Atsicholos

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Atsicholos or Atsiholos
Ατσίχολος
Statistics
Prefecture: Arcadia
Province: Gortynia
Municipality: Gortyna
Municipal district: Atsicholos
Location:
Latitude:
Longitude:
37.525 (37° 31' 21") N
21.0236 (21° 1' 28") E
Population: (2001)
-Village
-Municipal district
-Percent of the municipal district
Percent of the municipality
37
114
33.64%
2.92%
Altitude:
 -lowest:
 -centre:
about 200 m (Alfeios River)
560 m
about 800 m (north)
Postal code: GR-222 00
Area/distance code: 11-(00)30-27940
Car designation (as of 2006): TP

Atsicholos or Atsiholos (Greek: Ατσίχολος) is a very old village in Gortynia (Arcadia prefecture

Contents

[edit] Nearest places

[edit] Information

Its main production are olives, citrus, fruits, vegetables and other crops, several common crops are rarely common. The village can be seen as far as to the north and east.

Marathia has several rural roads and approximately 10 km of hydro lines and 3 km of paved roads.

Its residential houses and buildings are within the main road and it is about 200 to 300 m long wide at the centre. Much of the houses were stone built until the 1960s. Electricity arrived in the same year. Vehicles arrived in the 1970s, the pavement of the main road and television arrived in the 1980s and computer and internet are rarely known in the beginning of the 21st century and up to date technology are not seen.

[edit] Population

Year Population Change Percent of the
municipality		 Density-->
1981 80 - -
1991 61 -19 or -23.75% -
2001 63 +2 or +3.28% 4.98%

[edit] History

The village's original name is as obscure as its founding. A legend says that a "tzopani" (shepherd) and his "katsika" (goat) were traveling in what is now the village's present location and found a source of water, thus, naming the area "Atsicholos" (originally Atzi-Cholos). 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. It is also believed that the villages of Atzi-Cholos and Vrenthi (Karytaina) were the last remnants of the great Mycenaean city of Ancient Gortys or Gortynos, named after the eponymous hero-king, Gortys (Son of Stymphalos, Son of Elatos, Son of Arcas), of the Pelasgian line of Hellenic Kings.

The villagers of Atzi-Cholos 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 the old settlement 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 Karytaina (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.

The village used to have a large population before the beginning of the 20th century. After World War II and the Greek Civil War, the population began to decline as residents moved to larger towns and cities and outside of Greece. One exception was that the population lost by nearly one-third 1981 and 1991 but it slightly lost between 1991 and 2001.

Copyright © 2005-2007 by Arkadias Gortynios Publishers, Inc.

[edit] Other

Atsicholos has a church, and a square (plateia), its nearest school and lyceum (middle school) and gymnasium (secondary school) are in Karytaina.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Municipal districts of the municipality of Gortyna
Atsicholos | Karytaina (Kalyvakia | Karvounari) | Katsimbalis | Kotyli or Kotili (Palatos | Strongylo) Kourounios | Kyparissia | Maratha (formerly Vlachorrapti) | Mavria | Sarakini (Kryonero | Palaiokastro) | Zoni
Greece | Peloponissos | Arcadia | Gortynia | Gortyna, Arcadia