Gatzea I: Dissemination strategies for Heritage
Elisa DAMIANIDOU
Pelion
Geography Pelion is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in central Greece, forming a peninsula in hook-shape between the Pagasetic Gulf and the Aegean Sea.
1 Thessaly, Magnesia, Mountain Pelion
Mythology Regarding the Greek mythology, Mount Pelion took its name from the mythical king Peleus, father of Achilles, and was the homeland of the centaurs; the mythical creatures presented as part human and part horse. Most famous is the Chiron the Centaur, the wise tutor of many ancient demigods and heroes, such as Jason, Achilles, Theseus, Heracles and also Aesculapius, who then became the God of Medicine and gave life to the dead (Development Company of Pelion SA 2012:27).
2 Chiron the Centaur teaches Achilles
Pelion was the place of residence of Gods in the summer and the place where the marriage of Thetis and Peleus took place. All the Olympian Gods were invited except for the goddess Eris because of her provocative inclinations. To take revenge, she brought a golden apple with the inscription "To the Fairest" and then the dispute arose between the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite and Athena. Paris, the Prince of Troy, was appointed to select the fairest by Zeus and he chose Aphrodite’s temptation that was Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world and wife of Menelaus of Sparta. Thus, the Trojan War began (Development Company of Pelion SA 2012:27). Jason and the Argonauts The voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the mythical land of Colchis was organized in Pelion too. Jason, who was raised there by the Chiron the Centaur, went to claim the throne from his uncle Pelias. On his way, he lost one of his sandals. Pelias, the king of Lokrida in Thessaly, had received prophecies according to which he would be killed by a descendant of Aeolus and should be protected from a man who wore one sandal. When Pelias saw Jason with just one sandal, in order to keep him away, he commanded Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece from Colchis, promising that as long as he managed to fulfil this task, he would conquer the throne. This is how the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts started. Their ship “Argo” was built with pine woods from Pelion
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and under the supervision of the Goddess Athena, who had placed on its prow a magical piece of timber from the sacred forest of Dodona, which could speak and render prophecies (Pelion Mythology n.d.).
3 http://digitalschool.minedu.gov.gr/modules/ebook/show.php/DSDIM-C103/88/698,2634/
4 http://dimosvolos.gr/?cat=52
Some brief pieces of history Sesklo/ Dimini Magnesia was first inhabited from the 7th millennium BC and during the Neolithic Age two important settlements were developed; Sesklo and Dimini. Sesklo was developed from the 7th millennium BC and was prosperous during the middle Neolithic Age until the end of the 5th millennium BC that it was set on fire. Few inhabitants were left until its final decline during the middle Bronze Age. Dimini was developed at the end of 5th millennium BC and was moving towards the south-east during the Bronze Age. At the end of Bronze Age it is said that the settlement is identical to the Mycenaean Iolkos (capital of Mycenaean Thessaly), from where Jason and the Argonauts began their trip. The buildings of the settlement were abandoned at the end of the 13th century BC and from the Post Mycenaean era was enslaved to the Thessalians until its liberation from the King Philip II of Macedon the 4th century BC.
5 Διμήνι (Dimini) 6 Σέσκλο (Sesklo) http://www.magnesia- http://www.magnesia- tourism.gr/Portals/0/Uploads/Dhmoi/Dimos%20Aisonias tourism.gr/Portals/0/Uploads/Dhmoi/Dimos%20Aisonias/ai /aisopias3.jpg sopias2.jpg
In 293 BC Dimitriada started to develop in Magnesia and was named by the name of its founder Demetrius Poliorcetes ("The Besieger"), who in the early 3rd century BC cohabitated small villages in the region to create a city in a strategic location. The city flourished as an economic, commercial and political center, then started to decline from the 1st century AD and was finally abandoned the 6th century AD (Development Company of Pelion SA, 2012:28-30).
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Turkish occupation The Turkish occupation of Magnesia that started in 1423, did not extend into the eastern inaccessible portion of Pelion, so the coastal towns were abandoned in favor of the remote mountain villages. In 1668 the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet IV set the villages independent, which then acquired a special cultural and economic lustre, becoming at the same time a bastion for people that set the movement of "Greek Enlightenment". During the Greek Revolution of 1821 many of the villages suffered by the Turk conquers, like Argolasti, Siki and Kanalia that were burned. Nevertheless, in the same year, the flag of rebellion waved over Milies (Development Company of Pelion SA, 2012:30-32). Even though the living conditions under the Turks were difficult and all the activities were taking place around the walls of the Ottoman Castle, the residents had done many efforts to develop their communities in commercial terms (Nathenas , Karathanou 2006:18). In 1841, some tradesmen from Magnesia and also Pelion succeed to convince the Sultan to build a coastal region, which then gathered great population from the around cities, as well as rich expatriates and finally formed a wealthy leading social class(Nathenas , Karathanou 2006:18). When Thessaly was incorporated to the Greek independent state on 1881, Volos entered a new flourished period (Development Company of Pelion SA, 2012:31). The transformation of the city to a commercial nucleus was mainly through to its port, but the road transport could not help the trade activity to expand around the region. Thus, there was a socio-economical need for a railway network to transport the goods from the plain of Thessaly to the only existing port. A few months after the liberation of Volos, the Thessaly railway works started under the administration of Evaristo De Chirico (Nathenas , Karathanou 2006:20). The train line The Mount of Pelion had many refugees that during the wars made their settlements around the local monasteries and later evolved into the 24 villages that now exist. Many residents, who were working for the well-known “Zagora Ships”, brought to Pelion innovative ideas from the European Enlightenment. They were investing their wealth to construct mansions, cobbled paths, bridges, churches and schools; consequently, the traditional architecture of Pelion was created. The cultural and economic development of Pelion contradicted to the lack of transport infrastructure. So in 1889 it was decided to construct a railway network to directly connect the city of Volos to the Mount of Pelion (Volos-Ano Lechonia). One of the urgent needs for this network was the olive-crop production that needed to be transported fast and in a reliable way to the port. After the inauguration of the Volos-Lechonia line, the ThR/STh Company was discussing its extension to the eastern Pelion and in 1900, they signed a contract for the Ano Lechonia-Milies line (Nathenas , Karathanou 2006:22- 26,46,58). For the residents of the mountainous settlements the only way to travel were through some mule- tracks, footpaths and cobbled paths and the usual mean of transport was the pack-animals. As a result, the agricultural products were over charged and lots of them were destroyed in their way to the exporting regional centre. Furthermore, many citizens that were living in Volos but coming from Pelion, still had their properties there (most of them had olive-grooves) and after cultivating the land and pick the olives, they returned to Volos to sell them. The railway reduced the operational cost and made the transportation secure, thus the agriculture of Pelion turned into a competitive market in Greece and abroad (Nathenas , Karathanou 2006:128,129,134). The post-war years, the road network on Pelion was completed, so the little train (also called “Mountzouris” which means the Smoky, a nickname from the old times) started to decline. In 1951, the only settlements still dependent to the train were the Ano Gatzea and Pinakates, but not for long.The train was finaly abolished by the dictatorship on 21st of June 1971, because it was considered uneconomical (Nathenas , Karathanou 2006:84, 166). The stoned arched bridges In civil engineering terms, the construction of the railway required many difficult works at the mountainous part; 9 viaducts, 2 tunnels, 7 masonry arched overpasses for cobbled paths and mules tracks(constructed during the construction of the train line 1901-1903), 18 drainpipes and many retaining walls-mainly constructed by local craftsmen or craftsmen from Epirus (Nathenas ,
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Karathanou 2006:233). The longest railway bridge with five arches is situated between Ano Lehonia and Ano Gatzea, with maximum height of the middle arch 23 m. (Environmental Education Center of Makrinitsa, 2007:20). The masonry overpass at the station of Ano Gatzea is evenly structured with well-carved marble stones, has 1,30 m. high continuous parapets and its arch is 5 m. high and 6 m. wide. The overpass at Kouklaki is also called the “big arch”, as it is the biggest, the highest and the most impressive of the Pelion line and can be seen from afar. It is made of white marble stones, has continuous and high parapets and its arch is 14,5 high and 13 m. wide (Nathenas , Karathanou 2006:236). In addition, an innovative construction method of the period appears at the Vrychonas river bridge, which is the first made of reinforced concrete and the high lattice-grinder iron span over the Taxiarchis stream, which has curved rails on its rectilinear truss (Nathenas , Karathanou 2006:234). Details for the masonry overpasses of Ano Gatzea & photos & sketches: George Nathenas, Militsa Karathanou (2006). The Little Train of Pelion. Athens: Militos Editions, p. 232-243
The traditional architecture (photos/plans: ελληνικη παραδοςιακη αρχιτεκτονικη, δ. Φιλλιπιδησ) Construction traditions The traditional architecture The traditional architecture of Pelion is categorised in 3 eras; the early (1700 -1750), the classical (1750- 1850) and the later or Egyptian (1850 -1900) architecture. Fortified houses: 1700 -1750 The Early Architecture of Pelion used a stone stem, which occupied a large area into the space of the house, riddled with small battlements, rare and tiny windows and had a large and high entry. The house usually had three floors; the base was built on stone, while for the floors it was used an interference of stone and wood. Regarding the last floor, wooden brackets which supported open air or enclosed balconies called "exostega". In the same time, lower fortified houses of two floors were imitating the tower architecture in a more rural way, according to the residents’ needs.
The local Mansion house: 1750-1850 The mansion house served the needs of fortification, accommodated the handicraft and presented the social status. There is an additional room for reception, which hosts the entrance so the plan that turns into an “L” shape. The last floor was used for the homemade production and for the summer living, the middle floor was for the winter living and the ground floor as a cellar, called “katoi”, to store the annual supply for the house. A necessary complement for the household was the outdoor oven and the auxiliary buildings at the yard. The Academician house: 1850 -1900 It is called so, because of the wealth emigrants of Pelion that influenced the architecture with classicist elements, such as the symmetry of the facades, the "renaissance" trilobed porches, the balconies, the "German" shutters. The plan also consisted to a great change; the entrance leaded to a monumental staircase and the rooms where in rows at both the left and right side. The same plan is kept to the first and second floor (Kizis Giannis, 1995:6-10).
The construction methods: The two main materials are stone (slate) and wood (chestnut, oak, beech). The foundation of the construction starts on rough raw stones bonded with sludge, usually on an uneven ground. The load- bearing walls were built on roughly carved big limestones and smaller slates in two parallel side walls and filled in with rubble stones and mud. Stones of better quality and thoroughly carved were used at the quoins, lintels and around the openings. In vertical zones of 1,00-1,50m horizontal wooden grades were inserted not only to bond the two parallel side walls but also to better bear the stones and to reinforce the structure in case of earthquake. The ground floor’s floor was slated directly on
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pressed ground and the backside of the ground floor was just ground and rocks (Leonidopoulou- Stylianou, 1988:83-84).
Some local construction techniques:
7 wooden grades inserted to bond the wall and reinforce the structure, locally called “xilodesies”
8 The wooden structure body is filled with clay bricks or stones, locally called “tsatmas” or is or coated by both sides with nailing strips, braided twigs or reeds, the “bagdati”.
9 Bagdati of nailing strips
10 Bagdati of braided twigs
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The water-driven oil-mills Magnesia does not have big rivers, contrary to the rest two regional units of Thessaly that have much flowing water because of the rivers and their tributaries. Nevertheless, in Magnesia there were many professions related to the use of water and places to accommodate them. The locals except for the water supply and irrigation, exploited the kinetic and potential energy of water. Until the start of the World War II, there were many water-driven oil-mills, water mills and some tanneries that served the main three needs of people: feeding, clothing, housing (Gkrassos 2010:92,93). It is also often for the settlements of Pelion, to meet mills in row driven by the water of the same source which then evolved to prime areas (like Lechonia, Gatzea, Portaria) (Polimerou-Kamilaki, 2000: 14). The mills’ architecture is following the local traditional rules of the region. The variety and the number of the water-driven oil-mills (locally called “galiagres”) of Magnesia and especially Pelion is a unique phenomenon for Greece. The first of these oil-mills were accommodated in intervened water-mill houses. At first, they were using grindstones that were turning around with the use of a horse-powered machine (μαγκάνι) and later they used the hydraulic power. The water was falling down through a canal and rolling a big iron wheel, whose propeller consisted of wooden or iron baskets. The pressure of the water into the baskets made the wheel to rotate around its iron axe and the axe itself that was rotating the two grindstones at the threshing yard (aloni). Later, where the water supply was enough, they replaced the wheel by a bigger one called “rodana”, which was rotating a vertical cogged wheel and the latter was rotating an horizontal gear; the gear was then rotating the grindstones which were attached to the gear and were constructed in a stoned base, the“aloni” (Gkrassos 2010:96).
11 Drawing of a water-driven oil-mill
12 Gkrassos G. (2009)
Reference List Development Company of Pelion SA (2012), Magnesia Pelion Sporades, Crossing beautiful places, Volos Greece.
Environmental Education Center of Makrinitsa, (2007), The Stone Arched Bridges of Greece, Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Makrinitsa Pelion, viewed 7 July 2013 < http://kpe-makrin.mag.sch.gr/>
Gkrassos G. (2009), The use and the management of water in preindustrial Greece, Environmental Education Center of Makrinitsa, Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, viewed 25 July 2013 < http://repository.edulll.gr/edulll/handle/10795/1308>
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Gkrassos G. (2010), Monuments of preindustrial use of water and of hydraulic power in Magnesia, En Volo, vol. 37-38, pp. 92-97.
Kizis G. (1995), The architecture of Pelion, the evolution and types of Pelion houses, Kathimerini “7 Imeres”, vol. 2-32, pp. 6-13, viewed 25 July 2013
Nathenas G., Karathanou M. (2006), The Little Train of Pelion, Militos Editions, Athens Greece.
Nomikos S. (2000), Inventions and typological development, Kathimerini “7 Imeres”: Greek Watermills, vol. 2-31, pp. 3-4, viewed 25 July 2013
Polimerou-Kamilaki Α. (2000), The Mill settlements of Central Greece, Kathimerini “7 Imeres”: Greek Watermills, vol. 2- 31, pp. 14-15, viewed 25 July 2013
Web sites Pelion Mythology n.d., Viewed 7 July 2013,
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