Kotsinas

The name of this village was derived from the red colour of the soil in the area, particularly the famed Lemnian earth, which was mined from the nearby Despotis hill, the ancients’ Mosychlos, near the Savior’s chapel. In 1981, it was designated as a distinct village inside the Repanidi community, known as Kotsinas.

The village was a major harbour throughout the Middle Ages. It was originally a port of the ancient town of Iphaistia, but in 1361 it was given an imposing Castle. The church of Zoodochos Pigi is built atop an underground well, “agiasma,” on the hill of Kotsinos, inside the castle. The well source is reached by a descending 64 steps (previously with 57 or 51) to almost sea level. The underground passage was apparently dug when the artificial hill of the castle was completed, so that the water necessary for sieges would not be wasted. The present holy water was created in 1918, and the new church was established in 1954 with the help of expatriates from the United States and Australia. Only one entablature from the Byzantine era has survived.

Pottery has a long history in the Kotsina area, dating back to the Middle Ages, if not earlier.

Agios Ypatios, sometimes known as Anypatis, is a small town near Repanidi. Anypatis was quite mobile during the late Turkish period (1650-1912). Repanidi was most likely initially close by.

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