---

Modern Description: Unusual is the 3rd century BC Tomb of Harmylos, uphill from the plateia in the southeast corner of Pyli village (follow signs). This is an uncommon example of semicircular ancient Greek vaulting, achieved with expertly shaped masonry, and here used to cover a hypogeum with 12 burial loculi. The Greeks used the arch sparingly in their architecture, but understood its design perfectly nonetheless. The Ionic monument which once marked this important tomb or heroön, has been dismantled and re-used in the tiny church of the Tímios Stávros above. The templon screen is formed from two huge blocks erected vertically; to the left of the entrance door are two exquisite fragments of carved Ionic cornice with a complex design of egg-and-dart, and palmette runs; beside are two rosette volutes, and above a slab carved with a Byzantine cross; and to the right of the door is an inscribed stone, set horizontally, referring to Harmylos and the Harmylii clan. Harmylos was a legendary ancestral king of Cos, and this monument may have been a dynastic monument for the family who claimed descent from him.
Wikidata ID: Q83731063

Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands

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

---