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The church of the 12 apostles

On the park of the church of the 12 apostles every year on 28 June for three days the folk feast of Ormilia takes place. The legend says that at the point where now stands the church of the 12 apostles, has previously been a small place for praying.

Nearby there was a small spring. Each year, at the same time, a deer would come from the mountains to the spring to drink. After it had drunk, the residents would catch the dear, slaughter it at the village feast and grill and eat it all together.

According to legend the deer was a reference to the goddess Artemis (goddess of hunting), who had sent the dear as a gift to the villagers. Once, the deer would come late in the afternoon and before it could drink, the villagers already caught and grilled it.

Since that day, the annual deer never came back. Years later, to be exact, in 1859, the church of the 12 apostles was built on the exact same place, which can be visited even today almost in it's original state. The said spring is located inside this church and the water is considered curative water.

As a reminder of the legend, the villagers have created an enclosure, where they have settled in deers. Those can be seen and photographed during a trip.

An excursion destination for the whole family, and should you be near at the time of the panigiri(village feast), you should definitely visit it, eat together with the villagers souvlaki and drink retsina in the shadow of the church of the 12 apostles.



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