COMRADE GIKA COLIPPOULOU
THE CANURIAN BIRDS
1984
FOREWORD
The history of our village has not been written by anyone until today and so we know very little about the origin of its current inhabitants. But even those, based on a few written texts and mainly on oral traditions and memories of the elderly, are in danger of being forgotten and in a few years younger people will have no sources to know their roots.
My effort in this small book is to collect and record what has come to us in writing or orally and to constitute a beginning that others will continue, either by adding new elements to the history of the village, or by recording events of its ongoing life.
In the first part of the book I refer to the written texts concerning the history of ancient Polihna, a small town that lived in the same place for many centuries and whose traces can be found in Vigla, the harbour and elsewhere.
In the second part I try to find the roots of the current inhabitants of the village, our roots.
There is no doubt that our present village was created by our ancestors who came down from Koutoupia. So necessarily the history of Mosquito is the history of Poulithra itself. And that is how I treat it.
Α. ANCIENT HISTORY
The current name Poulithra comes from a corruption of the ancient name POLICHNI.
With this name it is presented for the first time in written history by the historian Polybius (Polybius history bib. D, 36). Polybius says there that the king of Sparta Lycurgus, receiving the army, invaded in 219 B.C. the Argolic and attacked by surprise and captured Polichnan and Prasias.
Regarding the coincidence of the present village of Poulithra with ancient Polihni, Professor K.A. Romeos in his communication to the Archaeological Society (minutes 1911) says:
"Polichna (D 36,4), mentioned by Polybius after Prasias, is preserved to this day verbally in the village of Pulithra, one hour south of Leonid, which is one hour south of Leonid. I was convinced of this when I learned in Leonides that the Chacons called the village Pulihra and in part the Pullichre, and vocally the h In the Chacoan comes from From of hn. The art and the craftsman are pronounced a techra, the techrita. Thus the two words (Polychni - Pulithra) differ only in gender. Another variation of the gender on the place names is common. This may have been caused by the approximation of the causative in Pulichran to the neuter in the plural.
The English scholars Wace and Hasluk in A.B.S. 1908-9, 176 wrote that beside Poulithra there is a hill with an ancient wall and that there was probably Polychna, which was suddenly occupied by Lycurgus in 219 BC along with Prazias, Lefkes and Cyphantes, let the cities formerly occupied by the Argives".
The said scholars attributed the name of Polihna to the walls on the so-called Vigla only, for the reason that there were no other ancient ruins in the vicinity, to which it was possible to attribute the ancient name. Already by the proven identity of the names it can be considered as indisputable that where the present village of Poulithra, where the ancient village of Poulithra stood, was located. Polychina.
Current signs and evidence for the location of ancient Polihna are:
α) The ancient wall on Vigla, the triangular hill that dominates the beach. It was a unique position to be the fortress that would protect both the settlement and the harbour at its feet. And the ancient inhabitants of our country did not leave such a successful combination unused, which ensured them communication through the harbour and protection with the fortified hill.
Then the area of land around the hill-fort was large, smooth and there was a safe and sufficient amount of water for the needs of that time, since even today the increased needs of the village are covered for the most part by the same source, the mana.
b) The ancient harbour that extended to where the swamp is today, as shown by the iron bindings that are located (until a few years ago) at the point where the hill leaving the swamp begins to rise.
Thus the port of Polihna was both spacious and safe for its needs.
c) To the west of Vigla, during the execution of cultivation works or the opening of roads, ancient tombs with small objects were found.
Perhaps a systematic excavation by the archaeological service would bring to the surface much evidence of the extent and importance of this ancient city.
If we want to follow the position of Polihna in the history of earlier times, we should connect it with the history of Prasi, which is the most historically known city and whose location has been definitively determined where today is the Plaka, the port of Leonidi.
The short distance between the two sites (about 4 km) on the same beach, brings us to the conclusion that any fate of one must have been followed by the other, through the successive adventures of history.
The same Professor K.A. Romeos in his communication to the Academy of Athens (minutes of the Academy of Athens, meeting of March 3, 1955) entitled "Prasiai or Vrasiai of Kynouria" says among other things:
"Above we have called the regional settlement of Oreioi or Oreiatas. This is not unique. At a distance of 4 hours from Prasios there was Tyros, at about the same distance N.W. there was Glyppia or the Glybis of Polybius, one hour South of Polychna, settlements which could not possibly have been unrelated to the ancient city of Prasios or Vrazios.
As we know from many examples, each value of the name polis with the meaning of the particular state or state known in antiquity, was never limited to a single settlement, but had to be surrounded by a sufficient area of land, where there would be other peripheral or independent cities in the past, then subordinated and maintaining a certain independence.
Thus, during the later times of the prevailing decadence and poverty, Pausanias (170 AD) completely silenced Tyrone, Polihna, the Orioi and remembered only as a coma Glyppia, deals only with the cult and mythology of the Vrazians, the most evil, as he says, as a city of the Free Laconians".
We know from Strabo (Greek geographer of the early 1st century AD) (8,374) that Prasias was one of the seven cities that founded the amphictyony of Kalavria (Hermione, Epidaurus, Aegina, Athens, Prasias, Nafplio, Orchomenos) which shows that it was considered a strong coastal city and that it was inhabited by Ionians since the amphictyony was Ionian.
With the descent of the Dorians (1000-950 BC) and the creation of the powerful Doric kingdom of Argos, the area of Kynouria and therefore Prasies also came under it. (History of the Greek Nation, B\ 31).
In 547 BC the Spartans (also Dorians) seized Kynouria from Argos and took the place of the Prasians in the Amphictyony of Calauria (I.E.E., B', 253).
Since then, southern Kynouria, and therefore Prasies - Polihna, belonged to the rule of Sparta and were its port on the Argolic Gulf.
This is confirmed by the following:
α) In 430 BC (the second year of the Peloponnesian War) the navy of the Athenians and their allies (Chios and Lesbians) in a diversionary operation (the Spartans had invaded Attica for the second time) plundered the coast of the eastern Peloponnese, among which they destroyed the city and the fortress of Prasias, and apparently also that of Polychni (Thucyd. B§56: "and the vast ones of them came to Prasias, the Laconian polisma along the coast, and the land was on the other side, and this polisma was theirs, and they came back") I.E.E., C., 194.
b) In the summer of 413 BC the Athenians with Pythodorus, Lysipodius and Demaratus as generals made invasions of Epidaurus Limera, Prasia and other parts of the Spartan territory and destroyed them (Thucydides ST-105. "Then Pythodorus and Lyspodius and Demaratus lords, descended to Epidaurus the Limeran and Prasias and all the others that they took from the land").
c) When the Boeotians (Epaminondas - Pelopidas) with their allies the Arcadians invaded Laconia (370 BC) threatening Sparta itself, reinforcements arrived in Laconia from allies of Sparta (Epidaurians, Corinthians and others) who landed at Prasia and proceeded to Sparta (I.E.E., C,-417).
Prasias - Polihni remained firmly under the rule of Sparta throughout the struggles between the Spartans and their rivals the Athenians, Thebans and other allies.
After the battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), the victorious king of Macedonia, Philip, proceeded to the interior of the Peloponnese, where the Argives with the Arcadians, Messenians and Elians welcomed him with enthusiasm. Philip satisfied the claims of those who had aspirations for Spartan lands. Thus he awarded the Argives Thyreatida and Kynouria as far as Zaraka (I.E.E., C>86).
The Peloponnese and therefore Sparta became the object of competition between the successors of Alexander the Great. In the interventions and struggles that took place during a century it is possible, without being proven, that South Kynouria with Prasia - Polichni would have changed sovereignty between Sparta and Argos, since they always belonged to rival alliances, Sparta always to the anti-Macedonian alliances. What is certain is that in 228 BC Prasies - Polihni belonged to the Achaean League which included Argos (I.E.E., D-392).
In 220 BC an anti-Macedonian coup d'état took place in Sparta (the Macedonians under Antigonus Dogon had defeated the Spartans at the battle of Sellaia in 222 and had imposed a pro-Macedonian regime) and the Spartans declared war against the Achaeans, allies of the Macedonians.
The king of Sparta, Lycurgus, invaded Argolida in the spring of 219 B.C. (I.E.E., D-420) and suddenly attacked and conquered Polichna and Prasias (Polybius History, book D, 36). Thus Polichna came back under the rule of Sparta.
From 200 BC the Romans intervene in the conflicts of the Greeks, they defeat the Macedonians at Farsala (197 BC, Ε, 54).
The Spartan power degenerates and the state of Prasias with the surrounding states declare their independence from Spartan rule and participate from 195 BC in the "Commonwealth of Lacedaemonians" and then (22 BC) in the "Commonwealth of Freethinkers" which consisted of 18 and later twenty-four cities, including Vrasies and Marius. (Pausanius C 21, 7).
Both during the period of the subjugation of the Greek territory to the Romans and during the first centuries of the Byzantine Empire, the region of Kynouria, as well as the whole of southern Greece, did not occupy the attention of history. The multi-ethnic state of Byzantium until at least the 7th century AD extended over three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa. Thus Greece remained far away, almost alienated from the centre and played a provincial secondary role.
The Greek-speaking populations of Asia Minor were the chosen carriers of the Byzantine Empire (I.E.E. G, 13).
During this long period of time, for which we have no information about the fate of Prasios - Polichni, there are the raids of the Goths who, with Alaric, conquered Corinth (395 AD) and the entire Peloponnese. In the middle of the seventh century, the Slavs invaded the Peloponnese, accompanied by the destruction and settlement of islands of Slavic population, especially in Laconia. These resulted in Greek populations moving to mountainous areas for safety. Then Monemvasia was inhabited and fortified (I.E.E., H 331-335).
In the ninth century pirate raids on the coast of the Peloponnese and the neighbouring islands by Arabs based in Crete, Sicily and the ports of Syria, forced the inhabitants of the coastal towns to abandon them and settle in the interior of the country for safety (I.E.E., H 336).
During these centuries and for the above reasons, it seems that the inhabitants of Prasi - Polichni abandoned their cities and withdrew far from the coast, on the slopes of Mount Parnonas, where they founded new settlements.
We can assume that the inhabitants of Polichni followed those of Prasios and other green settlements and settled in the area where the settlements of Oriodas and Prastos were created, only to return to the coast after the liberation from the Turks (1821) as Chakones.
Polihni was not inhabited by the Chaconians and so the present inhabitants of the area are not descendants of the inhabitants of ancient Polihni.
Β. LATER YEARS
The ancestors of today's inhabitants of Poulithra must be sought in the mountainous settlements of Parnonas, where the inhabitants of the region had taken refuge to protect themselves from the raids of foreign peoples and pirates, and even from the persecutions of the Turks during the period of slavery.
The first information about these settlements dates back to the Frankish occupation. As we have seen, Pausanias also mentions Marios.
When the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade preferred to occupy Constantinople instead of heading for the Holy Land, the Frankish and Venetian rulers divided the territories of the Byzantine Empire among themselves.
The Peloponnese (except Argos and Nafplio) was a Frankish state with Godfrey Villehardouin as the first ruler and Andravida as the capital. The Venetians, who occupied Argos and Nafplio, were restricted to the area of Methoni and Koroni by the Treaty of Sapienza (1209).
The tower of Gika Kolia
The whole Peloponnese was divided into twelve baronies and one of them was based in Geraki with six fiefs (tsiflikia). For their security the lords - barons built castles.
Within the area of the Barony of Gerakios would also include the settlements of Eastern Parnon. The third Frankish ruler William Villehardouin (1246) built the castle of Mistra, but in 1259 at the Battle of Pelagonia the Byzantines of Nicaea (a kingdom formed after the fall of the Constantinople to the Franks) took him prisoner and freed him after the recapture of Constantinople (1261) in exchange for the cession of Monemvasia of Geraki and Mystras to the Emperor.
Thus from that time (1272) the region of Eastern Parnonas was subject to the territory of the Byzantine Despotate of Mistra and ecclesiastically to the Metropolis of Monemvasia (I.E.E., 0. 247-254).
From the middle of the 14th century the Despotate of Mistra passed into the hands of the Catakouzenes and the Palaiologoi, becoming the second centre of political power of the Byzantine State after Constantinople.
In 1432 the entire Peloponnese became Greek again, except for the Venetian possessions (Methoni, Koroni, Argos, Nafplio). (I.E.E., 0 270-271).
At the beginning of the 15th century the first Turkish invasions of the Peloponnese took place and in 1461 the whole area was subjugated to the Turks. (I.E.E., 0 282-290).
For 200 years the Peloponnese suffers under Turkish slavery, until 1685 when Moria was occupied by the Venetians.
Under the rule of the Venetians (1685-1715) a new administrative division of the place was made, which brings (according to the registration of 1700 and 1704) the villages of Kosmas, Paliochori, Kounoupia, Mari, Houni, belonging to the "province of Mistra", while the northernmost villages (Tsakonia) belong to the "province of Agios Petros" (0. Vagena: History of Tsakonia and Leonidi p. 141- 142).
The village of Marios appears on a map of 1707. So this record of 1700 and 1704 by the Venetians, shows for the first time the village of Kounoupia which is the original cradle of the present inhabitants of Poulithra.
During the period of the second occupation of the Peloponnese by the Turks (1715 until the Greek Revolution) the administrative division remained the same as that of the Venetians, i.e. the villages of the district of Kounoupia came under the province of Mistra, while it seems that a seat of Agas was created in Kosmas.
COWNUTS
Built on the eastern slope of Parnonas at an altitude of about 800 meters, in the fir trees and with abundant water, it was the cradle of the inhabitants of the present villages of the area (Poulithra, Peleta, Pigadi, Houni) which in the years of the Greek Revolution were referred to as Kounoupochoria.
Written evidence of its existence, as we mentioned, is the record of 1700 made by the Venetians.
However, it is more likely that this settlement was created, like many other villages of the Peloponnese, around 1600 when the movement of the population took place - beginning in the middle of the 16th century and taking the form of flight to the mountains in the face of the persecution of the Turks (traditional settlements - Report of the Argyris Petronotis Group, E.M.P. 1975).
As elements of the older history of the village we must mention the relics in the church (Assumption of the Virgin Mary), which are an antique, donated by Elizabeth Petrovna (daughter of Peter the Great of Russia) dated 1743 "to the Monastery of Kounoupia in the Peloponnese" and a Russian icon of 1711.
After the unfortunate revolution of 1769-70 (Orlov's) and the destructive raid of the Turcalvanes to punish the Rajahs, especially in the Peloponnese plains, it seems that a group of inhabitants of the Garatzas area of Messinia fled for safety to the area of Kounoupia.
The occasion for research in this direction was given by the nickname "Garatzotes", by which the inhabitants of the village of Peleta called the Poulithriotes, in the sense of foreigners, not local inhabitants.
A recent survey of the villages in the area of Garantza (today's name Melpia; at the northern end of the Messinian plain), found that there are residents with surnames similar to the surnames of the current residents of Kounoupia - Poulithra. Thus, in the village of Mantra (2 km from Melpia) there are families with the name Kolias, in the villages of Meligalas there are families with the names Nikolaos (original surname of the family Konstantinos), Fragos, Niarchos, Chiotis, Tsakalos, Kalivas, Voudouris, Karaiskos, Voulgaris.
Of the above families that fled to Kounoupia, the strongest family that quickly emerged was the family of Kolia, which played a major role in the revolution of 1821 and later in the founding of the village of Poulithra.
THE MOSQUITOES IN THE STRUGGLES BEFORE AND DURING THE REVOLUTION
In the pre-revolutionary struggles of resistance against the Turks, the fighter Petros Kounoupiotis is distinguished, who acted alongside the chief thief of the region, Zacharias Barbitsiotis (the Barbitsa of Mistra).
He also acted on the side of another freedom fighter, the corsair Andreas Tsakonis (from Tsakonia) who also collaborated with Zacharias through the bay of Fokiana.
During the Revolution to throw off the yoke of the Turks, the inhabitants of the Kounoupochoria give their presence everywhere, under the leadership of the Kolians.
So immediately after the declaration of the struggle they formed a military corps and rushed to Monovasia, which was besieged by the Chacons and the Spartans.
In the historical poem LAKAINA by Theodoros Protopappa Economou from Leonidi, which is based on the events of the struggle on personal accounts of the fighters themselves, it is mentioned that the Chacones formed two military corps and on March 25, one of them, led by Kostas Hatzis and the Karamanaians, marched towards Tripoli (the seat of the tyrant) and the other, led by Captain Georgakis Michalakis, reached Monemvasia (at the position of Hranapa) on March 28.
And LaCaina notes:
"However, Drivas and the Colesians arrived there" (1859 edition p. 44).
Also on page 112 of the Lakaina it is mentioned that after the burial of the Greeks who were killed in the assault against the fortress" and were left in their places to return now "Nikolaos the Iatru and Kolias the brave"
"with stentorian voices they held their voices straight" and in a footnote he writes about Kolya:
"The chief of the municipality of Maries, the chief of Cunupa".
The plural Koliaioi apparently refers to Dimitris Kolias and his sons Gikas, Georgios, Theodosius, Nikola and Giannakis according to the memories of the elders of Kounoupia.
After the capture of Monemvasia, the fighters of Kounoupochoria, following the rest of the besiegers' corps, headed towards Tripolitsa, where they joined the corps of P. Giatrakos and took part in all the struggles until the liberation.
GIANNAKIS COLIAS
Among the fighters of the Kounoupochoria, Yiannakis Kolias, who was killed on 18 July 1826 in a battle against Ibrahim at Mehmetaga, outside Tripoli, was particularly glorified.
In the certificate No. 13731 of 15 March 1846 signed by the leaders of the revolutionary struggle P. Mavromichalis, P. Yatrakos and Nikitaras Stamatelapoulos, which is in the National Archives of the State and which we publish below, states that Giannakis Kolias from the village of Kounoupia and other villages of this area, had his relatives and his fellow travellers under his instruction and was an officer under the instruction of the chief of Lakedaimonos P. Yatrakos. He took part in all operations, with his section of course, until his heroic death. Also that during the fight he sacrificed appropriate food and ammunition.
The above certificate of the chieftains accompanies the application of Susana widow Ioannos Koliopoulou, a resident of Kounoupia in the municipality of Selinounos, to the military committee on sacrifices and sacrifices, dated 28 December 1847, in which she asks to be awarded a monthly pension as a reward for the sacrifices of her husband. The petition is submitted through Gikas Koliopoulou, brother of Giannakis.
Mosquitoes was attacked by Ibrahim on 14 September 1825. The Egyptian troops burned the village and set fire to the church of Panagia, which was saved, according to tradition, when water gushed into the church and extinguished the fire.
In the History of the Greek Nation volume 113 pp. 402 the raid of Ibrahim in the region of Kounoupia is described as follows:
"Ibrahim moved again in September (1825) with all his available army against the region of Mystras and Messinia, destroying and plundering... The general chief Kolokotronis, who was then in Argolida, as soon as he was informed of the fact, tried, gathering large forces, to attack him...
Finally, Kolokotronis himself came through Leonidi to the village of Kosmas where he recruited and after leaving a garrison at Agios Vasilios, he arrived at Geraki and then at Kremasti in the Monemvasia region.
If an enemy corps approaching Marioreuma near Geraki was attacked by Staikos Staikopoulos, who was lurking there and had many casualties...
At the same time, the Greek military units had begun to strike and defeat the Egyptian units that had occupied the villages of Kosmas, Geraki, Mari, etc. and were looting and burning them'.
The Tsakonian fighter Giannakis Sarantaris (1794-1865) in his historical notes writes:
"We departed from Prasto to Sparta and through the general chief with the general troops to Geraki, then to Kiotzali and to Mari two columns to put us in the middle. After fighting at Mari another column at Kanelakia we fought with Archontopoulos (Yannakis Notaras chieftain of Corinth) and Georgakis Cheliotis. When the night came, all the troops descended to Lenidi, Cheliotis, Archontopoulos, Londo, Koliopoulos.
All this from our own hands, and the general chief to Lypia, and the troops departed. 14 September beggar (Ibrahim) Mosquito, Pulithra and taking Ottomans and showed him on a map in Thesis... saying that the place is passable, it has no water, Kiaurpasia is outside with the troops. He departed and went to Kremasti and took many people to Kastraki".
The person mentioned by Sarantaris, Georgios Cheliotis, is obviously a fighter from Kounoupia, where the surname is still found today.
The certificate of the war action of Captain Giannakis Kolias or Koliopoulos, is as follows:
13731 CERTIFICATE
We, the undersigned, certify that Mr. Yiannakis Kolias from the village of Kounoupia and other villages of this district of Lakedaimonos from the beginning of the revolution until the end, and now of the municipality of Selinunos in the municipality of Kynouria, in the thousand and twenty-first year the holy war of the Fatherland began and he took up his arms under the direction of his relatives and companions and around other parts of the other villages of Kunoupo, he was an officer with them, under the direction of the Chief of Lakedaimon P. Yatrakos, attended the battles of Tripoli, Valtetsion, Verbeno, Dolianos and the battle of the arsenal and the battle of the great tapia until the fall of the fortress and the subsequent sieges of the villages of Corinth, Nafplia, Patras and against Dramalis at Argos and Dervenakia until his destruction and against Messinia against the Ottoman and Arabs outside the battle of Koroni, Neokastro, Paleomarines, Kalami, Almyrus, Bolyanis, Dirahi, Davgias and against Tripoli the last battle of Mehmetagas in which about one hundred and eighty Arabs were sacrificed against the Greeks, and in that battle the above Mr. Yiannakis Kolias glorious against the enemy as above, ran from the beginning to the end of the above interval with great enthusiasm and bravery and sacrificed food, ammunition and with extreme obedience to his superiors and with impeccable conduct, his worthiness and performed his military brave duties to the Fatherland.
He was honored by the then Greek Administration with the rank of Brigadier and had not received any reward for his proportional exploits, since he was sacrificed by the enemy as above, his wife remained a widow, his wife so-called... with his five legitimate children, three widows and two males, at the request of the wife of the deceased, the present certificate is given in her hands for the sake of her deceased husband's work for the benefit of the said wife and children, wherefore it belongs and is signed this 15th day of March 1846 Athens.
P. Mavromichalis
P. Giatrakos
Nikitaras Stamatelopoulos
I certify the authenticity of the above three signatures
Athens, 26 February 1847
The Acting Mayor
Mayor's Councillor
S. Venizelos
AFTER THE RELEASE
After the liberation from the Turkish yoke, the reason that had forced the Greeks to take refuge in mountainous, inaccessible and barren places evolved. A reverse movement towards the lowlands and the coast began, which offered better climatic conditions, greater and easier production, and easy transport.
In the area of Kounoupochoria, the suitable locations for such an establishment were the plateau of Peletes and especially the area of Poulithra, which during the Turkish occupation was the chiflis of the Turkish agha Kosmas.
The highest point of the village was dominated by the fortified three-storey tower of Agha, while the huts of the colics, farmers and shepherds were scattered around.
Then, because of their position, Poulithra should have been the port (staircase) of the whole area of Kounoupochoria. Near the beach there are ruins of the church of Agios Nikolaos, which is likely to have been mentioned at that time, since there is no evidence of it from the oldest of the present inhabitants.
The residents of Mosquitoes turned in this direction. On the initiative of the Colians, they collected the amount (300 groats) for the purchase of the area of Poulithra from Cosmitis, to whom the agas had sold the chifliki when he left Greece.
Thus, around 1860 the village of Poulithra was created and its cultivation began, mainly with olive and carob trees.
The tower of Agha was bought by Gikas Kolias or Koliopoulos and his name is mentioned until today.
Because the summer climate in Poulithra is very hot and was plagued by mosquitoes, the Poulithrians, for vacationing and for the expansion of their crops, created a summer residence in Peleta (around 1870), while many continued to vacation in Koutoupia.
Over time, families of fishermen from Spetses settled on the beach of Poulithra, and warehouses were built to collect the main product, which was carrots.
The village was developed along the road from the upper neighbourhood to the sea, along a length of about 1500 metres.
Around 1900 the village church was built in the upper neighbourhood, which was densely populated, on the ruins of an older church that had been destroyed by fire.
During the last renovation of the floor of the present church (dedicated to the Nativity of Christ), traces of fire and burnt timber were found underneath.
At the same time the present school of the village was built, also in the upper neighbourhood.
Until the liberation from the Turkish yoke, Kounoupochoria was administratively under the province of Lakedaimonos (Mistra).
With the decree of 9-11-1834 (Government Gazette 16/1835) the municipality of Selinoundos was founded with the seat of Kosmas, where the Kounoupochoria were included.
By the Decree of 28-11-1863 (Government Gazette 43/1863), Kosmas was designated as the capital of the municipality of Selinoundos from 1 April to 31 October and from 1 November to 1 April Poulithra.
By the B.D. of 21-7-1890 the municipality of Selinoundos was divided and the municipality of Marios was formed with the capital Poulithra, which included the villages of Poulithra, Kounoupia, Houni, Mari, Peleta, Tsitalia.
Court documents in my possession show that in the years 1874 and 1879 the mayor of Selinountos was Dimitrios Gika Koliopoulos. Before him, Dimitrios Georgiou Koliopoulos (Roussos) and Christos Georgiou Hardouvelis served as mayors of Selinountos.
The Poulithra and the Villa
Also the mayors of Marios in the four years until 1904 were Georgios Christou Chardouvelis and from 1904-1908 Dimitrios G. Koliopoulos. The last mayor in 1908-1912 was Georgios Chr. George Chardouvelis.
By the Government Decree of 18-8-1912 (Government Gazette A252/12) the municipality of Mariu is abolished and the communities of Pouliithron, Kouliupia, Peletes, Pigadioi and Tsitalia are founded.
By the decision of the court of Tripoli No. 27/12-12-1914, the debts of the former municipality of Marios to third parties were distributed to the communities that emerged from the abolition of the municipality of Marios. From this distribution, which was made according to the income of the population and the utilisation of the debts, one can deduce the economic and population strength of each community. Thus, the percentages of the debt assumed by each community were set as follows:
- The community of Poulithron 9/26
- The community of Well 2/26
- The Community of Peletes 9/26
- The Community of Tsitalia 2/26
- The community of Mosquitoes 4/26
The community of Kounoupia, with its establishment, included the villages of Mari and Houni, and in 1915 the settlement of Tsumos was annexed to it, which was detached from the community of Peletes by Decree 23-12-1915.
Tsumos was annexed to the community of Poulithron by the Government Decree 26-9- 1919 (Government Gazette A 149/1919).
The settlement of Mari became the same community with the D. 8-7-1931 (Elements of the establishment and development of demoi and communities in Greece - Vol. 3).
Until about 1960, Poulithra was only connected by sea, with daily steamships, with Nafplio (which was the judicial centre for the area) and Piraeus.
The limited economy of the village (carob oil, wine, a few cereals) forced many Poulithrians to emigrate from the end of the last century, but especially in the first and second decade of the 20th century, to the United States of America, where they have established numerous settlements. Second and third generation descendants of these immigrants honor the name of our village in their new homeland.
After the Second World War, apart from immigrants abroad (Europe, America, Australia), a large number of young people sought their economic fortune in Athens and the merchant navy.
The population of the village according to the censuses was:
- Census 1920 enumerators 665
- Census 1928 enumerators 524
- Census 1940 census takers 128
- Census 1951 Census takers 600
- Census 1961 enumerators 710
- Census 1971 census takers 602
- Census 1981 430 enumerators
The large fluctuation of the population is due to the fact that depending on the time of the census, either heterodemocrats (from Peleta, Pigadi, Koulipia) were registered in Poulithra or Poulithrians were registered in the above villages where they stayed or in large cities where they were found.
The analysis of the 1971 census (the 1981 census has not yet been published) shows that the legal population of Poulithra was 491 inhabitants. This figure is obtained by subtracting 251 heterodemocrats and three foreigners from the 602 census residents and adding 108 residents of Poulithra registered elsewhere and 35 temporarily absent abroad (data from the Statistical Service of Greece).
Among the first Presidents of the newly established community of Poulithron are Gikas K. Koliopoulos (1916-17) and Panagiotis G. Kontoroupis (1918).
Since 1930 the following have served as presidents:
Michael K. Koliopoulos (1930), Panagiotis Orfanos (1931, 1942, 1943), Panagiotis G. (1932), Triantafyllos Chronis (1933), Theodoros K. Kontoroupis (1934-1935, 1938-1941), Vasilios Soulias (1936-1937), Thomas Chiotis (1943-1945), Theodoros Trikoulis (1947-1949), Andreas G. (1946, 1950-1951, 1953-1968), Ioannis Kontoroupis (1952), Demetrios Niarchos (1968-1972), Alexandros Kardiomenos (1972-1974), Theodoros N. Zouboukos (1975-1978), Christos G. Soulias (1979- ).
Concluding the short history of our present village, I consider it my duty to commemorate our patriots who offered their lives in the recent wars or lost their lives because of them:
1912-1913
Nikolaos D. Trikoulis
John P. Rozos
1916
Stamatis Chr. Soulias
1919-1922
Emmanuel A. Kattis
John M. Voulgaris
Konstantinos P. Porphyris
1940-1944
Nikolaos Ef.Chalyvis
Nikolaos T. Danabasis
Konstantinos D. Kardimenos
Theodoros K. Markos
1947-1949
George N. Constantinou
Konstantinos A. Daskas
