Kastrologos

Castles of Greece
 

Palios Paos, Kalavryta, Achaea,West Greece

Castle of Avroti

or Castle of Agios Athanasios  
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Location:
On a mountain peak NW of the village Paos of Achaea, northern Peloponnese
Region > Prefecture: Greek Map
West Greece
Achaea
Municipality > Town:
City of Kalavryta
• Palios Paos
Altitude:
Elevation ≈ 1108 m 
(Relative Height≈400 m)
Time of Construction   Origin
13th century  
FRANKISH
Hon 
Castle Type   Condition
Medieval Settlement  
In Ruins
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A medieval settlement with a ruined castle at the top, on the rocky peak of the mountain Agios Athanassios, above the village Palaio Paos. It is recorded as “Paos-Avroti” in modern research, but its medieval name is unknown. Paos is the name of an ancient city nearby, while Avroti used to be the name of the mountain.

Generally it is believed that the settlement was founded in the 13th century and was the center of one of the 12 fiefs of the Frankish barony of Kalavryta. There is no solid proof about this, however. These parts were Frankish until the defeat of the Franks in the battle of Pelagonia in 1259. In the aftermath of that battle, the Byzantines of Mystras took over.


Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The castle is at a plateau at the highest point. The perimeter of about 270m encloses an area of 3500 sq.m. The thickness of the curtain wall is 1m and its maximum preserved height 2.5m. Mostly is destroyed and preserved in very low height.
At the western wall the ruins of 3 towers 3✖2,5 m protrude.

The keep is on the peak, at the NE corner of the perimeter. It is a square tower 4.5✖4.5. It is in bad condition and in low height. A cistern next to it has collapsed.

The settlement spreads with hundreds of drystone houses at the east of the castle. The remains of several churches are found between them.

avroti
Perimeter of the castle (red) and of the settlement (green); blue is the tower.


First entry in Kastrologos:    December 2019

Sources

  • Photos and info by Sakis Lemonakis and his blog ΑΜΦΙΤΡΕΙΔΗΣ
  • Ιωάννης Θ. Σφηκόπουλος, Τα µεσαιωνικά κάστρα του Μορηά , Athens,1987, page 204-5
  • Konstantinos Kourelis, “MONUMENTS OF RURAL ARCHAEOLOGY MEDIEVAL SETTLEMENTS ΙΝ ΤΗΕ NORTHWESTERN PELOPONNESE”, Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2003, page 342-43
  • ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟΝ ΔΕΛΤΙΟΝ, τεύχος 49 – Β1, 1994, σελ. 261