments of column bases, capitals, altars and part of an antique, stone olive-press. The track which branches north from Kolophána leads a further 2.5km to Káto Kámbos Bay—the only truly protected inlet at this end of the island. It is a well-hidden haven at the head of a protected creek, with fertile fields directly behind the shore. The secluded coastal site is typical of those favoured by Early Christian communities for their churches, and it is no surprise to find that the chapel of Aghios Ioannis Theologos at the eastern side of the inlet is built into what remains of the east end of an Early Christian basilica. There are steps cut into the rock and many ancient spolia, including straight-fluted and twist-fluted columns, both inside the chapel and in the immediate area. A fine early Christian capital has been set on end in the stone wall to the south of the chapel. Even the small, 1950s church of the Dormition of the Virgin, on the water front to the west, includes a section of frieze with triglyphs in its front wall.

Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands

(From McGilchrist’s Greek Islands, © Nigel McGilchrist 2010, excerpted with his gracious permission. Click for the books)

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