Oral History / Agia Pelagia

"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illumines reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity."
Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC), Pro Publio Sestio

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Please note! There are dozens of historic and fascinating photographs to be found in the Kythera Cultural Archive section of this site.

History > Oral History

submitted by George Poulos on 12.10.2004

A young Kytherian boys' interaction with the Italian troops stationed on Kythera. Tony Fardoulys remembers.

[Tony is a Real Estate agent in Liverpool, Sydney, Australia. In the past decade he has travelled to Kythera every Kytherian summer. Town of origin: Ayia Pelagia. Parachoukli Alai].

Food sharing.

The Italians used to go to Ayia Pelagia a lot. They used to give us whatever food they had left over in "billy cans" - and we would go back and share it with the family.

They were very good to us. They were very good......

The Germans ...

History > Oral History

submitted by George Poulos on 16.03.2005

Sea Mines. Nurki. (Greek). A fascination with dynamite.

[Tony Fardoulys is a Real Estate agent in Liverpool, Sydney, Australia. In the past decade he has travelled to Kythera every Kytherian summer. Town of origin: Ayia Pelagia. Parachoukli Alai. He recalls the following about sea mines].

Sea mines - are called nurki or nurkes (plural). They were big and round ....about 1½ metres wide. They had detonators every 7-8 inches ( 16 cm's). Many of them washed ashore in Kythera.

To immobilise them they were dragged ...

History > Oral History

submitted by George Poulos on 12.10.2004

The Day they blew the church at Ayia Pelagia to Kingdom Come. Tony Fardoulys' account.

[Tony is a Real Estate agent in Liverpool, Sydney, Australia. In the past decade he has travelled to Kythera every Kytherian summer. Town of origin: Ayia Pelagia. Parachoukli Alai].

In 1942, He remembers as a young child of 9 years of age, watching a ship come towards the shoreline at Ayia Pelegia. "I was watching...because I had nothing else to do." This ship was being guarded by a small aeroplane.....I remember it so clearly.....it would curl up towards Panagia Thespina, then ...

History > Oral History

submitted by George Poulos on 11.10.2004

The Day they blew the church at Ayia Pelagia to Kingdom Come.

In 1942, a bomb appeared on the beach near Firi Ammos. It had failed to detonate. It remained on the beach for many months.

The feast day of Ayia Patrikia, was traditionally celebrated in the small church of Ayia Patrikia - which is situated between Karavas and Ayia Pelagia. [As of early Oct 2004, no photograph of Ayia Patrikia has been posted to the web-site]. In 1942, this ceremony drew its usual very large crowd.

In the meantime, three Karavitithes, Haralambos Coroneos ...

History > Oral History

submitted by Alexandra Ermolaeff on 06.02.2004

(01) Dimitrios Aronis-Beys: Departure from the Motherland

(An extract from the memoirs of Prof. Manuel J. Aroney)


My father Dimitrios Aronis and colleague doing military service in the Gendarmerie in Greece. Photograph taken circa 1906 prior to Dimitrios leaving for Australia.

A sombre mood hung over the village of Aroniadika on the Greek island of Kythera as on this day in 1908 one of its favourite sons was leaving. Dimitrios Aronis, son of Emmanuel Aronis (Beys or ...