Oral History / Kapsali

"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity."
Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC), Pro Publio Sestio

There are many categories in this section - they are now visible in the navigation on the left. By choosing any one of them you can view the entries, and by clicking on the add to... links at the top right of each category page, you can easily submit your own entry.

Please note! There are dozens of historic and fascinating photographs to be found in the Kythera Cultural Archive section of this site.

History > Oral History

submitted by Nikos Sotirxos on 15.01.2005

The pentagon of Aphrodite

History or legend tells of there once being a beautiful building, shaped like a pentagon, somewhere above the gully just before Kapsali. In this building was the statue of Aphrodite, and from under her big toe water sprang and flowed down into the gully, and from there into a common garden where large wash basins had been built and where the women of the village would go to do their washing, soaping and rinsing in separate basins.
With time, earthquakes, avalanches and rain it has all been ...

History > Oral History

submitted by Nikos Sotirxos on 30.03.2005

The naming of rocky places.

Της γριάς το πήδημα- the old lady’s jump: given it’s name after an old woman jumped from the rocks, in what was assumed to be suicide.
Κακόπλακα- “bad” plaque: the place where, in olden times, people collected a specific mineral that, when ground to dust, was used as cement on the houses.
Μελιδόνι: it is assumed that, as the first synthetic of the word is “meli” meaning honey, the name was derived from either the finding of honey or from ...

History > Oral History

submitted by Nikos Sotirxos on 15.01.2005

A piece of history from St. John monastery in Kapsali

St. John the theologian, before his last revelation in Patmos, spent a while with the monks of the monastery that later received his name in Kapsali, Kythera, and it is said that as a visitor enters the cave there is a small hole dug into the rock where he crushed his tobacco!
The monastery had land, the land that is now the camping site, most of the forest above Kapsali, as well as a tree-free plot where the monks grew the corn to make the bread that along with olive oil made up the better ...