Greece First Flag I Where Independence Began - Skiathos Island

  I have just visited the island where the first flag of Greece was created. It is here where the true independence of Greece began in 1807 and wherefrom the revolution against the Turkish Empire spread over the country. This is Skiathos Island(see the map).

  Three days after the referendum in Greece in 2015, we were ready to visit a place so full of history, tradition, revolt and freedom that only one who is ready to really understand Greece, would feel our anxiety. We have visited Greece almost every year since 2008. Skiathos, this beautiful island where Greece found its origin as an independent nation-state in the 19th century, was our first destination. We knew nothing about the flag and about the importance of the island. Now, we were waiting for a small bus to take us to Evanghelistria Monastery. There, the monks created the first flag of Greece. There, the bells called for freedom and independence and the entire Greece knew the time had come and the battle was about to begin. We had to feel the area in order to understand the spirit of Greece independence and need for justice. And the highest peak in Skiathos Island, where Evanghelistria Monastery was founded in 1794, was the place. 

To Evanghelistria Monastery in Skiathos, Greece

  There was a 60 years old woman who wanted to join us on our visit to the monastery. She wanted to find the holly water spring. According to legend, that water cures. Only a few are interested in the history of the place. You walk alone on the independence of Greece like the country did 200 years ago. Anyway, the woman was told that there were snakes near the spring and that she was not allowed to go.  

To get to Evanghelistria Monastery, one needs to take a small bus. 15 minutes. And then you understand. The monks and freedom fighters who swore on the Oath of Freedom here in 1807, could see the area, could see the sea and knew when to enemies were about to come. It is the highest peak of Skiathos Island. 

View from Skiathos highest peak-Evanghelistria Monastery

  The independence of Greece began. Athens was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1452. The Islands were forced to surrender in the late 17th century. Yet, the Greeks have never accepted the Turks. The Islam was a primitive religion in their opinion although the Orthodoxism has been tolerated by sultans. We found here, at Evanghelistria Monastery, a different world. We felt like being in 1800 when a nation who had to fight against invaders, since Sparta decided to do so and Xerxes, the defeated Persian Emperor, started a different kind of battle: it was the battle for freedom this time but it was on its own land. 

Evanghelistria Monastery - Skiathos, Greece

 Guns, a cross, a flag and walls. You can't bet the monks here at the place where the first flag of Greece was created, don't hide pistols, swords or knives somewhere in the neighborhood, ready to get them and start the fight again. Everything in the area is ready for war. A few monks live here. They answer your questions. They guide you even to the toillet, They gave the holy water our friend was looking for. They do not smile. A friendly and kind look is the only thing you'll get. 

Evanghelistria Monastery Skiathos Greece

  The Kollyvades were monks who left Athos after a fight against the community of the Holy Mount and founded the New Orthodoxy in the middle of the 18th century. It was a movement worried about the spiritual renewal of the Greek people. Kollyvades comes from Kollyva which is boiled wheat, used during funeral services. They came to Skiathos Island. And in 1807 the bells called for freedom and independence. They also made the first flag of Greece, here at Evanghelistria in Skiathos.   

Bells called for the independence of Greece, 1807

  Here, at the Evanghelistria Monastery, you can see how the first flag of Greece was made. Some include the blue and white formations on the Achilles' shield, others believe they are only the colours of the sea, waves and sky. The first flag of Greece was wove and raised here. The loom can be seen in the Museum. You have the chance to walk alone and visit this museum. Only a few are interested in Greece independence.

The loom where the first flag of Greece was created

In 1807 the flag was ready and for the first time it was raised. The bells rang. The war began few years later and Greece found European allies and conquered its independence in 1832. In Skiathos Island, one the Aegean pearls, people have never forgotten that their home was 200 years ago the home of the revolution and part of the war for independence. Their flag is the witness.

Flag of Greece - Evanghelistria Monastery, Skiathos

 Thank you for reading our post and for sharing. You may find interesting The River Styx-the ancient Greek river of the dead.

Nekromanteion of Greece I Photos

Theese are the photos of Nekromanteion, the ancient oracle of Death in Greece. We have captured the photos in 2014. To enter the Nekromanteion of Greece you need to pay 2 euros and to take photos is free.

Ruins of Necromanteion in Greece

The complex made of stones is quite interesting. For the stones of Nekromanteion are heavy and, still, they made walls with them.

Stones of Nekromanteion

So, if you ever visit Parga in Greece, this is a place you must see. It is about 20 km from Parga.

Parga-Greece-Nekromanteion

It is here in this photo of Nekromanteion where we caught Achiles. According to our guide, Achiles came to this oracle. It was in his journey to river Styxx. But here, in this oracle Achiles found out something about his future.

The Oracle of Achiles - Nekromanteion

No, this is not Achiles, it is but the gate to Nekromanteion and to the underworld. Here at the gate you met the souls of the dead in Nekromanteion and here they spoke. Read more about the Nekromanteion where you could talk to the dead.

The Gate of Nekromanteion

During the ritual, if the dead answered yes to your question from this huge jar came wine. If they said no, it was only water. This was the ritual at Nekromanteion.

Ritual at Nekromanteion

This site was discovered in 1955. Homer wrote about it in the 8th century B.C. Read more about the oracle of the dead or Necromanteion of Greece!

The Oracle of the dead in Greece, Parga

The oracle of the dead and the whole ceremony while calling the dead in the Oracle of the dead in ancient Greece, near Parga, had a name : nekiya, which means the ritual when living people called the dead to ask them about the future. The Oracle of the dead in Greece, Parga was, thus, a temple. Oddysseus, the great greek hero came here to ask what he should do in order to return home where his wife, Penelope, was still waiting for him after the war of Troy and after wandering over the seas for more than nine long years. And not only him.

Oracle of the dead in Ephyrus, Greece

The Oracle of the dead in Ephyra, Greece, also known as the Necromanteion had also a secret chamber. It was there where the one who wanted to talk to the dead, entered.


Descending to the oracle of the dead was an adventure. It could last days or even weeks until the pilgrim was ready to face the souls.

Oracle of the dead in Greece, Parga

It is interesting that while the pilgrim passed through corridors and gates or the Oracle of the Dead he was asked questions by the holly guide and he found answers to his questions only at the end of this journey. The Necromanteion was not the only oracle of this kind in Greece or, later, in the Roman Empire. We find such temples also in a cave at Cape Matapan, in southern Greece, where the Spartans built another home of Hades or in Heraklea Pontica in nowadays Turkey, known as the modern city of Karadeniz Eregli, at the Black Sea. Necromanteion is the oldest oracle in Greece.
 Necromanteion was burnt and destroyed by the Romans while their expansion in 167 BC. It was described by Homer in the 8th century BC, by Herodotus in the 5th century BC and was discovered and excavated in 1955 A.D. Nowadays the ARCHAEO TRAVEL NEWS are interesting.

Oracle - Necromanteion

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And this before you can visit this terrifying place where, according to ancient Greek mythology, three rivers of death, sorrow and pain met in order the ancient River Styxx to arise. This site was located on the banks of the Acheron River in Epirus. Now it is in the province of Prevenza, the new city built after Nikopoli was devastated in the 12th century. To get to the Necromanteion it is very easy if you visit the city of Parga in the south-western Greece. See more PHOTOS ABOUT NECROMANTEION!
Found theese walls interesting? They are the same walls as Puma Punku's although South America had not been discovered in the 1th century BC. See Puma Punku in Bolivia!