Ovriokastro of Ancient Antissa

The Castle of Agioi Theodoroi, known today as Evraiokastro, Ovriokastro or Vriokastro, lies on the island’s northwestern coast on a small peninsula which, together with the rocky acropolis to the south, formed the main area where the ancient city of Antissa was founded and flourished from the end of the 2nd millennium BC onwards. In the Byzantine period the medieval settlement of Agioi Theodoroi became a significant township, protected by its namesake fortified castle. Ovriokastro was strengthened by the Gattilusi in 1355–1462, but after the Ottoman conquest of Lesvos in 1462 it was abandoned and destroyed. The Castle of Agioi Theodoroi was the third largest and most important of the island’s medieval castles.