Avlemonas

At the crossroads of the three seas, Kythera has assimilated influences from all points of the horizon into a peculiar local identity. Avlemonas is the “Aegean” of Kythera. In recent decades the local economy has turned to tourism. But it wasn't always like this. Until the 1960s, it was a fishing village, with about 60 inhabitants. All residents were mainly involved in fishing at the time, and in addition they had few animals and fields. A place with a naval tradition was one of the three ports of the island during the Venetian rule, which is why they built the fortress at its entrance. At the beginning of the 19th century, when Kythera was part of the Septinsular Republic, the port was expanded to allow more ships to dock. At the same time, in 1802, one of Elgin's three ships, the Mentor, was wrecked carrying the Parthenon marbles just outside the lighthouse of Avlemonas. Elgin recruited Kalymnian divers to raise 17 crates of marbles, which lasted three years, but the ship is still at the bottom of the sea. The English landed at Avlemonas when they conquered Kythera in 1809, as did the Allied forces in 1944. The place name Avlemonas is one of the oldest on the island and refers to sources from the 14th century. Etymologically, it probably comes from the prefix a- expressing negation or absence and “vlemma” (the gaze) and means “where the gaze does not reach”, i.e. great depth of the sea. In Avlemonas, a big festival takes place on the day of the Sotiras, on the 6th of August.