Hydra Monastery of Prophet Elias

Location: Town

The Monastery of Prophet Elias in Hydra, Saronic: The Monastery of Prophet Elias is located at an altitude of 500m from the sea level, just 100 m below the highest mountain peak of Hydra island, Mount Eros. It can be reached in good two hours hike from the port of Hydra, taking the cobbled path that begins from the Church of Saint Constantine. At some point, hikers will come to a junction leading straight ahead to the Monastery of Prophet Elias and at the right to the nunnery of Agia Efpraxia. You can go to the monastery either directly or via the nunnery, making a small detour.

This is the only male monastery on the island, established in 1813 by thirteen monks who arrived on the island from Mount Athos. They constructed the monastery on the site of another chapel that had been built in 1771. Along time, the monastery of Prophet Elias obtained wealth from donations. It was actively involved in the Greek Revolution that broke in 1821 and in fact the leading Greek revolutionary figure Theodoros Kolokotronis was kept a prisoner in the monastery cells for 4 months, after a dispute he had with the executive officer of Hydra, Georgios Kountouriotis.

The monastery today has a rich library with valuable manuscripts. It was highly organized in 1870 by the abbot of that time, Ierotheos Kostopoulos. Located at a high altitude, the monastery of Prophet Elias gives a wonderful view to the island of Hydra, the Aegean Sea and the coasts of Peloponnese.