A settlement in northeastern Kythera beneath the mountain of Agia Moni. The area has grown significantly after the construction of Kythera's port here. Earlier, only a few fishing huts belonging to families from Aroniadika and Frilingianika existed. A cave at Chousti served as a place of worship in antiquity. The nearby islets of Dragoneres have yielded anchors, coins, and remnants of a sanctuary likely dedicated to Poseidon. Several single-room houses (volta) on the mountain slopes were likely rural dwellings. The name derives from "diakopi," referring to coastal areas forming a small peninsula. Diakofti may be the ancient port of Phoinikountas, though evidence is lacking. Coins of the Goths are reported to have been found here.
Condensed from Emmanuel Kalligeros's excellent Kytherian Geographical Placenames which is available
here
Great news
Kythera Summer Edition is finally available on-line http://www.visitkythera.gr/uploads/kythera_summer_edition.pdf.
The 2010 Edition is packed with fascinating projects occurring now, Underwater Diving with John Fardoulis, a 2-page spread on Anti-Kythera, Lita and Timothy Gregory’s Karavas Water project, Searching your Family Roots with Gaye Hegeman, a tribute to the amazing work of the late Jurgen and Anna Koksma and much more.
Check-out the fantastic photos and source the directory for all the essential Kytherian phone numbers. Have a great summer wherever you and your loved ones are………and drop us a line!!!!!!! [[picture:"exofyllo.jpg" ID:17870]]
if you don't have a few swims at diakofti in august its just not cricket , and after your swim couple of great little restaurants to complete your day at the beach ...the winter is half over so soon we will be going back to kythera to swim in those amazing waters ... !!
one of the ways to get on and off the island is the ferry boat that docks at diakofti harbour , the ferry boat runs between Napoli in main land Greece and kythera , in august it comes and goes 4 to 5 times a day , once you get to Napoli its about a four hour drive to Athens....
getting aboard for the night boat to Athens , as the summer is over for these tourists and back to their homes , .. ke tou xpono .. come back for the summer next year ...
a differant beach in the winter .. no one on the beach, the little bar is closed , no one playing raquet tennis ... bit sad actually .. but summer will come around before you know it !!!
Hello,Thank you for your comment. I am arifad I do not understand exactly were the problem lies. Coud you please be more explicit? We are about to install the signs with boastings which will complete the directional signage of the trail. In addition, on of the most important of signs has been brutaly removed. Thank you,The kythera hiking team
march april is the perfect time to catch these moreton bay / balmain bugs , these were caught just of diakofti ,this diver can dive down to 20 meters with no air tanks ,they caught a few of these , when boiled they tasted terrific ...
one of the loviest people on the island ... Forti Manea from agia pelagia out for a afternoon of spear fishing and having great luck catching these fish just out from diakofti .. great catch boys and ''kali orixi ''
Yanoula Chlentzos (marked) and her sister-in-law and brother-in-law Mary Chlentzos Alfieris and John Alfieris are shown in Diakofti in 1955, returning to Kythera for the first time since they emigrated in 1907.
'And Then He Came To The Fountain Where The Lions Are...’. an exhibition of paintings and drawings from Athens, Kythera and Crete.
I had never travelled outside Australia and had no desire to do so. But, my companion Lyn had her mind made up. “Its now or never” she said and it sounded ominous.
I had been reading Henry Miller’s ‘Colossus Of Maroussi’ and ‘A Modern Odyssey’ by Nikos Kazantzakis, author of ‘Zorba The Greek’. The sights and sounds and smells of Crete were vivid in my minds eye, so I said “if we have to go somewhere, how about Greece”?
That was enough. Within a couple of weeks we were flying to Athens. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There really was a huge coloured world out there and it was far more imposing and beautiful than anything I had seen on television or in the travel section of the Sun Herald. I started to draw in a fever.
Athens, Kythera and Crete. The drawings piled up, averaging four or five a day. I had to draw faster and faster in order to digest the plethora of visual experiences on all sides.
Iraklio, the capital of Crete. I am drawing a fountain surrounded by four stone lions. When I finish the drawing, I cross the road and come to a building dedicated to the literary works of Nikos Kazantzakis. I wander in and see on the wall, writ large, ‘And then he came to the fountain where the lions are...’. A quote from ‘Freedom And Death’, one of Kazantzakis’ great books. I am electrified. I had just drawn the Lion Fountain.
Travel as a spiritual experience; nobody told me it could be so. I came home with 95 black and white drawings and proceeded to turn them into paintings. That is what this exhibition is about; a tribute to that marvellous country and the pagan deities that still pulse in the air.
'And Then He Came To The Fountain Where The Lions Are...’. an exhibition of paintings and drawings from Athens, Kythera and Crete.
I had never travelled outside Australia and had no desire to do so. But, my companion Lyn had her mind made up. “Its now or never” she said and it sounded ominous.
I had been reading Henry Miller’s ‘Colossus Of Maroussi’ and ‘A Modern Odyssey’ by Nikos Kazantzakis, author of ‘Zorba The Greek’. The sights and sounds and smells of Crete were vivid in my minds eye, so I said “if we have to go somewhere, how about Greece”?
That was enough. Within a couple of weeks we were flying to Athens. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There really was a huge coloured world out there and it was far more imposing and beautiful than anything I had seen on television or in the travel section of the Sun Herald. I started to draw in a fever.
Athens, Kythera and Crete. The drawings piled up, averaging four or five a day. I had to draw faster and faster in order to digest the plethora of visual experiences on all sides.
Iraklio, the capital of Crete. I am drawing a fountain surrounded by four stone lions. When I finish the drawing, I cross the road and come to a building dedicated to the literary works of Nikos Kazantzakis. I wander in and see on the wall, writ large, ‘And then he came to the fountain where the lions are...’. A quote from ‘Freedom And Death’, one of Kazantzakis’ great books. I am electrified. I had just drawn the Lion Fountain.
Travel as a spiritual experience; nobody told me it could be so. I came home with 95 black and white drawings and proceeded to turn them into paintings. That is what this exhibition is about; a tribute to that marvellous country and the pagan deities that still pulse in the air.
'And Then He Came To The Fountain Where The Lions Are...’. an exhibition of paintings and drawings from Athens, Kythera and Crete.
I had never travelled outside Australia and had no desire to do so. But, my companion Lyn had her mind made up. “Its now or never” she said and it sounded ominous.
I had been reading Henry Miller’s ‘Colossus Of Maroussi’ and ‘A Modern Odyssey’ by Nikos Kazantzakis, author of ‘Zorba The Greek’. The sights and sounds and smells of Crete were vivid in my minds eye, so I said “if we have to go somewhere, how about Greece”?
That was enough. Within a couple of weeks we were flying to Athens. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There really was a huge coloured world out there and it was far more imposing and beautiful than anything I had seen on television or in the travel section of the Sun Herald. I started to draw in a fever.
Athens, Kythera and Crete. The drawings piled up, averaging four or five a day. I had to draw faster and faster in order to digest the plethora of visual experiences on all sides.
Iraklio, the capital of Crete. I am drawing a fountain surrounded by four stone lions. When I finish the drawing, I cross the road and come to a building dedicated to the literary works of Nikos Kazantzakis. I wander in and see on the wall, writ large, ‘And then he came to the fountain where the lions are...’. A quote from ‘Freedom And Death’, one of Kazantzakis’ great books. I am electrified. I had just drawn the Lion Fountain.
Travel as a spiritual experience; nobody told me it could be so. I came home with 95 black and white drawings and proceeded to turn them into paintings. That is what this exhibition is about; a tribute to that marvellous country and the pagan deities that still pulse in the air.
'And Then He Came To The Fountain Where The Lions Are...’. an exhibition of paintings and drawings from Athens, Kythera and Crete.
I had never travelled outside Australia and had no desire to do so. But, my companion Lyn had her mind made up. “Its now or never” she said and it sounded ominous.
I had been reading Henry Miller’s ‘Colossus Of Maroussi’ and ‘A Modern Odyssey’ by Nikos Kazantzakis, author of ‘Zorba The Greek’. The sights and sounds and smells of Crete were vivid in my minds eye, so I said “if we have to go somewhere, how about Greece”?
That was enough. Within a couple of weeks we were flying to Athens. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There really was a huge coloured world out there and it was far more imposing and beautiful than anything I had seen on television or in the travel section of the Sun Herald. I started to draw in a fever.
Athens, Kythera and Crete. The drawings piled up, averaging four or five a day. I had to draw faster and faster in order to digest the plethora of visual experiences on all sides.
Iraklio, the capital of Crete. I am drawing a fountain surrounded by four stone lions. When I finish the drawing, I cross the road and come to a building dedicated to the literary works of Nikos Kazantzakis. I wander in and see on the wall, writ large, ‘And then he came to the fountain where the lions are...’. A quote from ‘Freedom And Death’, one of Kazantzakis’ great books. I am electrified. I had just drawn the Lion Fountain.
Travel as a spiritual experience; nobody told me it could be so. I came home with 95 black and white drawings and proceeded to turn them into paintings. That is what this exhibition is about; a tribute to that marvellous country and the pagan deities that still pulse in the air.
'And Then He Came To The Fountain Where The Lions Are...’. an exhibition of paintings and drawings from Athens, Kythera and Crete.
I had never travelled outside Australia and had no desire to do so. But, my companion Lyn had her mind made up. “Its now or never” she said and it sounded ominous.
I had been reading Henry Miller’s ‘Colossus Of Maroussi’ and ‘A Modern Odyssey’ by Nikos Kazantzakis, author of ‘Zorba The Greek’. The sights and sounds and smells of Crete were vivid in my minds eye, so I said “if we have to go somewhere, how about Greece”?
That was enough. Within a couple of weeks we were flying to Athens. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There really was a huge coloured world out there and it was far more imposing and beautiful than anything I had seen on television or in the travel section of the Sun Herald. I started to draw in a fever.
Athens, Kythera and Crete. The drawings piled up, averaging four or five a day. I had to draw faster and faster in order to digest the plethora of visual experiences on all sides.
Iraklio, the capital of Crete. I am drawing a fountain surrounded by four stone lions. When I finish the drawing, I cross the road and come to a building dedicated to the literary works of Nikos Kazantzakis. I wander in and see on the wall, writ large, ‘And then he came to the fountain where the lions are...’. A quote from ‘Freedom And Death’, one of Kazantzakis’ great books. I am electrified. I had just drawn the Lion Fountain.
Travel as a spiritual experience; nobody told me it could be so. I came home with 95 black and white drawings and proceeded to turn them into paintings. That is what this exhibition is about; a tribute to that marvellous country and the pagan deities that still pulse in the air.
This magnificent mountain towers over Diakofti and Avlemonas in the east of the island. Atop is the monastery of St George on the right, which was built over pagen Minoan temples many thousand of years old.
From left to right: John Alfieris (1882-1966), his wife Maria Chlentzos Alfieris (1882-1968), Maria's brother Diamantis' wife Yanoula Coulentianos Chlentzos. Sitting on the right with the white hat is Manoli Sofios.
(amended 3-7-2007)
Sitting fourth from the left is Kosmas Antoniou Zaglanikis holding his hat.
Sitting fifth from the left after man holding his hat is Maria Panagiotou Kastrisiou. Sitting on the right is her husband Panagiotis Antoniou Kastrisios.
Standing at the back on left hand side is Vasilios Harilaou Kassimatis(Karinos). He had one of the Buses in Potamos.
The rest I do not know. If someone recognizes the others in this photo, please email me. This was my grandparents first trip back to Kythera, after having immigrated to the USA in 1906-1907 via Alexandria, Egypt.
Above Diakofti is located a series of old huts thought to have been used by Arab pirates as bases for raids on passing ships. Note the sunken freighter in the background.
Zakynthos might have its famous shipwreck ("navayio") but at Diakofti you can see the bow of the sunken Antiguan-flagged freighter, the "Nordland". The ship ran aground on the rocky islet of Fidonissi on 29 August 2000. For more information on the sinking and its aftermath go to www.itopf.com/nordland.PDF.
This photo was taken by Maria Pentes on her first trip to Kythera in 1967.
Pictured second from right is her yiayia Stella Aroney (nee Nikolasou, born in Aronyiadika). They are hanging out with family and friends at the taverna in Diakofti.
