Merbaka ( el, Μέρμπακα), but officially Agia Trias (Αγία Τρίας, "Holy Trinity"), is a village in the province of

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the ...

, in the Peloponnese near

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

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 ...

. It was officially renamed on December 29, 1953 Merbaka is thought to have been named for

William of Moerbeke William of Moerbeke, O.P. ( nl, Willem van Moerbeke; la, Guillelmus de Morbeka; 1215–35 – 1286), was a prolific medieval translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts from Greek language into Latin, enabled by the period ...

, a 13th-century

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

archbishop of

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...

and

Philhellene Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

. A roughly contemporaneous Byzantine-Gothic Church of the

Dormition of the Mother of God The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...

( el, Ναός της Κοίμησις Θεοτόκου, popularly known as Παναγία της Βούζης, ''Panagia tis Bouzis'', "Our Lady of Bouzis") in the village may have been built under his auspices.Prof. Gary Reger, ''An Athenian Diary'' Retrieved May 10, 2010. The church's popular name is held to have come from a prominent Lemnian family of landowners who donated the land for a mediaeval monastery nearby; their name and social position is attested by contemporaneous documents with the seal of Michael Makrembolites Doukas. The monastery was sited further inland from its existing twin, the Monastery of Areias near

Nafplio Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...

– popularly known as "The Holy Mountain" — to protect the monks and ecclesiastical property from piratical raiding. Merbaka's official name likely stems from the inclusion of three "saints" on a re-used Classical pediment on the thirteenth-century church: villagers likely interpreted these figures as a representation of the Holy Trinity, and unofficially renamed the church to reflect this; in time, the name was applied to the new church, and later, to the village itself. The older church includes other recycled antiquities like a Roman dedication, in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, to

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus (c. 114 BC – late 50s BC) was a politically active member of the Roman upper class. He was praetor in 74 BC and pontifex from 73 BC until his death. He was consul in 69 BC along with Quintus Hortensius Hortalu ...

, a Roman

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

in Greece who was noted for his suppression of piracy. From the end of the Sixth Ottoman-Venetian War to 1770, when it was attacked by bandits, Argos was the seat of the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Metropolis of Nauplion and Argolis, due to the Venetian imposition of a

bishop at Argos. Orologion merbaka

The modern church of the Holy Trinity, first erected in 1898, was torn down and rebuilt in 1934.The Reverend Oeconomos Anastasios Salapatas, Μέρμπακα: Η Εκκλησία της Αγίας Τριάδο�

18 September 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2010. A plaque on the front of the belltower says that the clock was donated in 1952. Merbaka is part of the municipal unit of Midea, Greece, Midea. According to the 2001 Greek

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, the village had a population of 1,267 inhabitants.

Notable people

Theofanis Tombras Theofanis Tombras ( el, Θεοφάνης Τόμπρας, translit. ''Theophanes Tompras'', transcr. ''Theofanis Tombras'' or ''Tobras''), 1932 – 8 January 1996)Ελεύθερος Τύπος, 9/1/1996 was a Greek Army officer (colonel of si ...

- former general manager of

OTE OTE is the national telecommunications provider of Greece. OTE may also refer to: * Ocean thermal energy conversion, a renewable energy source * Oda of Haldensleben (978–1023), daughter of the Margrave of the North March, Theoderich * On-ta ...

and alleged participant in the "Koskotas scandal", for which he was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

References

{{Coord, 37.6377, N, 22.8041, E, source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Populated places in Argolis Villages in Greece