Corona stories: Number 71 Greece 2021

Troubles in war and peace

“Against us was arranged the might of the eastern world - one hundred thousand troops, of which thirty thousand were Roman, and five hundred ships of war, deployed along the coastal lands of Greece, and eighty thousand reserves of troops that remained in Egypt and Syria. Against this force we brought fifty thousand Roman soldiers, a number of which were veterans of the sea campaign against Pompeius, two hundred fifty ships of war, the latter under my command, and one hundred fifty vessels of supply” Book I, John Williams, Augustus; XII. The memoirs of Marcus Agrippa: Fragments (13 B.C.)

Pantokaratora castle

An empty parking lot without a trace of shade bakes in the sun. In the corner, a stall constructed for selling refreshments to visitors, abandoned. Below the parking lot a small, hidden beach between the rocks. An elderly couple has set up two folding chairs and a parasol. They have the place for themselves. Next to it the reason why the parking lot was built. Kastro Pantokratora, an enormous fortress built in 1807 by Ali Pasha to guard the entrance to the Ambracian Gulf. Its gate is closed with a big padlock.

Do the people on the beach know, which role this spot played in history? Kastro Pantokratora is outside the town of Preveza. But better known is the little town at the other side of the entrance to the Ambracian Gulf. The little town’s name is Aktium. It became known as the arena of one of those events which changed the course of history for centuries.

In the year 31 B.C. Octavian, adopted son of Julius Ceasar, who had been murdered in 44 B.C., finally had Rome at his feet. However, he had one strong enemy: Marcus Antonius had united forces with his ally and lover Cleopatra of Egypt and threatened to invade Italy by shipping an army from the Ionian coast of Greece. The fleets of the two adversaries met outside the entrance of the bay of Actium in the morning of September 2nd, 31 B.C. Markus Agrippa, the admiral of Octavian, had managed to encircle the ships of Marcus Antonius, who had to attack from an unfavourable position. The end of the day saw Marcus Antonius and his ally and lover Cleopatra fleeing towards Egypt while their fleet destroyed.

“Antonius stood at the prow of his ship as if he were a carven figurehead, looking after his departing queen. …..Then his arm lifted swiftly, and dropped, and the sails were thrust into the wind, and the great ship turned slowly and gathered speed, and Marcus Antonius followed after his queen.” John Williams, Augustus

The victory at Actium was the final step in Octavian’s career to become Augustus, the sole and almighty ruler of Rome, thus ending the Roman Republic. It also consolidated the power of Rome over the eastern Mediterranean which, under the rule of Constantinople, would remain Roman for the next 1500 years.. Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra committed suicide after they were again defeated by Octavian in 30 B.C. Egypt became part of the Roman empire. It is the irony of history that Cleopatra was the mother of Ceasarion, the only biological son of Julius Ceasar, whereas Octavian was his adopted son. Markus Antonius in his role as step-father and Cleopatra thus defended the rights of Ceasar’s heir. Cleopatra had three more children with Markus Antonius.

Half of the castle of Pantokatora is built into the sea. From the closed entrance I walk to the left to have a look. An old car is parked in the shade at the water’s edge. Behind the car another, small entrance. The metal door is open and a dark corridor leads into a large courtyard with ruined buildings. Everything is a little creepy, but that is how the interior of a castle should be. Suddenly I hear the sound of an engine outside the small gate. In a bit of a panic that somebody might lock the gate and eternally imprison me I walk back into the dark corridor. But it is only a fisherman with an impressive harpoon. He shows me the way from the inner courtyard to the outer ramparts. Another little gate leads to the water where other fishermen are waiting.

At the top of the castle is a little church. Like frequently in Greece, it is the only part of the entire building which is painted and in a decent condition. From here there is an excellent view over the narrows of Actium, where the battle must have taken place.

One of the gates to enter Nicopolis

Roman road and the byzantine walls of Nicopolis

Octavian celebrated his victory by founding a city at the site. Nicopolis soon became the capital city of the Roman province of Epirus Vetus. It became an important port and like all Roman cities in the diaspora housed important temples, thermes, aqueduct, an odeon (theatre), an amphitheatre, a Nympheum (fountain) and a forum. At its height it might have had a population of 150.000. The odeon and amphitheatre are very well preserved. The wealth of some of its inhabitants can still be imagined by the remainders of some of their mansions, including well preserved mosaic floors.

Mosaic floor in one of the Roman villas of Nicopolis

The city originally found by Augustus did not have strong defensive walls. From the 3rd century on wave after wave of barbarians rolled across Greece. While the Goths could be defeated, the vandals, who arrived in the fifth century, not only managed to conquer the city but also took hostages and demanded ransom. Finally, between 480 and 510, strong walls and gates were built, however, after the looting, the city had shrunk considerably in size and importance so that the new walls only protected a sixth of the surface of the former roman city.

Since the 4th century Christianity had arrived in Nicopolis. Six basilicas had been built by the end of the 5th century. Only little remains. Because the barbarians kept coming. In 555 the Ostrogoths conquered the city, although the Byzantine emperor Justinian as ruler of the area had the fortifications of many of his cities renewed. The constant threat accelerated the decline of the city and eventually it was abandoned in the middle ages.

One of the basilicas of Nicopolis built in the early byzantine period

A new city, Preveza, was founded instead. The archaeological discoveries of Nicopolis can be visited in a museum in the mushrooming ugly suburbs of its replacement. Nevertheless, the air conditioning is an incredible relief from the oppressive heat outside. Reluctantly we start a tour of the ruins. Although we can go by car from one ruin to the other it is exhausting to drag the tired body through the shadeless heat of early September. Evidently also some of the guards have preferred to stay at their air-conditioned home, since the entrance sheds to some of the fenced-off ruins are not manned and the gates closed.

The odeon, a covered theater in Nicopolis

In 1204 the Venetians managed to detour the 4th crusade against their competitors and enemies, the Byzantines. Instead of fighting the infidels in the holy land the brave crusaders conquered Constantinople. After a brief period under the Despotate of Epirus, a Greek successor state of the collapsed empire, the area came under Venetian control.

The southern point of Lefkada with the lighthouse

At the same time the Venetians had gained control of the neighbouring island of Lefkada, which is separated from the main land by only shallow lagoons and a narrow canal dug by the Phoenicians. However, the island was soon taken over by a succession of various Christian rulers originating from Italy and even France.

The west coast of Lefkada

Today Lefkada is the only island in Greece linked to the main land by a bridge. Well, kind of a bridge. It is ponton with ends, which can be raised. Every hour or so, the landing platforms at the end go up and the ponton turns around a hinge sideways to let the traffic on water, mostly yachts on their way to Actium, pass. Apparently Greek law foresees reduced taxes for islands. With a fixed bridge the island of Lefkada would have lost that privileged status. The buy the privilege with long queues of waiting cars on the dam leading to the ponton every hour when it is open.

The ponton ferry bridging the canal to Lefkada

The Byzantine empire succumbed to the Turks with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Consequently, the door to the Balkans was wide open for the Turks and in 1463 they arrived in the area of abandoned Nicopolis and found a replacement town, Preveza, further south and close to the entrance of the bay of Aktium. Neighbouring Lefkada, along with Cephalonia and Zakynthos, was captured by the Ottoman admiral Gedik Ahmed Pasha in 1479. Part of the population was deported to repopulate Constantinople.

The wall of the venetian castle of Santa Maura

The arrival of the Turks at the Ionian coast alarmed the Republic of Venice. In total seven Ottoman-Venetian wars were fought. Both Preveza and Lefkada were hotly contested. Already between 1502-1503 in the second Ottoman-Venetian war the Venetians briefly gained control of Lefkada, but eventually gave it back to the Turks. Another attempt happened in 1538. However, a united Christian fleet under the Genoese captain Andrea Doria was defeated off Preveza by an Ottoman fleet under Hayreddin Barbarossa. Apparently this day was so important for the Turkish Navy, that it is still celebrated as a National Holiday to this time.

In 1684 the Venetians conquered the castle Santa Maura outside Lefkada guarding the narrow strait. The Venetian admiral Francesco Morosini flattened most of Lefkada town outside the castle to gain a glacis. The castle was reinforced to such an extent that Lefkada stayed in the possession of Venice until 1797, the end of the Venetian Republic.

Things were not much different on the mainland at Preveza. In the campaign of 1684 the Venetians captured Preveza, however, in 1699 it was handed back to the Ottomans. It changed sides again in 1717 and stayed Venetian until 1797.

View from the northern hills of Lefkada across the town and the bay of Aktium

In 1797 a unexpected international player arrived at the Ionian coast. Napoleon Bonaparte had occupied Venice and decreed the final dissolution of the Venetian Republic. With other Venetian possessions in Greece and Albania Preveza and Lefkada were incorporated into Revolutionary France. A contingent of 280 French grenadiers were sent to Preveza. They were welcomed by the local population, who formed a pro-French militia since they saw a chance to get rid of the Ottoman rule. However, Napoleon Bonaparte moved on to Egypt and Syria, and, although now at war with the Ottoman Empire, did not care about the fate of the small Preveza garrison at the edge of Ottoman territory.

Grivas castle built by Ali Pasha to conquer Lefkada

The local Ottoman governor was Ali Pasha Tepelena., He had great ambitions to rule the area independently and, together with his son would become the ruler determining the fate of the border area between what now is Greece, Albania and Bulgaria for the next quarter of a century. Ali Pasha attacked Preveza in 1798 with an overwhelming force. The ancient ruins of Nicopolis became the theatre of a battle between the 7,000 Ottoman troops of Ali Pasha against the 280 French and 260 of their local allies. The battle led to a terrible massacre of the French troops and the local population. At the celebration of his victory Ali Pasha had the survivors lead a parade through his capital Ioannina each carrying the severed heads of one of his dead comrades on a stick as display.

However, Ali Pasha was not satisfied with having taken Preveza and wanted to extend his rule across the ionian islands as well. In the meanwhile, Lefkada had been occupied by a joined force of Russian and Turkish forces. Ali Pasha built castles guarding the entrance to Lefkada. Opposite the lagoon at the entrance to the island a castle later called Grivas was built in 1806 to facilitate the attack. Along the canal separating the Mainland from Lefkada, the threatened Russians built Konstantinos and Alexandros castles for defence. The attack against the castle of Santa Maura finally came in 1807. However, it failed and the island stayed under French control.

Triangular castle built by Ali Pasha across the strait of Aktium from Preveza

On the coast of Actium, opposite Preveza, another small fort was built in 1807-1810 by Ali Pasha to control the navigation in the Ambracian gulf. It has an exceptional triangular shape with polygonic towers at the corners. The castle of Pantcrator in Preveza is the result of Ali Pasha’s occupation of the town. However, the town of Preveza alone has three more castles. The old town is framed by the enormous fortresses of Agios Andreas and Agios Georgios.

Entrance to the triangular castle closed because of works

With the collapse of Napoleon’s rule the Ionian islands were occupied by yet another new force: the British. In 1815, under their rule a protectorate of the Ionian islands was formed. On the mainland, Ali Pasha ruled his pseudo independent state until his death in 1820. By then the Greek movement for independence which first had surfaced during the French occupation of Preveza, had gained momentum. However, it took until 1912 before the area finally became part of the Greek kingdom.

Entrance to Santa Maura castle still with the lion of Venice above the entrance

All the castles mentioned are in a deplorable state. Only the churches in the castles are renovated and freshly painted in white. This might be the reason that most entrances are padlocked with signs that work is in progress. However, there are no signs of restoration works and an intention to open them for the public. Maybe they are regarded as symbols of the long occupation of Greece by foreign powers, in particular the arch-enemy Turkey. The only exception is Santa Maura castle in Lefkada. A paved, wheelchair accessible – and illuminated - walkway was built with help of the EU and a modest entrance fee has to be paid. The timeline of its owners is a good example how this area became a toy in the hands of the mighty:

Inside Santa Maura castle

“1302: Construction of a small fortress by Orsini

1331: Conquest by G. de Brienne and forces of the Kingdom of Naples

1362: Annexed by Leonardo Tocco, count of Kefalonia

1410-1420: Fortification improvements by Carlo I Tocco

1479: Captured by the Ottomans

1502: Captured by Western Allies and occupation by Venetians

1503: Given to Turks in exchange for Kefalonia

1566-1571: Extensive reconstruction and creation of Ottoman town

1684: Captured by the Venetians under Morosini

1797: Occupation by the French

1798: Captured by Russian forces in alliance with the Turks

1807: Return of the French after the victories of Napoleon

1810: Captured by the British

1864: Union of the Ionian islands with Greece”

https://www.kastra.eu/castleen.php?kastro=agmavra

The light house above one corner of Santa Maura castle

In this part of Greece, castles and churches are the main leftovers of history. Sometimes, the remains of a watchtower or a windmill can be seen. Of the many monasteries, only the churches remain while the walls and quarters of the monks are in ruin. Little is left of what makes other areas in Greece so pleasant, old villages with a kafenion where the old men gather and chat. The reason might lie in the frequency of earthquakes.

Egenmi beach. There are places on hidden beaches where you really don't want to be during an earthquake

In 1825, a strong earthquake destroyed most of the town of Lefkada. As consequence of the damage new houses were built from wood. Since 1900, Lefkada has had 12 quakes of magnitude 6.0 or above, 66 quakes between 5.0 and 6.0, and 22 quakes between 4.0 and 5.0. In a big earthquake of force 6.3 on November 27th, 1914, 16 people were killed. Still today, the earth shakes frequently. An earthquake of force 6.5 was recorded on November 17th, 2015 8:10 AM. It caused a landslide at Egemni beach and killed two people. The last major earthquakes recorded near Lefkada was on July 26th, 2021 11:09 PM of magnitude 4.1.

The city center of the town of Lefkada

Wood was used as favorite building material on the first floor

The most powerful earthquake in recent history with a magnitude of 6.8 happened on Aug 12, 1953 at 9:23. The main damage happened on the islands of Zakynthos and Keffalonia. The latter was lifted by 60 cm. Between 450 and 800 people were killed.

Ruins in the center of Lefkada island at Karya

The northern part of Greece lies on the Eurasian Plate while the southern part lies on the Aegean Sea Plate, which moves southwestward with respect to the Eurasian Plate at about 30 mm/yr while the African Plate is subducting northwards beneath the Aegean Sea Plate at a rate of about 40 mm/yr.

Still some houses in Lefkada are built precariously hanging on the slopes

There are numerous abandoned buildings on Lefkada, the neighbouring mainland and the little Islands of Megalisi and Kalamos. Buildings carry signs warning of the danger of collapsing.

Warning of unstable building

In the village of Sesoula the rusty remainders of an olive press and oil fabrication machinery remain in the ruins of a collapsed building. The owner of the lovely local tavern explains us that this still is the aftermath of the 1914 earthquake. Money for aid had been promised after each disaster but never appeared.

Abandoned olive oil factory in Sesoula

On lovely Kalamos island the entire village of Porto Leone was abandoned after the water cisterns cracked during an earthquake. The church is the only building which is in perfect shape. The well sheltered bay is a popular anchoring spot for yachts. On the peninsula protecting the bay from the east are the scenic remainders of two windmills. Their ruins are so precarious that it will only need a minor shock to let them collapse completely.

Ruined windmill on Kalamos Island

Like in the rest of Greece the interior of Lefkada is full of monasteries. However, only few have preserved buildings besides the churches, which are usually in a perfect state. At the monastery of St. John the Baptist a couple of monks chat in the shadow, but while most are surrounded by walls, the buildings have lost roof and windows and the monks have disappeared. In the tunnel like entrance to the monastery of evangelistria (kokkini) relicts are for sale. When I enter a monk appears out of a battered car. The church is open and I get the impression he is mainly guarding the beautiful interior.

The monastery of evangelistria (kokkini)

Other monasteries are completely abandoned

The frequency of earthquakes might also be the reason that most of the belfries are steel structures with a bell suspended from the top. Automation has not arrived here yet and the rope hanging down tempts to let the bell sound across the deserted mountains.

Metal structure belfries are typical for earthquake endangered Lefkada

However, next to the historic there are at least as many modern ruins. Many buildings have never been finished and nature has started to reclaim them by a cover of weeds. Others are half finished and the owners seems to use only a part of it. Again, taxation seems to be the reason since unfinished buildings are not taxed. Most annoying are the many deserted buildings in the country side where the owners have spent their money to spoil the scenery but then are never there.

The ruined village of Porto Leone on Lefkada Island

After an earthquake cracked the cisterns the village was abandoned

Bakery and stove of an abandoned house

Only the church was restored

Closer to the bigger settlements and the beaches vandalism has claimed what the earthquakes have left over. The attraction of Agios Ioannis beach outside Lefkada are a row of ruined windmills. When you enter, the interior is covered in graffiti. A sign explains that the windmills had been restored in 1996. A staircase was built to the upper floor, which again is in ruins. Only one mill, which became part of a beach restaurant, stayed in perfect shape.

The vandalised windmills of Agios Ioannis beach in Lefkada

The quiet beach can turn into an inferno at night. Some people use the road on the dam above the beach in the middle of the night for a demonstration of the sound quality of their muffler-less motorcycles. Crazy screaming adds to the pandemonium. This sort of people have found their paradise in Vathi, the main port on the island of Ithaka, the home of Ulysses. Vathi is situated at the end of a fjord like bay and the houses are built up the slopes around the end of the bay like in a huge amphitheatre. The acoustic quality of this location seems to be well known by the motards who drive their farting engines around the bay and up the slopes in a priceless race at 3 am. Vathi must be the world’s noisiest island capital.

The port of Fiskardo on Kefalonia

There is one town which was spared by earthquakes and motorcycles. Open air restaurants line the quay in the bay of lovely Fiskardo at the northern tip of the island of Kefalonia. Old postcards for sale show how well it has preserved its old fashioned charm. There is no castle and the terror of history seems to be far away.

However, peace is deceptive in history. During world war II Kafalonia was occupied by the Italians. When Mussolini’s successor Badiglio arranged a cease fire with the allies in 1943, the Italian troops on the island sided with the locals and fought against the invading Germans. Eventually 340 officers and 4750 soldiers capitulated. Hitler copied the tradition of Ali Pasha and ordered to shoot all the prisoners. One managed to swim across the canal to neighbouring Ithaka. He later became the captain on one of those big ferries which travel the route between Italy and Greece. Each time he passed the island he blew his siren to demonstrate his friendship with the people of Kefalonia. The story of Kefalonia is retold in the novel “Captain Corelli’s Mandoline” by Louis de Bernieres.