Pyrgos Dirou

Pyrgos Dirou

Πύργος Διρού
Pyrgos Dirou Πύργος Διρού
Community
	Pyrgos Dirou
	Coordinates: 36°37′34″N 22°22′55″E / 36.626°N 22.382°E
Country	Greece
Administrative region	Peloponnese
Regional unit	Laconia
Municipality	East Mani
Municipal unit	Oitylo
Population (2021)
• Community	542
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Pyrgos Dirou (Greek: Πύργος Διρού) is a town in Mani, Laconia, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit of Oitylo of the municipality of East Mani. It is located around 26 km (16 miles) from Areopoli.

History

The earliest known mention of the toponym Dirou dates back to 1336, written as Iro, when it was a property of Nikolaos Atsagioli near Tzimova (the old name of Areopoli). The toponym has Slavic origins and means stagnant water. The village of Pyrgos is mentioned in 1571.^[2]

The Battle of Vergas (Greek War of Independence, 1824) took place near Diro.

In June 1826, the beach of Dirou was the site of a battle between Greeks and Egyptians, with the Maniots managing to defeat Ibrahim Pasha's forces.

Points of Interest

Pyrgos Dirou has been designated as a traditional settlement. It consists of individual architectural complexes, with the central complex being Lefkia.^[3] Its towers have been designated as monuments.^[4] Among the towers, the complex of the armatolos Sklavounakos stands out, in Petrovouni. The complex features a six-storey tower, possibly the tallest in Mani,^[5] a long two-storey house with an upper floor, water tanks, and a family chapel with a cemetery. It was built in 1812.^[6]

Other attractions in the village include the Byzantine churches of Agios Petros Glezos and Taxiarchon Glezos,^[7] the single-aisle church of Agioi Theodoroi in Kalos, dating back to the 12th century,^[8] and the single-aisle church of Agios Nikolaos, with a built-in iconostasis and frescoes from 1868.^[9] The old school of Pyrgos Dirou has been designated as a historic preserved monument due to the way materials from earlier buildings have been incorporated into it.

Near Pyrgos Dirou and on the shores of Dirou Bay, which lies between the Tower and Areopoli, are three caves: Alepotrypa, Glyfada or Vlychada, and Katafygi.^[10]

Diros Caves

Diro is most famous for its caves, the Diros Caves, located approximately 19 km (12 miles) south of Pollapolis. They form part of an p3ne river. About 5,000 m (16,000 ft) of polla have been exposed and are accessible by small boats and through narrow passageways. One is surrounded by formations of stalagmites and stalactites. Archaeological research has shown that the caves served as places of worship in Paleolithic and Neolithic times and their inhabitant believed that the caves were the entrance to the underworld.^[11]

Notes

^ "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
^ Σαΐτας, Γιάννης (1992). Μάνη. Αθήνα: Μέλισσα. p. 110.
^ Σαΐτας, Γιάννης (1992). Μάνη. Αθήνα: Μέλισσα. p. 110.
^ "ΥΑ 41382/2190/13-5-1958 - ΦΕΚ 156/Β/29-5-1958". Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
^ Παπαθανασίου, Μανώλης. "Πύργος Σκλαβουνάκου". Καστρολόγος (in Greek). Retrieved 2022-11-17.
^ Σαΐτας, Γιάννης (1992). Μάνη. Αθήνα: Μέλισσα. p. 110.
^ "ΥΑ 15904/24-11-1962 - ΦΕΚ 473/Β/17-12-1962". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
^ "ΥΑ ΥΠΠΟ/ΑΡΧ/Β1/Φ30/2327/45/30-1-1992 - ΦΕΚ 140/Β/4-3-1992". Archived from the original on 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
^ "ΥΑ ΥΠΠΟ/ΑΡΧ/Β1/Φ30/34982/672/13-8-1992 - ΦΕΚ 534/Β/21-8-1992". Archived from the original on 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
^ Σταματελάτος, Μιχαήλ; Βάμβα-Σταματελάτου, Φωτεινή (2006). Γεωγραφικό Λεξικό της Ελλάδας. Αθήνα: Ερμής. p. 195. ISBN 9603201332.
^ Papathanassopoulos, G. A., "The Cave of Diros" Athens Annals of Archaeology (1971): 12-26.