Dryopida ( el, Δρυοπίδα) is a village in

Kythnos Kythnos ( el, Κύθνος), commonly called Thermia ( el, Θερμιά), is a Greek island and municipality in the Western Cyclades between Kea and Serifos. It is from the Athenian harbor of Piraeus. The municipality Kythnos is in area and has a ...

island,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It most likely got its name from the first residents of the island, the

Dryopes Dryopes (; grc, Δρύοπες) or Dryopians () were one of the aboriginal tribes of ancient Greece. According to Herodotus, their earliest abode is said to have been on Mount Oeta and its adjacent valleys, in the district called after them, Dryopi ...

. It is declared as a traditional settlement because of its architecture. The village has an estimated 325 inhabitants, according to the 2011 census poll.

General Information

Dryopida is located on the Southern part of the island, at an approximate distance of 7 kilometers from Chora. It is built between two hills at an elevation of 190 meters. The main characteristic of this community are the tiled ceramic roofs, which can be mainly traced back to the occupation of its inhabitants, tilers and roofers in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

who brought back the custom of roofing to their place of birth. Administratively Dryopida was part of the province of Kea but in 1997, as part of the

Kapodistrias Plan Kapodistrias reform ( el, Σχέδιο Καποδίστριας, "Kapodistrias Plan") is the common name of law 2539 of Greece, which reorganised the country's administrative divisions. The law, named after 19th-century Greek statesman Ioannis Kapod ...

administrative reform it became part of the municipality of Kythnos and remained there even after the implementation of the

Kallikratis Plan The Kallikratis Programme ( el, Πρόγραμμα Καλλικράτης, Prógramma Kallikrátis) is the common name of Greek law 3852/2010 of 2010, a major administrative reform in Greece. It brought about the second major reform of the count ...

which reorganized Greece’s administrative divisions. Dryopida is home to the three older classes of the elementary school of Kythnos. The village has an open-air theater, called Little Theater of Dryopida and the island’s regional multipurpose medical center.

History

Dryopida was established at an unspecified time period and became the home for Cretan refugees. According to local tradition it was built as a hideaway from the pirates. It was first called Syllakas or Chorio (the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word for village) but was later renamed to Dryopida, the ancient name of Kythnos, named after

considered the first inhabitants of the island. The locals refer to it often by its old names and its inhabitants are called Syllakotes. Dryopida has been cited in 1700 by French

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

on their missions to the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

. Later on many explorers visited and reported on the village as well. Dryopida experienced a boom in the art of ceramics and roof tiles and iron was being mined in the Katafyki cave.

Sightseeings

Dryopida is home to the Kythnos Folklore Museum exhibiting costumes, tools and other objects of daily life. There is also a small Byzantine Museum located within the Church of Saint George and an Agricultural Museum. An important attraction is the Saint Minas church with a wood-carved

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

and old icons. The Katafyki Cave is located in Fires and has

stalactites A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...

and

stalagmites A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...

. In the Antiquity it operated as an iron mine. After the founding of the Greek state, the mining was reinstated. Throughout the ages the cave has also served as a refuge and a food storage area as well as a place of celebration.

Gallery

File:Endless steps.jpg, alt=, Steps decorated with plants File:Μυλος Δρυοπίδα Kythnos.jpg, alt=, Windmill File:Katafiki.jpg, alt=, Inside Katafyki Cave File:Μάης γιορτή Δρυοπίδα 3.jpg, alt=, Traditional May Feast in Dryopida File:Floral steps.jpg, alt=, Alley File:Dryopida on Kythnos, 190367.jpg, alt=, Small street near Theatraki

References

Bibliography

* Roussos-Milidonis, Markos N., Ιησουίτες του 17ου και 18ου αιώνα περιγράφουν το Αιγαίο, Εκδόσεις Δήμου Άνω Σύρου, Athens 1989. * Venetoulias, Giorgis, Τα κεραμικά της Κύθνου, Enplo Editions, 2004. * Venetoulias, Giorgis, Του νησιού μου, Παραδόσεις της Κύθνου, Enplo Editions, 2018. {{coord, 37.383, 24.431, type:city_region:GR, display=title Populated places in Kea-Kythnos Kythnos