Panourgias , Fokida

Panourgias (in honor of the homonymous chief of 1821) is a mountain village in the prefecture of Fokida. The village was formerly known as Dremissa (which is still used today among the inhabitants of Fokida) until its renaming in February 1915 [1]. So it was probably named by the tremor => tremissa => dremissa <=> dremissa, due to the frequent earthquakes. This theory is based on the fact that the village was originally built high on the slope of Tourla and after a great earthquake it was destroyed and rebuilt lower. The old location of the village, now known as Lakkos, is still scattered with building stones. This theory is the most prevalent.

Another theory about the origin of the name is that of General Stelios Panourgias. Because in the past the village was probably in an oak forest, from the word drymos => dremos => dremissa. Today one can find oak between Pavliani and Koumaritsi, just a few kilometers from the village.

Tradition has it that the village before it was named Dremissa was called Kotrona, perhaps because of the many rocks that surround it and the general roughness of the landscape.

The date of establishment and residence of the village is unknown and no evidence survives. The name of one of the springs of the village as "Rous" may indicate that there was a settlement from ancient times, but there is no find in the area that confirms it. Panos G. Mavrias mentions in his book that around 1930 in Lakkos a tomb was found with ancient gifts from Dimitrios Patoulas. The tomb was leveled and the gifts were not kept.

The first oppressive era of Turkish rule certainly contributed to the refuge and construction of the village in a somewhat secluded place. Tradition has it that in Dremissa there was never a permanent Turkish placeholder. Initially, the village had few huts and it seems that every house wanted to have the upper hand over the others. That is why the inhabitants of the surrounding villages said of Dremissa: "Twelve huts, ten or three captains."

Panourgias is the village of the great heroes of Roumeli in the struggle of '21: Dimitrios Xirou or Panourgia, Nakou Panourgia, Giannis Goura, Mamouri and Papa-Costa Tzamalas. The anniversary of the Battle of Dremissa on May 17, 1821, in Arvanitorachi was established as a national holiday. This battle played a decisive role, judging the whole revolution of 1821. It was the first great victory

It is built at an altitude of 1,060 meters on the slopes of Giona and is one of the most mountainous settlements in Central Greece.

Panourgias belongs to the enlarged Municipality of Delphi and its population, according to the 2011 Census, is 196 inhabitants. It owes its name to the fact that it is the place of origin of the heroes of 1821, Panourgia Panourgia and Nako Panourgia.

A quatrain that the ancients used to say was this.

"Kaniani is a good village
Koukouvista is also good
Dremissa is Leventochori
and old Stromi bad. "

References

Pandektis: Dremisa - Panourgias

External links

GTP - Greek Travel Pages
Fokida - Municipality of Kallieon
Information about the village of Panourgias