Few ruins of a medieval castle on the plateau of the top of a high and steep hill called “Agios Dimitrios”, 3.5 kilometers east of the village of Theologos in Thassos.

History

The history of the castle is unknown. It is not mentioned by any historical source.
Probably the fortification protected a settlement that was created – perhaps tentatively – at this point and which served as a refuge for the population during periods of piracy in the Northern Aegean, after the 7th century.

The most probable era of the establishment and operation of the castle is the Late Byzantine Period (13th to 15th century).

The area of ​​Theologos offered security because it was remote from the sea. The archaeological service has identified several Byzantine sites. Residential sites with small chapels were found in the mountainous area of ​​Theologos, in various locations. Most of these sites belong to the Late Byzantine Period and from this it can be inferred that the castle is probably from the same period. ownership of the shares of the Saint Filotheos Monastery (of Mount Athos) on the island. In this document dependencies (metochia) and churches are mentioned, but without mentioning any church of Agios Dimitrios (the hill is called “Agios Demitrios”).
The Byzantine naydrio in the castle, of which few things are preserved (photo 10) and which was probably dedicated to Saint Demetrius, is placed by archaeological research in the 15th century. It is interesting that the central church in the settlement of Theologos is also Agios Dimitrios. Of course, this church was erected much later, in 1803, and the settlement of Theologos in its current location was created at the beginning of the Turkish occupation (end of the 15th-beginning of the 16th century).

For the record, the Italian traveler Ciriaco di Ancona who visited Thassos in 1444-45, i.e. 10 years before the island was handed over to the Turks, mentions the following settlements: the village Kastro as Neokastrum, Limenas, Calliarachium, Anastasium, Potamium and Chinarium.
The first three settlements were fortified, a fact which is also confirmed archaeologically, and they continued to be the three castles of the island during the Turkish occupation according to reports from later travelers. There is no mention of Theologos from Kyriakos of Angona. This means that by the middle of the 15th century the castle of Theologos on the hill of Agios Dimitrios must have been abandoned.
It should be noted that a similar case is the unknown fortified settlement of southern Thassos at the location Paleokastro (or Melissa) in Kalyvia< /a> which is dated in the Late Byzantine Period, for which there is also not the slightest mention from historical sources.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The ruins of the external fortification and some remnants of the settlement survive from the castle. The wall of the perimeter has collapsed creating a continuous 100m long rock pile. The picture we see today (July 2024) is piles of stones that have remained in the original position of the wall along with scattered stones that have collapsed and rolled down the steep slopes of the hill.
The wall was 1.60m thick. and had binding mortar in the masonry.
Along the wall there were at least two circular towers: one in the north-east corner that controlled the Koinira valley and the sea area east of Thasos and the other in the north-west corner that oversaw the whole area of ​​Theologos inland.
Possible traces of a tower are also present on the eastern wall and of another on the southern side.