Kissos, Rethymno

Kissos (Κισσός ) Rethymno

Kissos is a mountain village in the municipality of Agios Vassilios in the prefecture of Rethymno. It is the seat of the local community of Kissos, which includes the neighboring settlement of Kissos Kampos. According to the 2011 census, the settlement had 48 inhabitants.

Location

Kissos is built at the southwestern foot of Mount Center [2], at an altitude of 630 meters [3]. It is 33 km from the capital of the prefecture, Rethymno, as well as 6 km from the seat of the municipality of Agios Vassilios, Spili. Located above the village is the plateau of Gious Kampos, which in earlier years was an important source of food for Kissos and the other villages in the area [4].

History
Beginnings and course in time

The settlement is believed to have been created before the 10th century and took its name from the eponymous plant that thrives in the area, [5] while the earliest reference to it dates back to Venetian rule. According to research by Stergios Spanakis, Kissos was recorded in 1577 in the catalog "Descrizione dell 'Isola di Creta" by Francisco Barotsi as Chisso. In 1583 it is mentioned in the census of Kastrofylakas with a population of 222 inhabitants [7].

In 1630 Vasilakata recorded 178 due chores [8], while according to the Ottoman records of 1659 the settlement had 33 taxable households [8] [9]. A few years later (c. 1670 to 1673), according to Ottoman statistics, Kissos belonged to the nahiyya of St. Basil and had 72 owners, [10] of whom 69 were Christians and the other three were Muslims. In the Egyptian census of 1832, reproduced by the English traveler Robert Pasley who visited Crete two years later, Kissos is recorded as a mixed settlement with 15 Christian families and an equal number of Muslims.

In July 1867, Ottoman soldiers spent the night in Kissos conducting clearing operations against Greek rebels operating in the wider area. In 1881 Kissos belonged to the Ottoman municipality of the Holy Spirit and had 208 inhabitants (181 Greeks and 27 Turkish Cretans) [14] [15], while according to the census conducted in 1900 by the Cretan authorities, its population was 213 inhabitants (104 men and 109 women, all Greeks) [16].

In the context of the Greek state

Three residents of the settlement were killed as soldiers in the Asia Minor campaign, while during the Occupation, the local population actively participated in the National Resistance through the ranks of ELAS Crete and the EEC. At the same time, two people from Kissos were killed as guerrillas of ELAS and EDES (the second in mainland Greece), while on May 25, 1944, German forces captured about 50 residents, killing one who tried to escape.

Kissos was electrified in 1968, and the water supply problem was permanently resolved in the mid-1980s, at the same time as the telephone connection.

Administratively, after the Union of Crete with Greece, Kissos became part of the province of Agios Vassilios where it remained until 1997. In 1928 it was included in the community of Ardaktos and in 1935 it became the seat of a community [19] which later included the new Kissos Kampos. With the implementation of the "Kapodistrias" plan, it came under the municipality of Lampi [3], while since 2011 it belongs to the Kallikratiko municipality of Agios Vassilios.

Prominent residents

In Kissos were born the leader of the Cretan Revolutions of the 19th century, Mathios Petroulakis or Prekatsounis (later he moved to Agioi Deka, Heraklion) [20] and the priest and local chief, George Mavromichelakis. In addition, its inhabitants were the prominent local Turko-Cretans of Aran [21] (killed in 1857 along with his bodyguard in Melampes) and Mustafa [22] (killed in 1892 in an ambush).

Monuments - Sights

Churches

The three churches inside Kissos together with the historic monastery of the Holy Spirit and the renovated [23] church of Agia Paraskevi, which are located nearby, form a network of Byzantine and post-Byzantine monuments.

The church of the Transfiguration

In a meridian of the village is the parish church, which is dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Savior. It is two-aisled with a two-aisled basilica design, without a dome, with equal heights, tiled roofs and two-aisled roofs [25] and its construction dates back to the 14th century [26]. Reference to the temple is made in the work "Monumenti Veneti nell 'isola di Creta" by the Italian historian Giuseppe Gerola, who conducted field research in Crete from 1900 to 1902. Its owner is Dimitrios Vergilis, whose figure is preserved in a mural in western end of the interior of the temple [27]. The original construction was altered by later additions such as the small window next to the psaltery chapel and the second aisle. It was restored externally by the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities in the mid-1970s, with the result that the two aisles now look like a single construction. Further maintenance and beautification work was carried out.

The church of Panagia

Built on the east side of Kissos, it is the cemetery church of the village and is dedicated to the Genesis of the Virgin Mary, while its construction dates back to the beginning of the 14th century. It is a simple and spacious building that follows the classical architectural type that prevailed in the Cretan countryside during its construction period [28]. In the early 20th century, it was expanded to the west, with the addition of an arch, the opening of a rectangular entrance door on the south side and the window next to the psaltery, and the addition of a relief bell tower. [29] [30] The church has 14th-century frescoes [31] and an image of the Pantocrator dating to 1840 [32].

The church of Panagia is traditionally associated with the procession of the Epitaph and the Resurrection services, while on Holy Saturday the custom of "burning Judas" took place.

The church of Agios Ioannis

It is located at the northwestern end of the village and is dedicated to Agios Ioannis the Theologian. It is single-aisled with a two-aisled, tiled roof [33] and is partly based on rock, while in an unknown period widening works were carried out on the west side [26]. Internally it is recorded and has two layers of hagiographies, with the oldest dating to the end of the 13th century [34]. The outdoor area around the temple was formed between 1984 and 1985, while old tombs were discovered during the work. At the same time, the wood-carved iconostasis was built.

The monastery of the Holy Spirit

It is located east of Kissos [36] and its founding date remains unknown. According to one version, it was created at the end of the second Byzantine period (961-1204 AD) or during the years of the early Venetian rule in Crete. It functioned as an autonomous parish monastery from its foundation until June 15, 1821, when it was destroyed by Turkish-Cretan gunmen, who in their slaughter slaughtered the monks and set fire to the building complex.

The monastery was annexed as a metochi to the nearest and strongest monastery of Preveli at that time and in 1836 under the guidance of Bishop Lampis Nikodimos Soubasakis, the "School of the Holy Spirit" was founded and operated. .

In the surrounding area of ​​the Monastery there is a monument to the fallen in honor of the two hundred - mainly Mani - volunteers of the military corps of Dimitrios Petropoulakis who were killed in a battle with the Turks on December 5, 1868. In recent years, after actions of the metropolis the monastery reopens [37].

Locations and more

• "The Old Fountain": located below the main square of the village and has decorative elements.

• The Forest in Vatolakou: was created in 1985 by the Directorate of Forests of the Prefecture of Rethymno and covers an area of ​​about 600 acres, while its flora includes pines, cypresses, acacias, wild olives, herbs, etc.

• Agia Paraskevi location: in this area where the eponymous chapel is located, there is a spring, while the area is overgrown with trees such as plane trees and primroses, fruit trees and green bushes. To the north of the forest is the Kissano gorge with Kokkinos Detis where birds of prey (vultures, hawks, etc.) nest.

• "The Sign": the natural clock of the locals.

• The plateau of Gious Kampos.

Caves

Agriokefali: located on the hill of the same name, at an altitude of 1200 meters, north of the village and has dimensions of 6 m. X 3.5 m.x 2 m [38].
Gero Spilio: northwest of the village [38]. The cave has now disappeared due to a landslide.
"Stsi Kantinospilios": small caves that owe their name to the butterflies (canteens in the local dialect) that they host. They are located north of the Koupos hill, at an altitude of 1300 meters.
Kokkinos Detis: with dimensions of 2.5 m. X 6 m. X 1.6 m., Is located at Faraggi, at an altitude of 900 meters northeast of Kissos. Its name is due to the color of the cliff on which it is located.
Trochalodema: it has dimensions of 4 m. X 1.6 m. X 4 m. And is located in the homonymous place, in the wider area of ​​Kampos [38].
Spiliaria: located southeast of Kissos [39].

Population censuses
Census 1583 1881 1900 1928 1940 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2001 2011
Population 222 [7] 208 [14] 213 [16] 247 [14] 254 [14] 205 [3] 204 [3] 177 [3] 134 [3] 126 [3]; 48 [1]

References

"Population. Regional Unit of Rethymno "(PDF). hc-crete.gr. 7th Ministry of Culture of Crete. Retrieved on August 26, 2018.
George N. Tsigdinou, Monuments, history, tradition of Kissos Ag. Vasileiou, published by the Social Cultural Association of Kissana "The Holy Spirit", Rethymno 1986, p. 15.
Michael Stamatelatos, Fotini Vamva-Stamatelatou, Abbreviated Geographical Dictionary of Greece, Hermes, Athens 2001, p. 351.
Irini Brillaki - Kavakopoulou, Toponyms of the Spilio area of ​​Rethymno, Crete in the collective Cretan toponyms - Two-day Scientific Conference, Rethymnon 6-7 November 1998, Proceedings, volume A ', Historical - Folklore Society of Rethymno 2000, Rethymnon.
Lefteri K. Kryovrysanaki, Cretan Pandektis, Chalkiadaki Publications, Rethymno 1989, p. 107.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 20.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 19.
Crete Anthropogeography, Patrice newspaper insert, January 2008, volume A, p. 65.
"Ivy". digitalcrete.ims.forth.gr. Institute of Mediterranean Studies. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
Evangelia Balta, Mustafa Oguz (ed.), The Ottoman Land Registry of Rethymnon. Tapu-Tahrir 822, Institute of Modern Greek Studies (EIE) - 98, Rethymnon Historical and Folklore Society, Rethymno 2007, p. 41.
Tsigdinos, Giorgis N. (March 1, 2011). "Kissos through the data of a Land Registry of the year 1670". kissoscrete.gr. Kissos, Rethymno, Crete and Cultural and Landscaping Association of Kissos, Rethymno, "The Holy Spirit". Retrieved October 6, 2018.
Crete Anthropogeography, 2008, volume A τό, p. 81.
Ioannou P. Mamalaki, The Cretan Revolution of 1866 - 1869, Historical Folklore and Archaeological Society of Crete, Chania 1983, p. 230.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 21.
Crete Anthropogeography, Patrice newspaper insert, February 2008, volume BD, p. 131.
Crete Anthropogeography, 2008, volume BD, p. 166.
Tsigdinou, 1986, pp. 60-64.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 26.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 29.
Kryovrysanaki, Lefteri (April 14, 2016). "Kissos Ag. Kingdom ". rethnea.gr. Rethymno News. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 50.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 53.
"Ivy: Historical Evidence". agios-vasilios.gr. Municipality of Agios Vassilios. January 31, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 30.
Tsigdinou, 1986, pp. 35-37.
Nikoletta Pyrrou, "The frescoes of Agios Ioannis the Theologian in Kissos of Agios Vassilios", in The province of Agios Vassilios from antiquity until today. Environment, archeology, history, society. Proceedings of an international scientific conference, Association of Associations of the Province of St. Basil "O Prevelis" - SEDIL, Rethymno 2014, volume BD (Byzantine times - Venetian rule), p. 111.
Giuseppe Gerola, Monumenti Veneti nell 'isola di Creta, Istituto veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti, Venezia 1908, vol. 2, p. 335.
Athina Fraidaki, "The frescoes of the church of Panagia in Kissos of Agios Vassilios", in The province of Agios Vassilios from antiquity until today. Environment, archeology, history, society. Proceedings of an international scientific conference, Association of Associations of the Province of Agios Vassilios "O Prevelis" - SEDIL, Rethymno 2014, volume BD (Byzantine times - Venetian rule), p. 153.
Fraidaki, 2014, p. 154.
Tsigdinou, 1986, pp. 37-38.
Fraidaki, 2014, p. 177.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 37.
Tsigdinou, 1986, p. 39.
Pyrrou, 2014, pp. 112, 116.
Tsigdinou, 1986, pp. 39-40.
Michalis Troulis, Rethymno. History, tour, modern life, Mitos publications, Rethymno 1998, p. 162.
"Holy Spirit of Kissos: A historic monastery in a modern functional course". exapsalmos.gr. Tirade. March 13, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
Zacharias Stratidakis, Vassilis Simitzis, Konstantina Aretaki, "The caves of St. Basil", in The province of St. Basil from antiquity until today. Environment, archeology, history, society. Proceedings of an international scientific conference, Association of Associations of the Province of Agios Vassilios "O Prevelis" - SEDIL, Rethymno 2014, volume C2 (Turkish occupation-Modern times), p. 25.

Kostis El. Papadakis, "Naming of the caves of the Municipalities of Lampis and Finikas (District of Agios Vassilios, Rethymno)", in The province of Agios Vassilios from antiquity until today. Environment, archeology, history, society. Proceedings of an international scientific conference, Association of Associations of the Province of Agios Vassilios "O Prevelis" - SEDIL, Rethymno 2014, volume C2 (Ottoman rule-Modern times), p. 50.

Bibliography

Lefteri K. Kriovrysanaki, Cretan Pandektis, Chalkiadaki Publications, Rethymno 1989.
Ioannou P. Mamalaki, The Cretan Revolution of 1866 - 1869, Historical Folklore and Archaeological Society of Crete, Chania 1983.
Evangelia Balta, Mustafa Oguz (ed.), The Ottoman Land Registry of Rethymnon. Tapu-Tahrir 822, Institute of Modern Greek Studies (EIE) - 98, Rethymnon Historical and Folklore Society, Rethymno 2007.
Irini Brillaki - Kavakopoulou, Toponyms of the Spilio area of ​​Rethymno, Crete, in the collective The Cretan toponyms - Two-day Scientific Conference, Rethymno 6-7 November 1998, Proceedings, volume A΄, Historical - Folklore Society of Rethymno 2000, Rethymnon
Michael Stamatelatos, Fotini Vamba-Stamatelatou, Short Geographical Dictionary of Greece, Hermes, Athens 2001.
George N. Tsigdinou, Monuments, history, tradition of Kissos Ag. Vassiliou, published by the Social Cultural Association of Kissana "The Holy Spirit", Rethymno 1986.
Giuseppe Gerola, Monumenti Veneti nell 'isola di Creta, Istituto veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti, Venezia 1908, vol. 2.

External links

http://www.kissoscrete.gr

Municipal unit Lampi
Community Agia Galini
Agia Galini (Αγία Γαλήνη)
Xirokampos (Ξηρόκαμπος, ο)
Community Akoumia
Akoumia (Ακούμια, τα)
Βρύσαι, αι
Triopetra (Τριόπετρα)
Community Ardaktos
Agia Paraskevi (Αγία Παρασκευή)
Aktounta (Ακτούντα, τα)
Ardaktos (Άρδακτος, ο)
Vatos (Βάτος, ο)
Community Drimiskos
Drimiskos (Δρίμισκος)
Community Karines
Karines (Καρίναι, αι)
Community Kentrochori
Kentrochori (Κεντροχώρι, το)
Platanes (Πλατανές, ο)
Community Kerames
Agalianos (Αγαλιανός, ο)
Agia Foteini (Αγία Φωτεινή)
Kerames (Κεραμές, ο)
Community Kissos
Kissos (Κισσός, ο)
Kissou Kampos (Κισσού Κάμπος, ο)
Community Krya Vrysi
Krya Vrysi (Κρύα Βρύση)
Nea Krya Vrysi (Νέα Κρύα Βρύση)
Community Lampini
Lampini (Λαμπινή)
Community Melampes
Agios Georgios (Άγιος Γεώργιος, ο)
Melampes (Μέλαμπες, αι)
Community Mourne
Mourne (Μουρνέ)
Community Myxorrouma
Agia Pelagia (Αγία Πελαγία)
Ano Myxorrouma (Άνω Μυξόρρουμα, το)
Myxorrouma (Μυξόρρουμα, το)
Frati (Φρατίον, το)
Community Orne
Orne (Ορνέ)
Community Saktouria
Agios Pavlos (Άγιος Παύλος, ο)
Kato Saktouria (Κάτω Σακτούρια, τα)
Παξιμάδια δύο, τα (νησίς)
Παξιμάδια ένα, τα (νησίς)
Saktouria (Σακτούρια, τα)
Community Spili
Δαριβιανά, τα
Spili (Σπήλιον, το)

Greece :

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M -
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z