Kondias

The village of Kontias formed a community initially under the name Kondias, later renamed Kontias. Its name derived from the Byzantine landowner of the area, Konteas. According to oral accounts, the village originally lay near the sea but was abandoned due to pirate raids. The old location may correspond to Nevgati, where there was a church and some serfs lived. However, a likelier site is the little harbor of Agios Giannis in the Gulf of Kontias, where a ruined castle remains. In 1785 we have the first modern reference to the village at its present location. The oldest church is St. John the Forerunner, estimated to have been built in the 16th century. In 1867 the parish church of St. Demetrios was built—imposing, with an impressive stone bell tower of later construction. Another church, the Nativity of Christ, formerly belonging to the Lavra monastery’s metochi, burned down and was rebuilt in 1938.