Vyziki () is a mountain village in the municipal unit of

Tropaia Tropaia () is a village and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Gortynia Gortynia () is a municipality in the Arcadia regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. ...

in Arcadia,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It is located 85 km northwest of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

, just off the midpoint of the national road EO74 which connects

to Pyrgos, and 2 km from Tropaia. The village is built at an altitude of 750 m. Most of its houses are traditional structures made of stone, and two of them are fortified Venetian tower-houses (see picture on the right). The two central "squares" (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: πλατείες), the folklore museum, and the St. Nicholas Cathedral stand out among the village buildings. It has been declared a traditional settlement. According to the latest census (2021), the number of residents is 152, most of them over aged. Major productive activities in the Vyziki area involve livestock and dairy products, with the produced milk being forwarded to the nearest arcadian cheese plants.

Antiquities

The village's greater area has an elongated shape and runs from the east (near the Langadia mountains) to the west (reaching the river Ladon). On the eastern edge, are ruins of the mighty Mattegriffon, the Frankish Castle of Akova and every August – over the last 40 years – Vyziki holds cultural activities under the name "Akova Festival". In the same area, namely, inside the castle, under its foundation, and nearby, many items of antiquity have been found – columns, pottery pieces, etc. It has been suggested that it is very probable that Akova existed before the arrival of the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

; It is located in a place inhabited in antiquity and whose occupation has had to be continuous. This could be the actual location of Ancient

Teuthis Teuthis () was a city of ancient Arcadia. It is mentioned in Pausanias, who visited and described its temples, and who narrated the elaborate story of King Teuthis' dispute with Agamemnon and goddess Athena in Aulis, prior to the Greek fleet's ...

, mentioned in Pausanias, as many 19th century famous travellers believed, but which nowadays has been claimed by the large village of

Dimitsana Dimitsana () is a mountain village and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality Gortynia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...

.Finally, the west end of the Vyziki area enters the region of Ancient

Thelpousa Thelpusa or Thelpousa (, ), or Telphusa or Telphousa (Τέλφουσα), was a town in the west of ancient Arcadia, situated upon the left or eastern bank of the Ladon (river), river Ladon. Its territory was bounded on the north by that of Psophis, ...

, a great city, which is still awaiting an official systematic excavation!

References

External links

ΒΥΖΙΚΙ ΑΡΚΑΔΙΑΣ

Βυζίκι
Populated places in Arcadia, Peloponnese Gortynia {{Peloponnese-geo-stub