Anogeia
Encyclopedia
Anogeia is a municipality in the Rethymno peripheral unit, Crete
, Greece
. Population 2,507 (2001).
When exactly were Anogeia founded and by whom, is not accurately known. Many believe that the original settlement was founded by villagers from the village Axos, which is located west of Anogia, at the location were the Minoan city Oaxos was situated.
According to a legend, a shepherd from Axos found one day on one of the slopes of Psiloreitis an icon depicting Saint John the Baptist
. Pious as he was, he picked it up carefully, wrapped it in a towel, took it to his home and placed it there alongside the other icons. On the following day he was astonished to find out that the icon had disappeared. Terrified, he went back to the place he had found it on the day before, where he was exhilarated to discover that the icon was exactly at the same location. This inexplicable phenomenon was considered to be an order from the heavens, to build at that exact location a temple dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
The church of Saint John seems to be the first building of the settlement, which later came to be known as “Anogia”. Within the temple of Saint John are remains of Byzantine drawings on the walls, which can be dated back to the 11th century.
The historian Stelios Spanakis, summarily provides geographical, as well as historical information about Anogia,: “Anogia is a town –municipality in the Mylopotamos Province of the Prefecture of Rethymno. In the 1981 census it numbered 2.449 citizens. It is located in the northern reaches of Psiloreitis, at an altitude of 700-790 meters. When in 1182 Crete was divided among the 12 Young Princes of Byzantium
, Anogia were given to the family of Fokas. Anogia are referred to by Venetian and Greek scholars and historians as Anogia, or Anoia. In 1593 it was already a significant settlement, numbering 911 citizens. Anogia are referred to as a revolutionary place during the years of Turkish occupation. In 1822, when the Anogians were fighting the Turks in Messara, Serif Pasha found the village empty and put it to the torch. In November 1866, when the Arkadi Monastery
was being burned, Resit Pasha tried to capture Anogia, but he was repulsed by the Anogians and other villagers from Mylopotamos.” This tradition continued during the German occupation and in August 1944 the
village was once again razed to the ground in reprisal for the local's participation in the resistance
.
The living conditions of the people of Anogia, as well as those of other mountain villages in Crete, were extremely difficult. Anogians of old times were mainly shepherds, goatherds and not so many of them were farmers. The barren soil, the harsh winters, the frequent revolts and the constant purges from the conquerors contributed to the primitive living conditions, to the great poverty and the lack of even the most basic of comforts.
The French historian Victor Berard (1897) during his journeys in Crete, dedicated but a few lines for the village of Anogia, where with a raw and laconic way describes the hopeless living conditions of the time: “The village Anogia, resembles the outposts on the remote peaks of old, where men and animals live together in miserable hovels”.
The Italian Vittorio Simonelli who visited Crete in 1893, was much more generous in his descriptions. First, he was put up at a “tolerable inn”. As for the villagers themselves, both men and women, made a great impression on him, when on a Sunday he saw them going to the church. He wrote: “Anogian women are beautiful, with red cheeks and faces that are lit up by eyes black and shiny, like agate. Their traditional clothing, accentuates the health and beauty that characterize the ancient Cretan archetype. They are also handsome, being tall, lean, and easy in their movement, proud, but without even a trace of ferociousness”.
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Population 2,507 (2001).
When exactly were Anogeia founded and by whom, is not accurately known. Many believe that the original settlement was founded by villagers from the village Axos, which is located west of Anogia, at the location were the Minoan city Oaxos was situated.
According to a legend, a shepherd from Axos found one day on one of the slopes of Psiloreitis an icon depicting Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. Pious as he was, he picked it up carefully, wrapped it in a towel, took it to his home and placed it there alongside the other icons. On the following day he was astonished to find out that the icon had disappeared. Terrified, he went back to the place he had found it on the day before, where he was exhilarated to discover that the icon was exactly at the same location. This inexplicable phenomenon was considered to be an order from the heavens, to build at that exact location a temple dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
The church of Saint John seems to be the first building of the settlement, which later came to be known as “Anogia”. Within the temple of Saint John are remains of Byzantine drawings on the walls, which can be dated back to the 11th century.
The historian Stelios Spanakis, summarily provides geographical, as well as historical information about Anogia,: “Anogia is a town –municipality in the Mylopotamos Province of the Prefecture of Rethymno. In the 1981 census it numbered 2.449 citizens. It is located in the northern reaches of Psiloreitis, at an altitude of 700-790 meters. When in 1182 Crete was divided among the 12 Young Princes of Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, Anogia were given to the family of Fokas. Anogia are referred to by Venetian and Greek scholars and historians as Anogia, or Anoia. In 1593 it was already a significant settlement, numbering 911 citizens. Anogia are referred to as a revolutionary place during the years of Turkish occupation. In 1822, when the Anogians were fighting the Turks in Messara, Serif Pasha found the village empty and put it to the torch. In November 1866, when the Arkadi Monastery
Arkadi Monastery
The monastery of Arkadi is an Eastern Orthodox monastery, situated on a fertile plateau 14 mi to the southeast of Rethymnon on the island of Crete ....
was being burned, Resit Pasha tried to capture Anogia, but he was repulsed by the Anogians and other villagers from Mylopotamos.” This tradition continued during the German occupation and in August 1944 the
village was once again razed to the ground in reprisal for the local's participation in the resistance
Cretan resistance
The Cretan resistance was a resistance movement against Nazi Germany by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek Resistance, it lasted from May 20, 1941, when the German Wehrmacht invaded the island in the Battle of Crete, until the fall of 1945 when...
.
The living conditions of the people of Anogia, as well as those of other mountain villages in Crete, were extremely difficult. Anogians of old times were mainly shepherds, goatherds and not so many of them were farmers. The barren soil, the harsh winters, the frequent revolts and the constant purges from the conquerors contributed to the primitive living conditions, to the great poverty and the lack of even the most basic of comforts.
The French historian Victor Berard (1897) during his journeys in Crete, dedicated but a few lines for the village of Anogia, where with a raw and laconic way describes the hopeless living conditions of the time: “The village Anogia, resembles the outposts on the remote peaks of old, where men and animals live together in miserable hovels”.
The Italian Vittorio Simonelli who visited Crete in 1893, was much more generous in his descriptions. First, he was put up at a “tolerable inn”. As for the villagers themselves, both men and women, made a great impression on him, when on a Sunday he saw them going to the church. He wrote: “Anogian women are beautiful, with red cheeks and faces that are lit up by eyes black and shiny, like agate. Their traditional clothing, accentuates the health and beauty that characterize the ancient Cretan archetype. They are also handsome, being tall, lean, and easy in their movement, proud, but without even a trace of ferociousness”.
Notable people
- PsarantonisPsarantonisAntonis Xylouris , nicknamed Psarantonis is a Greek composer, singer and performer of lyra, the bowed string instrument of Crete and most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine lyra...
(1939), composer, singer and performer of lyra - Nikos XilourisNikos XilourisNikos Xylouris , nicknamed Psaronikos , was a Greek composer and singer from thevillage of Anogeia in Crete and also the older brother of two other great musicians of Cretan music, Antonis Xylouris or Psarantonis and Yiannis Xylouris or...
(1936–1980), singer