A cave with a small fortification next to a nahydrion of Agios Ioannis (St. John), known locally as “Ai-Giannakis”, in a remote spot north of the village of Vassaras in Laconia.
The cave and little church are part of a small, half-ruined building complex that, apparently, was once a monastery.

History

The history of this place is not known.

Monasteries and hermitages of this type, built in fortified caves, were established during the Post-Byzantine period in many parts of Greece — mainly in the Peloponnese — in the 17th and 18th centuries. They served not only as places of worship and ascetic life, but also as refuges for the local population. Many of them were at times used as hideouts by klephts and armatoloi, which explains their fortified character.

This particular site appears to have functioned more as a small monastery than as a hideout, although the available information remains limited.

Sources