The road leading to Theologos winds around a verdant mountain, filled with thousands of olive trees. “The trees on this mountain belong to the families of the village,” my cousin, Nikos explains. “Years ago [around the early 1900s], just a few families owned all of these trees. Now, every family has an olive grove.” I stared out the car window, looking for a some type of sign or marker to delineate one owner’s property from another. I saw none. So I asked, “How do the families know which trees are theirs?” Nikos smiled. “Every family known how many trees they have, and exactly where they are.”

At one time, there were two olive processing plants in this small village. In recent years when stricter safety regulations were passed, the facilities closed and people now take their harvest to Sparta.

The homes of the families are constructed of stone, and they are literally built into the mountainside. Houses remain in families for generations. They are beautifully maintained and constantly being updated with modern conveniences. Living on a mountain means that there are steps everywhere, and they are steep! You can’t leave your house, or enter another, without walking up a flight. The village roads are precipitous and narrow, yet people are adept at maneuvering and parking their cars and trucks. The plateia appears to have the only flat surface in the village.

The village priest, “Papa” Panagiotis Kotsos, presides over the church of Agios Ioannis Theologos. It is incredibly beautiful and filled with historic icons. I was honored to be shown several holy relics, too sacred to photograph. It’s amazing that a small village church at the top of a mountain would have such treasures.

What I love most about returning to the village is to gather with my cousins of the Zacharakis family. My great-grandmother, Stathoula Zacharakis, was born in Theologos¹. As I researched her lineage, I created a family tree which documents the various branches of the family. Whenever I visit, I bring the “updated” Zacharakis tree which is spread out along the benches at the perimeter of the plateia. People add and correct information, and we enjoy an evening of reunion and reminiscing. It has become a joyful tradition.

I love these dear people and am so very grateful for their kinship and friendship. Being together in an ancestral village brings a feeling of generational connectedness. Our ancestors walked these streets, built the churches, and gathered in the plateia. Now it is our turn.

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¹Previous Spartan Roots posts about the Zacharakis family:
Stories from the Village: Theologos
Putting Together the Zacharakis Family Tree
The Zacharakis Family of Theologos
Greece 2017. Part Six: Theologos
Ioannis Zacharakis, Hero from Theologos