Ano Doliana (or Doliana) is a mountainous, historic settlement in
the province of North Kynouria in Arcadia, which belongs to the
local community of Doliana. In winter it is inhabited by a few
inhabitants, as most spend the winter in Kato Doliana and many
return to it during the spring and especially during the summer
months. In the 2011 census it had 90 inhabitants. It is
characterized as a traditional settlement, according to the relevant
legislation of the Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and
Public Works.
In recent years, Ano Doliana has experienced
remarkable mild tourism development, with a significant number of
visitors, especially on winter weekends.
Location and geography
The settlement is located in the
southern surroundings of the Tripoli plain. It stretches at an
altitude between 950 and 1,050 meters and is built amphitheatrically
on the northern slopes of Mount Parnon, with a northern view, spread
over two neighborhoods and surrounded by ravines and small
waterfalls. The panoramic view from the point is of special value,
as it looks like a balcony overlooking the plateau of Tripoli and
the plain of Mantineia, with the visual horizon reaching the
mountains Mainalo, Artemisio, Helmos and Erymanthos.
It is at
a distance of 175 kilometers or about 2 hours from Athens, 20
kilometers (25 minutes) from Tripoli and 33 kilometers (35 minutes)
from Astros.
Environment
Flora
The village is overgrown
with chestnut and plane trees, while a natural forest with fir trees
starts from its northeastern end. The cherries thrive in the area,
while there are also sour cherries. You will also see apple trees,
junipers, walnuts, oaks, gourds, but also some hazelnuts and pears,
in a spectacle that is especially interesting in autumn, with the
alternation of colors in the foliage of deciduous trees.
The
area also has various species of mushrooms.
Finally, at the
entrance of the village and more specifically in the settlement of
Kouvli, at an altitude between 700 and 800 meters, there are
extensive vineyards.
Fauna
The fauna of the area consists
of a variety of epidemic birds such as: goldfinches (nerids in the
local dialect), blackbirds, sparrows, finches, crows, gulls, flowers
and lizards. Also, from the category of migrants are: turtledoves,
nightingales, swallows, sycophagous and hoofed in summer, but also
chewing gum and red-necked (chipmunk in the d. D.) In winter.
Mammals include hares, ferrets (bald eagles) and bats. In recent
years, wild boars have appeared, while even more recent is the
presence of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), as they have re-entered
Parnonas, after their disappearance from the area in the early 20th
century.
Also thrive reptiles such as snakes (vipers, asters,
tree lizards and others), contaminants and lizards (or gusto in t.
D.). Finally, arthropods such as scorpions and spiders are often
found.
Information
The village was used in the past as the
primary residence of the Dolianites, who were mainly engaged in
animal husbandry and for this reason had settled in the mountains.
Kato Doliana was used as a secondary settlement, to which the
inhabitants migrated during the winter months to protect the animals
from the cold and snow. At the same time, mountain pastures were
given time to rejuvenate. However, with the modernization of life
and the shift of the main occupation of the inhabitants from animal
husbandry to the cultivation, mainly of olives, the roles of the two
settlements were reversed. Over the years and due to this
abandonment of its role as a basic settlement of the inhabitants, it
managed to maintain its picturesque character intact, avoiding the
extensive human interventions of modern times.
The peak of
Ai-Lia that dominates above the village, due to its high altitude
(1,390 meters) is used as a telecommunications hub with signal
transmitters for OTE, television (ERT, Digea), radio (ERA etc.) and
mobile telephony of the wider area. It is accessible by a 4 km long
road that starts from Doliana. At this location, on the 20th of July
of Prophet Elias, residents gather in the church of the same name
located above the village, at an altitude of 1,300 meters and
perform a eulogy.
Etymology / origin of name
There are
three different versions of the origin of the name of the
settlement.
According to the first etymological version, the
name has Slavic roots, which is true of several place names in the
area, which took their name after the spread of the Slavs in the 6th
century in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Spread which
led to their descent and settlement as far as the Peloponnese and
especially in the mountains, as they were shepherds in the vast
majority.
The Slavs used to give names according to the geography or flora
of each location. Thus, Dolina (Cyrillic: долина) means valley and
the word Doljane (in Latinized Slavic) refers to "inhabitants of the
valley". In addition, the word dol refers to a place in a ravine, a
place low and more specifically in Croatian and Slovenian it
translates as the local adverb "down" or "slope".
Also, from
the search of the etymology of -same root- Doliani Ioannina, similar
conclusions emerge:
Ioannis Lampridis writes that "Doliani" means
"gorgeous place" and "downhill".
Alexandros Katharios notes that
the name of the village is "Slavic root meaning downhill and it is
indeed this village on downhill as land".
Christos Fitsios claims
that "the name Doliani is etymologically Slavic and means descent".
The Associate Professor of Linguistics of the University of Ioannina
Konstantinos Ev. Economou informs us that Max Wassmer considers that
"γει produces the place name from the Slavic dol" the valley "and
Doljane" the inhabitant of the valley "…". He points out, however,
that the village "is located in a ravine for this reason and the
word dol is used here with its original meaning" the hole, the pit,
the ravine ", so this is how the characterization of the village by
Ioannis Lampridis is justified.
In addition, communities with
the names Doljane and Doljani exist in all the states that until
1992 constituted Yugoslavia.
According to the second
etymological version, bibliographic references speak of a name with
Greek roots, derived from the word deceit, meaning it as a group of
people who, driven by misfortunes suffered in another place, came to
settle in the area. In this version, which gathers probably less
chances, it is claimed that the settlers who came to settle in
Arcadia, came from Doliana, Ioannina. More specifically, that from
1684 onwards, residents of the wider area of Ioannina, were forced
to move to the Peloponnese either by force or voluntarily due to
hunger and hardship. That year marked the beginning of the Fifth
Venetian-Turkish War (also known as the War of Moria) which took
place between the Venetians and the Ottomans from 1684 to 1699 (with
the former victors later). Thus, Francesco Morosini, Doge of the
Most Peaceful Republic of Venice between 1688 and 1694, brought
residents from Epirus and other places as laborers to pick olives,
as the plague had decimated the local population.
The third
version comes from the historian and academic Nikos Vei. According
to him, an Arvanite from Doliana, Ioannina, had settled in
Tripolitsa, Moria. During his stay in the capital of Arcadia,
however, he killed a rich and important Ottoman, so he was forced to
take refuge with his family in the dense Malevos to escape. He ended
up in the location of today's Ano Doliana, to which he gave the name
of his distant homeland. In this version only the origin is
explained, therefore for the etymology of the name we return to the
first version.
It is worth clarifying that in the case of the
first version, this nomenclature based on the geography of the
place, there is no connection between the Dolians of Arcadia and
those of Ioannina, as well as two places with the same geographical
configuration, in this case mountain villages built on a slope. ,
could have received the same name by coincidence.
The
addition of the local adverb "Ano" was later adopted, probably by
the settlers themselves, in order to meet the need to separate the
mountainous settlement from the lowland - Kato Doliana - in their
daily reports.
History
Ancient quarries
Northwest of the community, in the places
"Alepotrypes" and "Psofiaika", there are ancient quarries dating
from the archaic-classical era and produce the homonymous local
marble of Doliana, which is white, with a tone of blue or light
blue. The deposit, classified according to geotectonic zone, belongs
to the Marbles of the Exterior Metamorphic Zone, a category which
includes three provinces: Mount Parnon, Sagia Mani and West-Central
Crete. It is one of the highest quality marbles of the Peloponnese,
presenting similarities with the Pentelic marble of Attica, although
it does not reach the quality characteristics of the latter. It was
most commonly used as a building stone and less frequently in
sculpture.
Among others, the following was used:
In the
Temple of Artemis Knakeatidos, four kilometers from the settlement
of Mavriki in Arcadia, at the current location "Psili Korfi" or
"Psili Rachi" of Mount Marmarovouni, at an altitude of 1,250 meters.
[35] Built around 540 BC, it was discovered in July 1907 by
archaeologist Constantine Romeo, while it was already partially
destroyed. It was a temple built entirely of marble, one of the
oldest of its kind and possibly the first. It was identified with
the temple of Artemis of Knakeatida, which is also mentioned by
Pausanias. Today, in the construction site, almost nothing of it
survives, except for individual architectural material from various
parts, which made it possible to represent it to a large extent.
In the construction of the Temple of Apollo Epicurus, erected in the
second half of the 5th century BC (420-410 BC) and in particular
the: Ionian capitals, Corinthian capital, carved metopes of the
outer frieze of the main temple, bases of the Ionian frieze in
interior of the mosque, foundations and roof tiles.
In the
Ancient Temple of Aleas Athena in Tegea, built in the 4th century
BC, which came entirely from Doliana marble. According to Pausanias,
it was superior to the other temples of the Peloponnese in all its
construction and size. Exhibits from the Temple are in the
Archaeological Museum of Alea Tegea, which was renovated and
reopened in 2014 and in 2016 received a "Special Commendation with
the highest recognition for outstanding achievements" from the Jury
of the European Museum Forum in San Sebastian, Spain, during the
competition for the promotion of the European Museum of the year.
In the large complex of sculptures of Despina and Dimitra's mother,
in the sanctuary of the ancient Arcadian city of Lykosoura, which
was created by the sculptor Damofon of Ancient Messina. Both
goddesses are seated on a throne and are surrounded by the goddess
Artemis and Titan Anytos, Despina's adopted father. Parts of the
sculpture are on display today at the National Archaeological Museum
of Athens.
At the Temple of Poseidon and Athena Sotiras at Vigla,
Arcadia.
In Ancient Olympia, mainly in statues.
In Ancient
Epidaurus.
In the Villa of Herod of Attica, as well as in
tombstones and votive columns of the wider area.
In the
Metropolitan Church of St. Basil of Tripoli, which was founded in
1855 and inaugurated 29 years later, in 1884. Its covering is
entirely of Doliana marble.
It is also probable that it was used
at the Mantineia Base.
Modern marble quarries still exist
today near the settlement, along with the ancient ones that have
been preserved.
Modern Era
The first written reference to
Doliana is made in the year 1700 (probably on December 23) in an
enumerated letter of a "John, resident of Tripoli" which states:
"I am seven hundred to them and a thousand years to my
salvation, the first Dolian to be married ..."
Doliana was
declared a Municipality for the first time in 1834, with L.
Konstantinou as mayor. The seal of the Municipality of Doliana
depicted a sheepdog playing its flute under a tree, probably in the
courtyard of the church of Panagia Kouvliotissa. This seal passed to
the Central Patriotic Association "Doliana Kynourias" as a
continuation of the history of the Municipality and is still the
seal of the Association.
Greek revolution
On May 18, 1821,
during the Greek Revolution, the village was given the so-called
Battle of Doliana. In this particular battle, Nikitaras, who was
holding Ano Doliana with 300 men, managed to repel 4,000 Turks who
were attacking with artillery. That day he also received the
nickname "Turkophagus" which accompanied him later, because
according to tradition many Turks fell from his hand. A statue has
been erected in his memory at the entrance of the settlement and
specifically in the area "stream of Tsakonas", the main theater of
the battle.