Astros is a town and seat of the Municipality of North Kynouria, in the province of Kynouria in the prefecture of Arcadia. It is located in a fertile and extensive plain that has an important strategic position. In the 2011 census it had 2,285 inhabitants. Its inhabitants are engaged in agriculture, olive growing, viticulture and animal husbandry, although in recent years tourism has accumulated the lion's share in the employment of its inhabitants.
The first official reference of the city with the name
"Astros" is found in a gold bull of the year 1293 of the emperor
Andronikos II Palaiologos. In this golden bull, the metropolitan of
Monemvasia takes the office of the exarch of the Peloponnese and his
ecclesiastical rights are determined. In the year 1256 on the hill
of Paralio Astros, a few kilometers outside Astros, the Castle of
Paralio Astros was built by the Frankish ruler, William
Villehardouin, to subdue the disobedient Tsakonians who lived in the
area. The older name (before 1961) as mentioned in various
historical sources, was "Agiannitika Kalivia", because its first
inhabitants came mainly from the mountain village of Agios Ioannis
in the prefecture of Arcadia. In the area there were ancient cities
such as Thyrea, Anthini, Niriida and Eva in which is the famous
Villa of Herod of Attica.
The Archaeological Museum of Astros
houses interesting exhibits from the villa of Herodes Atticus, such
as inscriptions, marble sculptures, architectural members, statue
heads, as well as a votive relief with Hermes and the nymphs. Also,
ceramics from the cemeteries of Elliniko Kynouria and other
interesting works of the 2nd and 3rd AD are exhibited. century as
well as a tombstone of the 4th BC. Due to lack of space, many
wonderful works are located in the courtyard. Today, where the
Archaeological Museum is located in 1805, a branch of the
Karytsiotis school of Agios Ioannis (1798) was founded in Astros,
where young people from the surrounding areas studied. Together with
the school, Dimitrios Karytsiotis from Agianni (1741 - 1819),
donated a large area, the so-called Agrokipio (today a stadium).
Astros played an important role in the Revolution: on March 29,
1823, the Second National Assembly was formed there, chaired by
Petrobei Mavromichalis, to vote on the revision of the first Greek
Constitution of Epidaurus.
With the first administrative
division of the Greek state, it joined the Municipality of Thyreas,
which had its original seat in Agios Ioannis. From 1912 the
settlement was the seat of a community which developed into a
municipality in 1985. Since 1998 Astros is the seat of the
Municipality of North Kynouria.
The city
The city has
three squares, two larger and one smaller, the main one, with many
shops and stores. It has a Primary School, Gymnasium, Lyceum, EPAL,
Archaeological Museum, which was the former school of Karytsioti
(1805). It also has City Hall and municipal services, Health Center,
banks and post office. It has a football pitch with artificial turf
and an indoor gym.
Next to Astros is the village of Meligou,
which is spatially integrated in the town. Most of the inhabitants
of Astros come from the surrounding villages and especially from
Agios Ioannis, and many live in Paralio Astros which is located at a
distance of 4 km.
In the area and on the route from Astros to
Tripoli through Kato Doliana, is the area of Ancient Eva, where
the ruins of the villa of Herodes Atticus lie. Nearby is the
Monastery of Loukous.
It is the place of origin of the Deputy
Minister of Health Vassilis Kontozamanis.
Climate
Astros is located in the central-eastern Peloponnese and
has a Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers, as well as
mild winters. The area is classified as category C in the Kepen
climate classification.
There are three Astros teams:
Panthyreatikos A.O. founded in 1928,
has yellow and black colors and has a men's football section.
Pegasus
A.O. Thyrea, founded in 1980, colors crimson and white, with men's and
women's basketball departments, as well as women's volleyball academies.
The A.P.O. Aeolos Kynourias, first founded in 1999 and the association
reactivated in 2014, which has men's and women's volleyball divisions
and has green and yellow colors.
The community of Astros with the first administrative division of the
Greek state, joined the Municipality of Thyrea, which originally had its
seat in Agios Ioannis (Government Gazette 16A – 24/05/1835). From 1841
to 1912, Astros was the winter seat of the Municipality Thyreas,
Agiannis was the summer seat {Government Gazette 5A – 08/03/1841) ..From
1912 the settlement was the seat of the community of Astros which
evolved into the Municipality of Astros in 1985 (Government Gazette 99A
– 28/05/1985) (For historians) reasons it became a municipality).
Since 1998, Astros has been the seat of the Municipality of North
Kynouria. (6) (Government Gazette 244A – 04/12/1997) .
The first
official mention of the city with the name "Astros" can be found in a
chrysobull of the year 1293 of the emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos.
However, the first reference to the name "Astron" is in the Geographer
Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century AD) Nikos Veis (1883-1958), University
professor and Academician, mentions "we have repeated mentions of this
Kynourian city" of Astros in 1320, 1372, 1374, 1407, 1421, ,1435, 1463,
1467, 1471, 1481. G. Tercetis mentions "Dimitrios Ypsilantis and
Kolokotronis were eating together in the shadows of the Astros trees".
p.287) Kolokotroni's assistant Fotakos reported after the table: "From
Astros we passed to Agios Ioannis, and from there, after having lunch in
the arches of Agios Petros, we arrived at Verbaina".