Taxiarches, Aigialeia, Achaea,West Greece
Monastery of Osios Leontios
| Location: |
| On a steep slope of mount Klokos, above the monastery of Taxiarches, 15km south of Aigio in northern Peloponnese |
| Region > Prefecture: |  |
| West Greece Achaea | |
| Municipality > Town: | |
| City of Aigialeia • Taxiarches | |
| Altitude: | |
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Elevation ≈ 500 m (Relative Height≈200 m) |
| Time of Construction | Origin | |
| around 1450 | Late-BYZANTINE  |
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| Castle Type | Condition | |
| Castle-Monastery |
Not Good
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An old monastery dedicated to saint Leontios in a cavity on a cliff of mount Klokos. It is a dependency of the monastery of Taxiarches which is down in the valley below. Here was the original place of the monastery of Taxiarches.
It was built around 1450 by the despots of Mystras Thomas and Dimetrios to honor monk Leontios who from 1420 was using the place as his hermitage.
The monastery was destroyed by the Turks in 1500 and was rebuilt in late 16th century and then it was destroyed again in 1620. After that it was moved to the new location below and the old monastery was abandoned.
Today, the monastery preserves some of its original fortification characteristics such as the tower at the entrance and a small curtain wall at its western side. The fresco in the church of archangel Michael belong to the 16th century.
| First entry in Kastrologos: | December 2019 |
Sources
- Photos and info by Sakis Lemonakis and his blog ΑΜΦΙΤΡΕΙΔΗΣ
- Video by the user Kostas Gertzos ΠΑΛΑΙΟΜΟΝΑΣΤΗΡΟ ΟΣΙΟΥ ΛΕΟΝΤΙΟΥ, ΑΙΓΙΑΛΕΙΑ (DRONE). OSIOS LEONTIOS MONASTERY, ACHAEA, GREECE.
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| Access |
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| Approach to the monument: |
| Taxiarches monastery is 15km from Aigio. From there the site is visible. A 3km uphill dirt road leads to Osios Leontios. |
| Entrance: |
| Access is free to the yard. To enter contxt the monks of the Taxiarches monastery. |
| Similar |
|---|
| Old monastery of Philosophos |
| Castle of Lykouria |
| Hermitage of Mariorema |
| Cave fort of Priolithos |
| Cave-fort of Sassalotrypa |
| Old monastery of Vrondamas |