A boulder, the puzzling disappearance of an ancient inscription and two small tales set against the background of Mount Piganio
Although the gigantic boulder overlooking Tripates area is still called Monopetra, the name Liontaropetra is gradually catching on among the locals. A cone-shaped rock formation to the North/Northeast of Karies, beneath Mount Piganio, it was detached from it due to the geological upheaval perpetually occurring in our area..
At its bottom lies a boulder bearing the most famous carved inscription in a series of obscure engravings existing in the greater Karies area, which have occasionally aroused travelers, historians and archaeologists‘ curiosity. It is worth noting that, by obviously tumbling one or more times, the boulder ended up rotating almost 90 degrees to the left, accounting for the inscription’s present-day vertical orientation.
Although the gigantic boulder overlooking Tripates area is still called Monopetra, the name Liontaropetra is gradually catching on among the locals. A cone-shaped rock formation to the North/Northeast of Karies, beneath Mount Piganio, it was detached from it due to the geological upheaval perpetually occurring in our area..
At its bottom lies a boulder bearing the most famous carved inscription in a series of obscure engravings existing in the greater Karies area, which have occasionally aroused travelers, historians and archaeologists‘ curiosity. It is worth noting that, by obviously tumbling one or more times, the boulder ended up rotating almost 90 degrees to the left, accounting for the inscription’s present-day vertical orientation.
📷 The boulder bearing the inscription at the bottom of Monopetra
According to scholars, the inscriptions were carved during the Hellenistic period (321 – 30 B.C.), probably by a young man potentially suffering from psychological disorders, perhaps a schizophrenic, who wandered around the area and carved the rocks probably making reference to a disastrous wildfire that was apparently of tragic significance to him.
The accurate number of these inscriptions is very hard to be determined. Oral tradition has it that the greater Karies area boasted carved “letters” in many spots; relevant literature mentions five inscriptions, while the fact that another one –previously located at the bottom of Monopetra– disappeared has rendered tracing more than four of them impossible today. No one can tell what became of the second inscription. However, we do know some of the… adventures which the Monopetra boulders had to go through in the recent past.
Here ‘s what professor Antonios Stefanou wrote in Nea tou Vrontadou (News of Vrontados) about an incident that took place in 1951 and threatened to “irreversibly ruin” Monopetra and its inscriptions: “Despite copious amounts of rocks being available all around, a savage contractor, only valuing his own convenience, lacking even the vaguest grasp of the havoc he was wreaking, went on to chop some rocks off the Monopetra curbs so as to use them as construction material. He nearly took the first inscription into pieces but luckily the police intervention prevented that from happening by forbidding stonecutting in that area”. Stefanou followed these remarks with more concerns in the same article: “What I managed to do was paint some colored arrows indicating where the inscriptions lie as well as raise the quarrymen’s awareness on the issue, since those people can be perceived as aggressors in the area.”
According to scholars, the inscriptions were carved during the Hellenistic period (321 – 30 B.C.), probably by a young man potentially suffering from psychological disorders, perhaps a schizophrenic, who wandered around the area and carved the rocks probably making reference to a disastrous wildfire that was apparently of tragic significance to him.
The accurate number of these inscriptions is very hard to be determined. Oral tradition has it that the greater Karies area boasted carved “letters” in many spots; relevant literature mentions five inscriptions, while the fact that another one –previously located at the bottom of Monopetra– disappeared has rendered tracing more than four of them impossible today. No one can tell what became of the second inscription. However, we do know some of the… adventures which the Monopetra boulders had to go through in the recent past.
Here ‘s what professor Antonios Stefanou wrote in Nea tou Vrontadou (News of Vrontados) about an incident that took place in 1951 and threatened to “irreversibly ruin” Monopetra and its inscriptions: “Despite copious amounts of rocks being available all around, a savage contractor, only valuing his own convenience, lacking even the vaguest grasp of the havoc he was wreaking, went on to chop some rocks off the Monopetra curbs so as to use them as construction material. He nearly took the first inscription into pieces but luckily the police intervention prevented that from happening by forbidding stonecutting in that area”. Stefanou followed these remarks with more concerns in the same article: “What I managed to do was paint some colored arrows indicating where the inscriptions lie as well as raise the quarrymen’s awareness on the issue, since those people can be perceived as aggressors in the area.”
📷 “THE DECENT MAN SET HIMSELF (?) ON FIRE”.
The inscription can be clearly seen in Monopetra to this day.
But it wasn’t just the quarrymen who coveted the rocks in Monopetra. A few years earlier, the area’s owner nearly shattered the boulders bearing the inscriptions as he thought a priceless treasure was hiding there! Here is what Alexandros Paspatis mentions in the Chian Glossary: “Speculating that the first two rocks contained hidden treasures, their owner drew a hole in the second one in order to stuff it with gunpowder and blow it up, intending to extract the sought after treasure.” He also notices that it was the multifarious Konstantinos Kanelakis who had to be credited for averting the disaster, as he “used numerous arguments to finally dissuade the owner from proceeding to his plan.”
But it wasn’t just the quarrymen who coveted the rocks in Monopetra. A few years earlier, the area’s owner nearly shattered the boulders bearing the inscriptions as he thought a priceless treasure was hiding there! Here is what Alexandros Paspatis mentions in the Chian Glossary: “Speculating that the first two rocks contained hidden treasures, their owner drew a hole in the second one in order to stuff it with gunpowder and blow it up, intending to extract the sought after treasure.” He also notices that it was the multifarious Konstantinos Kanelakis who had to be credited for averting the disaster, as he “used numerous arguments to finally dissuade the owner from proceeding to his plan.”
THE INSCRIPTION IN KARIES
Around Karies village one can today locate four inscriptions with a similar content. The first one of this group is situated at Galatou, the second at the bottom of Monopetra, the third is located on a rock close to the path going up from Pigania strait and leading to Arvanitissa, while the fourth one can be found in Drakontospilos cave. Older residents of Karies still refer to those arcane inscriptions as “letters”.
THE INSCRIPTION IN KARIES
Around Karies village one can today locate four inscriptions with a similar content. The first one of this group is situated at Galatou, the second at the bottom of Monopetra, the third is located on a rock close to the path going up from Pigania strait and leading to Arvanitissa, while the fourth one can be found in Drakontospilos cave. Older residents of Karies still refer to those arcane inscriptions as “letters”.