Pelion Greek School Museum

Location: Zagora
Don't miss: Museums guide (free admission dates and other useful info)

The Greek School of Zagora in Pelion: The mountainous village of Zagora, eastern Pelion, was one of the most important educational centers in the 18th century when Greece was still under Ottoman occupation. The first school of Zagora worked in the monastery of Savor Christ but as the village would develop, the need for a bigger school was created.

This is how a school of upper education (like a college) was established in the yard of the church of Saint John. The school was first established in 1712 but it developed from 1777 and on, with the support of the Patriarch Kallinikos and the Greek merchant Yannis Prigos.

Famous Greek personalities studied in this school, which is now known as Ellinomouseio (Greek Museum). Among these personalities are the Greek writer Antimos Gazis and Rigas Ferreos, an eminent revolutionary man who raised the sense of freedom among the Greeks with his poems and brave actions. In fact, Ferreos with his death in 1798 is considered the first victim of the Greek Revolution, which was declared much later, in 1821.

The museum today hosts exhibits that date from the 16th till the 19th century. There is a large section dedicated to silk farming and another to Rigas Ferreos, with copies of his manuscripts and maps, where he stated the rights of the Greek nation and call them for uprise.