Pylaros ( el, Πύλαρος) is a former municipality on the island of

Kefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chio ...

, Ionian Islands,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the north-central part of the island. It has a land area of 81.112 km² and a population of 1,391 inhabitants (2011 census). The seat of the municipality and largest town is Agia Effimia (pop. 432).

Geography

In the north Pylaros borders on the municipal unit of Erisos, and on the border lies Kalo Mountain (901m) and

Cape Agriosyko A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

. In the south it borders on the municipal units of

Argostoli Argostoli ( el, Αργοστόλι, Katharevousa: Ἀργοστόλιον) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the isla ...

and

, and on the border lies the mountain Agia Dynati (1131m). Pylaros forms a valley between the two mountains, and through it flows the river Xeropotamos. The valley of Pylaros is covered by forests, and contains many rare species of fauna. To the east lies the bay of Agia Effimia, and to the west it borders on the peninsula of

Paliki Paliki ( el, Παλική) is a peninsula and a former municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece. At the 2011 local government reform it became part of the municipality Kefalonia. In 2019 this municipality was divided int ...

. At the western frontier is the tableland of Falari and the

Gulf of Myrtos A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...

. The beach at

Myrtos Myrtos is a coastal village in the west of the municipality of Ierapetra, in the Regional Unit (previously called prefecture) of Lasithi on the Greek island of Crete. It is located from Agios Nikolaos and from Ierapetra, on the road to ...

has been voted the best Greek beach on eleven occasions, and is considered one of the best in the world.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Pylaros is subdivided into the communities Agia Effimia, Divarata and Makryotika. It consists of 24 villages:

Economy

The economy of the municipality is based on

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

and

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

. In the tablelands of Kalo Mountain, and at the tableland of Falari the main industry is stock-breeding and cheese-making. In bygone days, many of the inhabitants of Pylaros were cheese-makers, and they travelled to Italy and Balkans to make cheese. It is sometimes said that in Falari they produce the best Greek

Feta Feta ( el, φέτα, ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep's milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat's milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, a compact touch, few cuts, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is ...

cheese. Agriculture is well-developed in regions next to Agia Effimia, but tourism is the most important source of income. The region in summer is a mecca for tourists from all over the world, and most of them go to the famous beach at Myrtos. There are hotels, rooms to let, cafes, taverns and shops with souvenirs. In the 19th century, many Pylarians were

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the ...

shipowner A ship-owner is the owner of a merchant vessel (commercial ship) and is involved in the shipping industry. In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain frei ...

s and

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

s: they had many ships, and they travelled all over the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, ...

. But few people are involved in these trades today.

History

Pylaros has had a long and significant history, and even the name is ancient. It is thought that the name originates from the ancient words πύλη ("gate") and άρω ("pick up") —that is to say "pick up the gates", because Pylaros is between two "gates": the bays of Agia Efimia and Myrtos. The first historical indications we have are from the Mycenean age. Mycenean vases and huge walls from ancient

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s have been discovered in Karousata, Logarata and Agia Effimia. According to a theory there was a sanctuary at Agia Dynati that, because of its shape (it resemble a rock covered with swadding-clothes) was considered to be the rock that

Rea REA or Rea may refer to: Places * Rea, Lombardy, in Italy * Rea, Missouri, United States * River Rea, a river in Birmingham, England * River Rea, Shropshire, a river in Shropshire, England * Rea, Hungarian name of Reea village in Totești Com ...

gave Cronus to eat to prevent him from eating her children,

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

. When Zeus gained power, he obliged Cronus to throw the rock in the site of Agia Dynati. At ancient times, Pylaros must have been inhabited, but remains haven't been discovered yet. At

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

times, Pylaros was a region for amusement of Roman officials, which is proved by a Roman villa discovered in Agia Efimia. At

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

times, Pylaros belonged to the "Thema of

", one of the prefectures of the Byzantine Empire. The most ancient monastery in Pylaros, the Moni of Panagia Thematon (from the word "Thema") and the yet undiscovered monastery of Agios Polatos, may have been built during those years. The time of Venetian occupation, probably saw the establishment of the first modern villages (Anomeria, Markata, Karousata, Antypata), and some families (Karousoi, Antypes) have been registered to the "Libro d' Oro". During the time of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

occupation, Pylaros was a centre of great rebellions against the British. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Pylarians participated in the Greek-Italian war of 1940, the National Resistance and the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...

. At Pylaros, as all over Kefalonia, many Italians from the

33 Infantry Division Acqui 33 may refer to: *33 (number) *33 BC *AD 33 *1933 * 2033 Music * ''33'' (Luis Miguel album) (2003) * ''33'' (Southpacific album) (1998) * ''33'' (Wanessa album) (2016) *"33 'GOD'", a 2016 song by Bon Iver * "Thirty-Three" (song), a 1995 song by t ...

were massacred by the Germans at the famous "Massacre of the Division Acqui", known from the film "Captain Corellis Mandolin". Many Italians were murdered at the site "Madria tou Lala", at Falari. During the Greek Civil War, some Pylarians were members of the communist

Democratic Army of Greece The Democratic Army of Greece (DAG; el, Δημοκρατικός Στρατός Ελλάδας - ΔΣΕ, Dimokratikós Stratós Elládas - DSE) was the army founded by the Communist Party of Greece during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). At ...

and fought against the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is th ...

. Two of the last captains of the Democratic Army, Matthaios Kouloubis and Ilias Kougianos who were murdered at September 1949, were Pylarians. (Kefalonia΄s Democratic Army was the last team of communist soldiers in action until December 1949). Finally in 1953, Pylaros was damaged by the terrible earthquakes that shaked the Ionian Islands. Some days later, the injured inhabitants were visited by the King George II.

Famous individuals

* Marinos Antypas (1873–1907) was one of the first Greek

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

s. He started off in Kefalonia, but later moved to

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

where he incited

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

s against their landowners, which resulted in his murder in 1907. His example helped inspire the Great Agrarian Revolution at

Kileler Kileler ( el, Κιλελέρ, between 1919 and 1985: Κυψέλη - ''Kypseli''EETAA local ...

in 1910. *

Evangelis Potamianos Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

was fighter in the

Greek Revolution The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

of 1821.

Traditions

Pylarians have many

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

s and

custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a ...

s. In the summer each village holds a

religious festival A religious festival is a time of special importance marked by adherents to that religion. Religious festivals are commonly celebrated on recurring cycles in a calendar year or lunar calendar. The science of religious rites and festivals is known ...

or ''panigiri'' dedicated to a particular saint. Pylaria is the origin of one of the two traditional dances of Kefalonia, the Divaratikos. Pylarian is also known for its

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

, which is characteristically sarcastic.

External links

Agia Efimia , Tourist Guide KefaloniaVisit.com

kefaloniavisit.com: Kefalonia IslandOfficial website

References

{{Sami div Populated places in Cephalonia