Atsicholos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Atsicholos is a very old village of Demos Gortynos of Nomos Arkadia (Prefecture Arcadia), Hellas (Greece) with an amazing history. Originally the village was located in the area of the Lousios Gorge and was called "Azicholo" ("Azi" meaning "Youthful" and "Cholo" meaning "Wrath" from the Ancient Greek word "cholos"). A few years later, some of the villagers moved south and established another village, and called it "Palaiochori" (literally meaning "Old Village"). The northern village remained being called Azicholo while the other one, the southern village, remained Palaiochori, thus, establishing a unified society between the villagers.

The village's original name is as obscure as its founding. A legend says that a "tzopani" (shepherd) and his "katsika" (cow) were traveling in what is now the village's present location and found a source of water, thus, naming the area "Atsicholos". But this is far from the truth, for the original village was founded in the area of the Lousios Gorge as it proven by the remnants of very old spitakia (houses), kallivakia (huts) and keramidia (roof tiles). One legend has it that the Roman crucifiers of Jesus Christ relocated to this area as a safe-haven, when the area of which was once Ancient Gortys was under the control of the Roman Empire, thus, giving to the name Azicholo ("Youthful Wrath"). It is also believed that the unified villages of Azicholo Palaiochori were the last remnants of the great Myceanean city of Ancient Gortys, named after the eponymous hero-king, Gortys (Son of Stymphalos, Son of Elatos, Son of Arkas), of the Pelasgian line of Hellenic Kings.

The villagers of Azicholo Palaiochori moved and settled in the present area of what is now Atsicholos as a way of fleeing the Ottoman Turks during their oppressive ruler over Hellas for more than 400 years. Before the present area of Atsicholos was settled, it was a place for sheep grazing for the villagers of Palaiochori and the people thought of this area as the best place to secretly rebuild a new village, without the Turks knowing about it. Somehow the Turks realized what was going on and they were ordered by the villagers to show them where this new village is. The villagers fooled the Turks and sent them to look into another location. The present area of Atsicholos is a strategic location, as is the village of Karytena (Karitaina), which became valuable to fight the Turks during the Hellenic Revolution of 1821-1828.

One famous individual who was supposedly born here was Gregorios Aggelopoulos, also known historically as Patriarch Gregorios V, who was martyred at the gates of the patriarcheio in Constantinople by the Turks.