Nea Peramo´s castle

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In the west of Nea Peramos you can see the remains of a Byzantine castle, which were the Byzantine city of Anaktorpolis mentioned historically from the tenth century until the fifteenth century. The creation of the castle was carried out, according to the existing data, during the period 1167-1170 and ensured the control of a port between Thessaloniki and Constantinople.
The advantageous location of Nea Peramos, on the sloping gulf coast of Eleuthera, surrounded by a fertile plain and close to the sea, was the reason for the early settlement of the area. The area of ​​Nea Peramos attracted the interest of the settlers of Thassos, which resulted in the founding of the city of Oisymi, on the rocky and fortified hill west of the narrow isthmus that connects the Brassidys peninsula with the land. In that place was built the ancient castle of Oisymi, the Acropolis was surrounded by granite walls and on top of it stood a temple probably dedicated to the adoration of the goddess Athena. The existence of this sanctuary goes back to the archaic years (VIII-VI centuries BC). The archaic temple was destroyed at the beginning of the 5th century BC, and in its place was built the other temple that remained until the 2nd century BC. These relics of the walls of the city and the church are distinguished to this day. The poet Homer mentions the city of Oisymi as the birthplace of the beautiful Kastandiris, a woman of the King of Troy. And Thucydides states that "in the seventh year of the Peloponnesian War (424 BC), the city of Oisymi, joined the neighboring cities of Galepsus and Myrcinus to war.
This area was inextricably linked to the name of the great general of ancient Sparta, Vrasida, who acted during the Peloponnesian War and distinguished himself by his strategic abilities. According to historical sources, in April 422 BC, the ceasefire of Athens and Sparta was completed and the following summer the Athenians were preparing to attack Amphipolis. Vrasidas immediately realized his intentions to attack, and surprised them with a sudden attack. The Athenians were devastated, but only seven were killed by the Spartans, one of whom was Vrasida, who was buried in Amphipolis with honor. The site that killed Vrasidas is a green peninsula, adjacent to the ruins of the ancient Oysymis, in which the most recent inhabitants gave the name of the Spartan general: "Peninsula of Vrasida". This, a part of the history of the Peloponnesian War that took place in the north of Greece remained alive. The economy of Oisymi was based on agricultural production, the cultivation of vineyards seems to have occupied a special place in the area of ​​Nea Peramos since ancient times, since the area around Oisymi was famous for its wine. Oisymi also maintained important commercial relations with the cities of the Cyclades and the East Aegean. Until the fourth century BC, Oisymi depended on Thassos as his colony and was a member of the Thassian continent, as it was called the continental possessions of the neighboring island. During the 4th century BC and a few years before the Macedonian conquest, Oisymi experienced a brief period of autonomy. This is evidenced by the cutting of copper coins representing the patron goddess Athena and bearing the inscription of Oisymi, the name of the citizens of Oisymi. Then, the city was conquered by King Philip II of Macedonia and was renamed Emathia. This name change is probably due to the liquidation of Oisymi by the Macedonians.
In medieval times and on the lower hill northeast of Oysymi, a new city was developed under the name of Anaktoropolis. However, during the tenth century, it was recorded in the fountains under the name of Alektryopolis and then, in the 11th and 13th centuries as Alektropolis. Finally, in the 13th and 14th centuries as Eleftheropolis and Anaktoropolis.
The walls of Anaktoropolis were erected between 1167 and 1170 by the commander of the Byzantine Grand Duke, Andronikos Kontoftefanos, as evidenced by an inscription on the south wall. These enclosed the city that persisted until the Ottoman occupation in the XIV-XV centuries. The strength of Anaktoropolis was obviously a naval base, responsible for protecting the north coast of the Aegean Sea from pirates and invaders. From an ecclesiastical point of view, Anaktoropolis was the seat of a bishopric, which belonged to the metropolis of Philippi, and the existence of the bishopric of Anaktoropolis was already mentioned at the beginning of the tenth century.
The castle had to fall into the hands of the Ottomans between 1383 and 1387. However, the bishopric of Eleftheroupolis remained as a name until the second half of the 15th century, but the settlement had to be moved to another location, due to the piracy of the coasts.
In 1869, this site was bought by the Russian monks of Mount Athos and it was the reign of the Russian monges of St. Andrew until the beginning of the 20th century, but this party played a political rather than ecclesiastical role in the history of the region, at the service of the Slavic expansionism.

The forting enclosure which runs the hill and its shape is a non-defined trapeze with 540 m. length. The wall, as thick as 2 m. is reinforced at some places with cylinder, rectangle and polygon towers while in a later phase, the eastern part was reinforced with the construction of a proteichisma. In the interior of the castle, there is a wall that expands from East to West which was used as a second defense zone and probably is a remnant from the early Christian phase of the fortification.
Excavation work on the western wall brought to light one of the castle’s gates. It was originally constructed as a single gate, but later on it was restored and become double. This gate was supported on both sides by two strongly built towers. Two more gates, one towards the inner land and one towards the port, provided access to the interior of the castle.
In the South-East corner of the hill, on its highest point, there stands the central tower of the fortress. It was firstly built with a polygon shape while later its floor plan was squared.
In general, the existence of four building phases of the fortification was figured out. The first phase is dated to the 9th-10th century and the second to the 12th-13th century according to a ceramicoplastic inscription in the walls (1167-1170) which records the erection of the walls by the commander of the byzantine navy, the Great Duke Andronikos Kontostefanos, during the reign of Manuel I. The third phase of the walls is placed at the middle of 14th century, while the last one at the postbyzantine era.
Nowdays One of its main attractions is the Ancient City (Anaktoroupolis) where many artistic and cultural festivals are held by the Municipality of Paggaion in collaboration with local cultural unions, especially during the summer period.
 On the holy day of 15 August a great festival takes place around the little church build by refugees and dedicated to Panagia (Virgin Mary). However, festivals do take place outside the peak period as well (e.g. the Tsipouro Festival every October).
To visit this place, admission is free. You can check the buses from Kavala in this link:

https://www.ktelkavalas.gr/



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