The Route of Rural Life - Apokoronas axiotheata

The Route of Rural Life

Humans have engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry in order to ensure their subsistence since the Neolithic period. Agropastoral products, raw or processed, were the staples of life. When there was a surplus they were bartered. The need to exchange abundant for scarce goods was a key factor in trade as well as the driving force in the development of opportunities and innovations leading to the evolution and progress of an organised society. Human ingenuity in exploiting the local terrain was vital to the selection of a region for habitation and exploitation, and its importance through the ages.
Apokoronas extends from the Sea of Crete in the north to the White Mountains in the south, with the Rivers Almyros and Koiliaris forming its natural boundaries to the east and west. From prehistoric times, the plain and the defensible hills overlooking the natural harbour of Suda were major factors in the development of settlements there. Part of an important Minoan settlement was discovered on the hill of Azoires or Azogyres. The tholos tomb of Stylos seems to belong to this settlement, which may be associated with the Minoan city of Aptera, named A-pa-ta-wa in the Linear B tablets.

Rural Life in the Late Minoan tholos tomb at Stylos

: Tholos tomb, Stylos. The roof of the burial chamber. Cretan shepherds’ huts are constructed in a similar way (source: Sotiris Zapantiotis).

The settlement was founded in the Early Minoan period and abandoned in Late Minoan III C (c. 1190-1070 BC). Intensive industrial activity in the area is evidenced by a pottery kiln which is built against the outer face of the wall of a large building. At the Kylindra site, near the village of Samonas, two building complexes forming part of a Mycenaean installation have been partially excavated.

Rural Life in the Late Minoan megaron at Samonas

A distinctive feature of both this area and that of Stylos is the residential pattern in which there was no coherent settlement nucleus, as in most parts of Crete, but habitation was kata komas, in groups of several villages or in neighbourhoods of extended families or kin groups. This particular settlement pattern has been preserved in West Crete to this day. The settlement, the tomb and the kiln revealed by the archaeological excavations in the area show why the plain of Stylos was chosen for habitation in such an early period. The abundant springs rising in the White Mountains, the smooth terrain and the area’s proximity to Suda Bay, which contains accessible, naturally fortified anchorages, are the main reasons why people chose to settle here.

During the Roman period, rural villas included living quarters for the owners, the overseer and perhaps the workers, agricultural production areas, stables and storerooms. Around the villas were various agricultural facilities related to its production and economy. This pattern was followed in the Byzantine period, too, even in places of worship. The complex of the Early Christian basilica at Almyrida is very likely to have included such facilities.
Agricultural production was the cornerstone of the Byzantine economy throughout the life of the Empire.
During the Middle Byzantine period, the church of Panagia Zerviotissa, east of the village of Stylos, was part of the large dependency of the Monastery of St John the Divine of Patmos.

Rural Life in the Church of Panagia Zerviotissa

Alexios II Komnenos ceded the church to the monastery, and estates in the wider area of Aptera were exploited by its monks.

: Panagia Zerviotissa Stylos. North view. Restoration study. Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of Crete (source: ΥP.PO., ΕF.A.CHA.).

Another local property of the Monastery of Patmos was the two-nave church of SS John the Divine and Nicholas in the centre of Stylos. The original fresco decoration dates from the mid-13th century.

Rural Life in the Church of Agios Ioannis Theologos in Stylos

The excavation has demonstrated that the fact that the two churches were successively constructed and collapsed at least twice reflects their importance in an area of intensive farming activity through the ages. The Monastery of Patmos was the main landowner in the region, playing a role similar to that of the lords. The villagers worked on the estates of the dependency, which effectively determined local living conditions.

: SS John the Divine and Nicholas, Stylos. North aisle with the walls of an earlier church (source: Michalis Andrianakis Archive).

The rich fresco decoration of the church of St George and Christ the Saviour in the centre of Epano Kournas is associated with the noble Melissinos family.

Rural Life in the Church of Agios Georgios in Kournas

The Melissinoi were the local landowners, playing a similar role to that of the dependency of Patmos. The patronage of the powerful Byzantine landowners reflects their power and their relationship with the capital, Constantinople. The powerful families of Apokoronas had a significant influence on the rural population of the region, as they effectively controlled the production and distribution of agropastoral goods in their vast estates.

In its efforts to organise its important colony of Crete, Venice could not rely solely on its relationship with the sea. For various reasons, the need to exploit Cretan farmland was imperative. The fiefdoms created by the landowning class formed the backbone of the social and economic fabric, with the land and the land ownership system affecting even the political sphere.
At the same time, there is evidence of the communal organisation of the Orthodox population in small rural communities. An interesting example is the depiction of the damned in the church of Panagia in Karydi. The man who reaps and the man who ploughs across the boundary line, in other people’s fields, exemplify serious trespasses in the context of rural life. The depiction of the thief is interesting. The figure is labelled with the general inscription “the thief”, but the image makes it clear that this is not just any thief – he is a sheep-stealer. The most valuable goods stolen in the region during this period were lambs and kids.

Rural Life in the Monastery of Panagia in Karydi

The inclusion of the depiction of the damned in the iconographic programme of the church hints at the handling of “damnable” criminal activities within the Orthodox community, possibly through the guidance of the acephalous Church of Crete, bypassing the official Venetian legal system.

: Panagia, Karydi. He who reaps and he who ploughs over the boundary line. The former has a sickle hanging on his chest, while the latter is impaled on a plough, as is commonly the case in Cretan depictions of the subject (source: Ministry of Culture, Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania).

: Panagia, Karydi. The sheep-stealer. The figure is naked and has his hands bound behind his back. On his shoulders are the stolen goods: a goat (source: Ministry of Culture, Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania).

An interesting testimony to the communal organisation of the Orthodox peasantry during the early Venetian period is preserved in the inscription from the church of St Nicholas in Maza. The “village of Maza” is recorded as contributing to the construction of the church, indicating that this was a collective endeavour.

Rural Life in the Church of Agios Nikolaos in Maza

Prominent members of the local Orthodox community, who apparently had the social and economic standing to fund a large part of the project, are mentioned by name. The importance of the church’s construction to the community and the means used to complete it are evident.

: Agios Nikolaos, Maza. The church inscription recording contributions to its construction (source: Ministry of Culture, Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania).

The church of Panagia Sourouthiani or Syrothiani, outside the village of Alikambos, its exterior richly decorated with bacini (glazed plates), contains frescoes by the well-known painter of West Crete Ioannis Pagomenos (according to the inscription of 1316). There is a striking depiction of St Mamas, portrayed as a shepherd with a kid on his shoulders.

Rural Life in the Church of Panagia in Alikambos

In the Orthodox Church, St Mamas is the patron saint of sheep, goats and shepherds. His depiction in the church indicates the pastoral character of the village with which it was associated.

: Panagia, Alikambos. St Mamas holding a goat in his left arm (source: Evangelos Papathanasiou)

From the 15th century onwards, following the turbulent period provoked by La Serenissima’s efforts to gain control of the island, the Venetian central administration carried out major projects for the organisation of agricultural production. The watermill of Kalogeroi in Stylos, a large-scale engineering work, was built in the 15th century and mainly used for grinding grain.

Rural Life in the Watermill of Kalogeroi in Stylos

Owned by the powerful Monastery of St John the Divine of Patmos, the dependency of Stylos served as a granary from as the Middle Byzantine period onwards, when records show that large quantities of grain were sent to the monastery.

Many watermills were built on the rivers of the Apokoronas region. The watermill in Kalyves, originally constructed in the Late Venetian period, was vital to local agricultural production, milling grain and olives. Works such as the Venetian-era wells in Gavalochori and Palailoni reveal the importance of the area for the development of an organised society with a high standard of living and quality of life.

Rural Life in the Wells of the Venetian period in Palailoni

: Wells in Palailoni. Topographical plan showing the distribution of the wells (source: Ministry of Culture, Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania).

In the late 16th and the first half of the 17th century, monasticism boomed, with new monasteries being founded and existing ones renovated. Important monastic communities arose in Chania Prefecture, acquiring large estates primarily intended for cultivation and livestock farming. Monastic centres such as Great Lavra on Mount Athos, St Catherine of Sinai and the Monastery of Patmos cultivated olives and produced olive oil. The dependencies in the mountains mainly engaged in pastoralism and cheese production, while those in the plains engaged in viticulture and the cultivation of cereals and olives. Next to the Monastery of St George in Karydi is a Venetian villa with an olive mill.

Rural Life in the Monastery of Agios Georgios in Karydi

In the 1637 ecclesiastical census of Orthodox churches and monasteries there is a reference to “the noble lord Vizzamano”, who must have been the owner of the complex. The olive mill, which is contiguous with the villa, also shows that the village was the fief of a Venetian nobleman, who owned a residence with industrial facilities in the village in order to process the olive oil produced by the surrounding farm. What is now the Monastery of St George was originally a dependency of the Monastery of Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) Tzagarolon. With the gradual increase in olive production, an additional olive mill was constructed in the dependency, reflecting its importance to the rich monastery of Agia Triada Tzagarolon.

: Venetian villa. Monastery of St George in Karydi. The olive mill (source: Michalis Andrianakis Archive).

: Monastery of St George, Karydi. The olive mill in modern times. View from W (source: Michalis Andrianakis Archive).

A representative example of industrial production is the farmhouse in Nio Chorio, which was originally built in the late Venetian period and remained in use until Ottoman times. The complex belonged to wealthy local landowners.

Rural Life in the Venetian-Turkish farmhouse in Nio Chorio

The olive oil processing and production facilities in Nio Chorio are a remarkable example from the peak period of olive cultivation in Crete, when olive oil became the mainstay of domestic production and new olive mills were built or existing ones expanded.

: Venetian-Turkish farmhouse, Nio Chorio (source: Marianna Aggelaki).

Important monuments of the Venetian period are preserved in the village of Gavalochori. The many houses of wealthy families ranging from the Venetian period to the modern era attest to the robustness of the settlement through the ages. A typical example of local architecture is the Historical and Folklore Museum. Part of it was built during the Venetian period, while the upper floor was added in Ottoman times.

Rural Life in the Folklore Museum of Gavalochori

Both the building itself and many of its exhibits reflect local society and a way of life dependent on farming and animal husbandry.

: Historical and Folklore Museum of Gavalochori. Floor plan with handicraft areas (source: Ministry of Culture, Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania).

In the centre of the village there is also the pre-industrial olive mill in which grinding mechanisms of different periods are preserved, reflecting the importance of olive production to the village’s prosperity.

Rural Life in the Pre-industrial Venetian olive mill in Gavalochori

: Olive mill, Gavalochori. Spaces housing the grinding mechanisms (source: Marianna Aggelaki).

Author: Sonia Konstantinidou

Fun fact

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the residents of Gavalochori celebrated the feast day of Saint George under the plane trees at the Venetian Wells. Every year on November 3, the wine barrels prepared by the locals were opened and tasted. Because of this tradition, Saint George is often called “Saint George the Drunkard.” According to custom, the first jug of new wine had to be poured into one of the wells. Many of these jugs are now on display at the Folklore Museum of Gavalochori.