Category Archives: Genealogy

Visiting the Villages: Zarafona

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When a family moves from one village to another, the natives of their new “horio” may refer to them as the people from [name of their former village]. That is exactly what happened to my third great-grandfather, Panagiotis Zarafonitis. Sometime in the mid-1800s, he left his mountain village of Zarafona and settled in the fertile plains of Sparta, specifically the village of Sklavochori (now part of Amykles).

One of several mountain paths that the Zarafonitis family could have walked to settle in the valley.

He became known as Zarafonitis, the man from Zarafona. His original surname is unknown. The Zarafonitis family of Amykles claims that there were two Zarafona families who settled in Amykles: Mazis and Tountas. Another comment was that the Maltezos family of Zarafona also came to Amykles. Because the migration most likely occurred after the Revolution of 1821 ended, around 1830–before records were created by the modern Greek state–the name will have to remain a mystery.

The village of Zarafona

Zarafona, also known as Kallithea, is most likely ancient and surely pre-dates Byzantium. Its church, Enniamera tis Panagias / Εννιάμερα της Παναγίας (Nine Days of the Virgin Mary) was built in the 10th century.

The Byzantine Church of Zarafona

The village has a castle which towers at the top of a mountain. “According to an inscription found on the west external wall, the castle was constructed in the period that the Despotate of Moreas was governed by Theodoros II Paleologos (1407-1448). Therefore it was a construction of the first half of the 15th century, part of the effort of the Byzantines to confront the Ottoman threat.”1 The short video below shows both the castle and the surrounding countryside.

Castle of Zarafona; photo from Kastrologos

With the castle as a fortress, one can conclude that the Zarafonites were activey engaged in thwarting the Ottoman incursion into their territory. It’s rather thrilling to imagine Panagiotis Zarafonitis and others in active opposition to this threat, and their jubilation when the Ottomans were defeated.

It makes sense that, after their freedom was secured, Panagiotis did exactly as so many others — go down from the mountain to settle in the fertile valley.2 I know he was there by 1849, the approximate year of the birth of my second great grandmother, Giannoula, in Sklavochori.3

Park adjacent to the plateia

Zarafona is an agricultural community. Crops such as olives, citrus fruits, vegetables, and grapes are cultivated. The region has a long history of wine production. The village is peaceful and the neat gardens and livestock give it a homey atmosphere.

Sheep, chickens and gardens make Zarafona feel comfortable and homey
Traditional stone houses; some whitewashed and some natural stone. All neatly maintained
There are two signs on this well.
Left: Major donors for drilling, 1995; Panagiotis P. Ferizis; Ilias Legakis
Right: Gift from the Zarafona Women’s Syllogos and Leonida Nikia, 1-5-2013
Another well, adjacent to the church, in memory of Leonida K. and [?] Nik. Oikonomopoulos
War Memorial
1912-1940: S.K. Voudouris; P I. Ferizis ;I. D. Chrysikos; I. V. Maltezos; P. G. Maltezos; G. N. Voudouris; I. P. Giakas; P. Ch. Farlekas; K. D. Stamatopoulos; N. Th. Oikonomopoulos; I. H. Douvris; Ef. Lochagos; N. G. Ferizis; S. P. Maltezos; P. V. Flogos; I. P. Manousopoulos
1940-1949: P. D. Karakitsos; G. I. Plagakis; Chr. P. Katranis; D. I. Nikias; E. P. Oikonomopoulos; P. G. Danas; I. G. Koumoutzis; G. Th. Vlachos; I. P. Oikonomakis; H. I. Danas

I thank Yanni Lambrinakos for taking me to see this village. His knowledge of the area and its people have helped me better understand this branch of my ancestral roots.


1Source: Kastrologos
2For migration patterns after the Revolution, see this post.
3Giannoula’s marriage record to Dimitrios Nikolaos Zacharakis on April 18, 1869 states her residence as Sklavochori. I estimate her birth at 20 years prior to marriage.
Metropolis of Sparta, Marriage Index Book
Book: Sparta, 1866-1872; Year: 1869; Entries: 88-94
Entry  #89
License Date: April 18, 1869
Marriage Date: not given
Groom:  Dimitrios Zacharakis, no father listed; residence: Theologos
Bride:  Giannoula Zarafonitou; father: P., residence: Sklavochori
Church Name:  not given
First marriage for both bride and groom
Photographed at the Metropolis of Sparta in Sparta, Greece by Carol Kostakos Petranek, July 2017

  

Stories from the village: Theologos

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Around the time of the Greek Revolution of 1821, seven brothers left Crete and traveled to the Peloponnese. They scattered and settled in various areas. Three found their new home in a village 7 km north of Sparta, and the Zacharakis family of Theologos was formed. Theologos is situated 5 km straight up to the top of a mountain. Due to its height and spectacular views, the village is known as “the balcony of Lakonia.”

View of Theologos from the home of Georgia Zacharakis Dariotis

My great-great grandfather, Dimitrios Zacharakis, was among the earliest born in the village, circa1832. What type of life did he and his descendants experience? What were their occupations and their traditions? I asked my cousins to introduce me to the oldest member of the family, Georgia Zacharakis. At 93 years old, she is strong, sharp and sprightly. She continues to maintain the sprawling 100-year-old stone house that she shared with her husband (now deceased), Ioannis Athanasios Dariotis.

Georgia Zacharakis Dariotis on the balcony of her home
Theologos, June 1, 2023

Through her reminisces, Georgia brought the past into the present. Village life was as rugged as its mountain. Transportation was by horse or donkey. It was not until 1970 that a narrow, switchback, paved road to Theologos was constructed. Prior to then, people rode animals or walked 4 km over winding mountain paths to the nearby village of Voutiani which had the only road on the mountain. It led to the city of Sparta where people could shop, conduct business, and access doctors or government facilities. There, horses and donkeys were kept in a χάνι (chani), a house with a large inner courtyard, where travelers and their animals camped and spent the night.1 After returning to Voutiani, people walked the 4 km back to Theologos, and this time their animals — or their arms — were laden with the goods and items purchased. The return trip was all uphill and done barefoot. Shoes were a luxury, not a necessity.

The mountain path from Theologos to Voutiani

Homes were built of stone and, until recently, had no modern conveniences. Nestled in the cliffs, steep steps led to every house.

Steps leading to Georgia’s home

Village families were very close and considered themselves one unit. Because they knew each other well, marriages among their children did not present unexpected surprises such as alcoholism, illness or mistreatment of spouse or children. Marriages were arranged by a matchmaker (either male or female), who received money for their services. Georgia said, with a sparkle in her eyes, that although match with a man from Agios Ioannis, Sparta was being considered for her, she refused it — preferring a man from Theologos. She married Ioannis Dariotis in 1953.

Ioannis and Georgia, June 28, 1953

Both men and women labored ceaselessly. The primary occupation was growing olives. For a time, only about ten families owned all the olive trees that fill the mountainside of Theologos. The rest of the men were laborers, working in the groves. As time passed, almost every family eventually owned at least one grove. Olive oil production was such a large business that two processing plants were built; currently, neither is operational. The villagers now bring their olives into Sparta for processing. Even today, the olive harvest season is long, lasting from October to April, because of the large amount of olives grown on the mountain.

One of two olive oil production facilities in Theologos

A few village men were woodworkers and carpenters or stone masons. Every building is constructed of stone, hewn from the mountain. Georgia’s father, Nikolaos, was a woodworker. Her husband, Ioannis, did not have an occupation when they married, and he worked with Nikolaos to learn the woodworking trade. Ioannis’ father was a farrier, making horseshoes and shoeing the animals in a courtyard at the front of Georgia and Ioannis’ house.

Courtyard where Ioannis Dariotis shoed horses

Children were born at home under the care of the village midwife, Chaido Synodinou (early-mid 1900s). A new mother was granted no reprieve from her tasks: cooking, cleaning, and childcare. Georgia’s mother, Amalia Bebetsos Zacharakis, boiled “bad” oil to make soap for washing clothes and bodies, and sold the product to earn a little money.

In addition to household chores, women harvested wheat and toiled in the fields. After the wheat was threshed, it was baked into bread in an outdoor oven.

Georgia opens the door to the oven, now housed indoors in a separate room

Seeing the hardships endured by village women, Georgia’s father encouraged her to make a better life. With his blessing and support, Georgia studied dressmaking in Sparta and became an outstanding seamstress. She made clothing for men, women and children. She also constructed clothing and vestments for priests, which are both ornate and meticulously embroidered. Georgia’s love of sewing has not subsided, and she took great joy in showing us her two sewing machines.

Georgia in her sewing room. She is sitting at the treadle machine which is operated by her feet; the electric machine is inserted upper left.

Georgia’s brother, Pavlos, and her nephew, Nikolaos, shared memories of growing up in Theologos. People were very poor. When their fathers worked in the fields, they took only bread to eat, leaving the cheese at home for the children. Everyone — children and adults — went barefoot.

Nikolaos, Pavlos, Georgia Zacharakis

Children had handmade toys. Balls were made from old clothing tightly stuffed into socks. Stones were lined up, and the homemade balls were rolled to move them. Sticks of varying sizes were placed on a ledge with half of the stick extended over the edge. The stick was hit hard, and the one whose broken half flew the farthest won the game. Children played leap frog and “heads or tails” with a stone or small coin. Primary school was a one-room building in the village; secondary school was in Sparta.

In the mid-1900s, when children grew into young adults, they left the village to attend college in other areas of Greece. Some returned to the village; many did not. Around the time of the great emigration (early 1900s), men went overseas in search of new opportunities. They walked or took a horse and cart to the nearest port, Gytheion; from there, they boarded small ships to Piraeus and other ports for the journey across the Atlantic. After settling in a new land, they invited their siblings, cousins, and villagers to join them. They brought their sisters to be married, thus relieving parents of the burden of providing a dowry and finding husbands who could give their daughters a better life.

Today, the population of Theologos is about 200 people. Soon, our Zacharakis cousins will gather for a reunion and to enjoy being together. Many are waiting to see the updated family tree which I have compiled using civil and church records. As the plateia (town square) fills, I know our ancestors will rejoice when they see us, their descendants, uniting in remembrance of them.

1Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek

Missing a Male? He May Have Been a Sogamvros

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It happens in many families. A husband and wife welcome one daughter, then two, then maybe several more into their home. When the childbearing years have passed and no sons are born, the descriptive genealogy term is that the family is “daughtered-out.”

In pre-modern Greece, this situation posed problems for the husband and wife. With several daughters to be married, several dowries were needed — a most difficult situation for poor, rural village families. The surname may or may not disappear: if it is prevalent in the village, and if others with the surname are not daughtered-out, the surname will survive; if that is the only family with the surname, it will end.

But perhaps the biggest concern of the parents is: who will succeed the father as patriarch in the home? Who will be the head of the household, and assume the responsibilities of providing for and protecting the family? The patriarch provides financial support by earning a living and managing the money. He is the decision-maker in the home and provides his family emotional support and guidance. He preserves the family’s traditions and cultural heritage and serves as the primary role model for his children and grandchildren. He is revered–or sometimes feared–but always respected.

One solution to this dilemma is the introduction of a sogamvros, a man who marries one of the daughters. He leaves his father’s home and family to live in his wife’s household, thus assuming the role of patriarch in her family after her father dies.

Here is an example found in a search of the 1844 Voter Lists for the village of Agios Ioannis, Sparta, on GreekAncestry. Notice the suffix, –gamvros, in each name:

Thirty years later, the 1872 Voter Lists of the village reveals these names:

  • Στρατηγόγαμβρος, Χρ. (Stratigogamvros, Chr.) age 28
  • Τρακόγαμβρος η Σαχάμ, Π. (Trakogamvros or Sacham, P.) age 32
  • Τρατόγαμβρος Μιχ. (Tratogamvros, Mich.), age 35

Remember, surnames were “fluid” (changeable) or even non-existent before the 20th century, thus; the sogamvros may or may not change his name upon marriage. We cannot determine if the prefix is the original surname of the man, a nickname, or the name of the family he married into: Kontogeorgo-, Stratigo-, Trato-, Trako-. (As an aside, N. Stratigogamvros and Mich. Tratogamvros are found in both the 1844 and 1872 Voter Lists, which demonstrates the importance of examining all extant records for your surname.)

The irony of a sogamvros is that after he joins his wife’s family, he becomes “lost” in his own. He has left his home, resides in his wife’s house, and has a change in his name. If we find that a sogamvros has married in our family, how can we determine which family and village he was from?

Gregory Kontos of Greek Ancestry explained: “We may never know the man’s original name unless we find a document or notary record (contract, will, etc.) that states his father’s name or which village he was originally from. Or, if there is a family story that provides that information.”

In my recent interview with researcher Tom Frangoulis, he related that the only way he knew a male relative became a sogamvros in another village was because a family member mentioned that fact in a written family history.

Alternately, if we are “missing” a male in our family, could he have become a sogamvros in another village?

My branch of the Kostakos family is now daughtered-out. My father was the only son; my brother was the only son, and he has two daughters. If we lived in our village of Agios Ioannis a couple of generations ago, someone who married one of my nieces would become a sogamvros. To reflect his new role as patriarch, perhaps he would have chosen to take Kostakos surname, thus becoming a “Kostagamvros.” By leaving his family and joining ours, his identity would change. If no one documents this fact, his origins may be forever lost.

Let’s be sure we write something about the history of our family. How sad it would be if people “disappeared” because we did not take the time to document what we have learned about our ancestral lines.

ADDENDUM: My sincere appreciation to Achilleas Gazis, who wrote the following corrections to this post: “Two points to notice: the prefix is always the name of the family he married into; Your sogamvros would be Kostogamvros, not Kostagamvros.”

Family Tree of Agios Ioannis, Sparta

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by Carol Kostakos Petranek

With three of my four grandparents born in Agios Ioannis (Aridas, Kostakos, Papagiannakos), I am related to almost every family in our village. My desire to understand our family connections both intrigues and entices me to document how we all interconnect.

I have spent several summers at the Archives of Sparta, the Lixarcheion office and the Municipal Office (KEP), researching our families. I have gathered information from primary sources: the Dimotologion Koinotitos, Mitroon Arrenon, School Archives, Church Books, Election Registers of 1844 and 1872, and Marriage Records from the Metropolis of Sparta. To complete the project, I must extract additional names from marriage, church and school records, but the basic family structure of the village is now documented.

This data has now been compiled into a website, Spartan Roots Family Trees, which can be accessed here. As I continue to add information, the website will automatically update.

Important: Only people who are deceased are in this website!

To use the site, click on the home page, then on the left menu, click on “name index“. Using the alphabetical letters at the top of the page, click on the letter of a surname. A list of surnames will appear and the number next to each name indicates how many people with that spelling are in the database. Click on the letter of interest. Name spellings vary a lot and some begin with two-letter consonants (see Notes below). Alternately, type a surname in the search box. If a name does not appear, then click on the first letter of the name and scroll until you find it.

For example, I am looking for my grandfather, John Andrew Kostakos.

When you find a name of interest, you will see three icons on the right. Each takes you to a page with additional information about that person.

Number 1 is the Individual Page, with vital statistics, facts and notes about that person.

Number 2 is a Family Group Sheet. You can choose whether to view that person as a parent with his/her spouse and children; or as a child in the household of his/her parents.

Number 3 shows the person in a Pedigree view. He is the first person on the left, with his ancestors on the right.

Notes:

(1) to navigate, use the left and right arrows at the top of your browser to go one page back or forward.

(2) Be alert for names which begin with two-letter consonants. These are: μπ = b or mb; ντ = d or nd; γκ = g or ng; γγ = g or ng; τσ = ts; τζ = dz.

These two-letter consonants could be translated more than one way; e.g., Bolovitsiotis in English is spelled Μπολοβιτσιώτης in Greek, so it could begin with either a B or an Mp.

(3) If you know of a name that is not on the site, please contact me so we can determine why it is missing.

It is my deepest hope that this website will help you to trace your family back through time. Some men in the Election Register of 1844 were born in the late 1700’s! Our families have a deep and proud heritage, and I am so honored to have roots in our beautiful village!

I am so pleased that this initiative has been accepted into the Greek Ancestry Village History Project Initiative, which is explained here.