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Modern Description: Due south of Yria, and accessible from the road from Vivlos to Plaka beach (on a hillside to the north, 1.5km west of Vivlos) is the Hellenistic tower of Palaiopyrgos. The building is about 11m square; one wall stands, until the next earthquake at least, to about 6 meters. It is constructed in isodomic granite masonry that suggests a date of the late 4th century BC. Its position would appear to preclude its having been a watchtower: the site of the windmills above would have been more appropriate for that. It must represent a fortified rural building whose purpose was to survey and protect the productive valley of Plaka below. About 450 meters SW on the same road lies the church of Aghios Matthaios (locked), built on the site of an Early Christian basilica; vestiges of mosaic floor and a baptismal font survive on site. Architectural marbles suggest a pre-Christian sanctuary, perhaps related to a small harbor in Classical times before the valley silted up. Three kilometres south of Vivlos (formerly called ‘Tripodes') is the church of Aghios Ioannis Theológos Kaknádou (O), with 13th century paintings of distinctive style and chromatic range.
Wikidata ID: Q130303475

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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