On the other hand, from that century on, some Corinthian colonists established themselves along the coast of Epirus –the mountains on which side Zagoria is settled. But a long time passed until the southern Greek culture was given to the Epirote tribes, as it occurred from the 5th century on, by the initiative of King Tharypas.
Around this time –from the 9th to the 4th century BC- in terms of politic division, Zagoria was part of the ancient kingdom of Molossoi, which was also an Epriot tribe, living in the North. This tribe gained the control over the whole Epirus in the late Classical period.
Today, the ruins of the Neolithic settlement of Molossoi can be found close to the village of Vitsa. This location is also important because of the characters related to it, when it comes to both real history and in mythological terms.
For example, the mother of Alexander the Great, Olympias, was born in Molossida, the main town of the empire, placed in front of Konitsa –a town near the Albanian border-, where the rivers Aoos Voidomatis, and Sarantaporos join together. |
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In general terms, the geographical features of Zagoria influenced its history, as the fact of being mountainous and with a difficult access gave it certain stability, in contrast to the rest of Greece, which went though a lot of different dominations along the centuries.
Free from the massive invasions, its inhabitants did not suffer any substantial changes in terms of number or composition. The Sarakatsans, another group with remote origins were an example of this, as they are said to descend directly from the population of the Neolithic period.
In fact, they are thought to be part of the purest Greek populations, and might be descendants from the original pastoral tribes of Homeric Greece.
During their military interventions, they used to take huge mastiffs educated for war, and they were widely known for this fact. Regarding their activities, they also used to be shepherds, and its descendants remain until today.
Although they used to be a nomadic population, and nowadays they live in scattered communities along the area, some of them are still shepherds and use the ancient methods, like the one of moving the sheep to higher grazing grounds during summer.
In addition, they have an annual festival, held on the first weekend of August, on Gyftokambos in central Zagoria.
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In addition, the Turk were also banned to come into the area as long as the arrengement was respeted. That way, the statutory rules were added to the geographical features of the area, and made of it a safe place where to look for shelter.
Since the area of Zagoria was never damaged by the Turk, it prospered in economical terms, and a great number of merchants with connections to Russia, Romania, and Constantinople chose this area during the Ottoman rule.
During the 18th century, this blossoming was on its highest peak, as several schools and churches were build, the area was decorated in an elaborated way, and medicine reached a good development, as the herbs from the gorge were used for making prescriptions.
In our days, some remains of these can be found mainly on Skamneli, among others. However, the nice and peaceful history of Zagoria is reflected on the charm of all its villages, which testify the old splendour that surprisingly still remains until our days. |
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