Modern Description:
The main road which descends from the central square of Ambelákia towards the southeast passes (left) the attractive 15th century chapel of Aghios Ioannis Pródromos, which possesses a painted iconostasis in masonry and remains of late mediaeval murals in the apse. The tiny, rectangular interior is surmounted by a transverse barrel-vault. On the south side of the bay, as the road climbs over a low ridge, a left turn leads down the long Kynósoura peninsula, stretching over 2 km out into the strait towards the Attic coast. On its north side, 1 km along the headland beside the entrance to a large shipyard, is the ancient polyandrion, or communal grave, of the Greeks who fell in the Battle of Salamis. The mound is clearly visible, overlooking the straits where the battle took place and directly opposite the south slope of Mount Aigaleo on the mainland, where Xerxes reputedly sat watching the rout of his fleet. Though marked today with a recent monument (2006), little remains of any comprehensible ancient structure, although in antiquity a trophy had been set up nearby, connected to a cult of Zeus. Below the circumference of the mound graves have been found of the late 5th century BC. Plutarch says that another trophy was set up on the islet of Psyttaleia which lies just off the tip of Kynósoura to the east, half way between Salamis and Piraeus. The islet played an important role in the Battle of Salamis: a Persian force of infantry, evidently comprising many aristocrats, was stationed there by Xerxes, which late on in the battle was annihilated to a man by Athenians under the command of Aristeides. Ancient writers refer to the islet as a place of worship of Pan; but today, its entire surface has been artificially levelled so as to accommodate the largest sewage processing plant in Europe. The identification of the reef as the Psyttaleia mentioned in ancient sources has been disputed in the past. The islet's modern name is Lipsokoutali, meaning something akin to a ‘broken spoon': this is probably a corruption of a Venetian version of the name as ‘[L]i Psoutali'. The ridge of Kynosoura is a good point from which to view the area where the Battle of Salamis took place.
Wikidata ID: Q111709040Trismegistos Geo: 60794DARE: 46605
Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands 
(From McGilchrist’s Greek Islands, © Nigel McGilchrist 2010, excerpted with his gracious permission. Click for the books)
