Kato Episkopi, Siteia

Kato Episkopi (Lower Episkopi) is a village in the Municipality of Siteia in the Lasithi region of Crete, Greece. It is located at an altitude of 40 meters on the eastern side of the Penteli River, near the Siteia – Katsidoni – Karydi road. The village is 500 meters from Piscokefalo and 4 kilometers from Siteia.

In the 1670/71 Ottoman land survey, the village had 171 inhabitants. The 1881 census recorded 159 Muslim inhabitants and no Christians.

In 1956, a cluster of vaulted tombs with flat tiles and a partially excavated Roman-era building were discovered in Kato Episkopi. The tombs contained artifacts such as an intact lōpas, a skyphos with pressed ornaments containing bird bones, and a prochous with hooks instead of handles. A worn copper coin was also found. The building had a cement floor and was covered in ceramic shards.

The small settlement of Kato Episkopi was likely the seat of the Bishop of Siteia during the Second Byzantine period. The village cemetery houses the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, a converted 11th-century bathhouse. The central part of the church is covered by an octagonal dome, while the other two parts have a semi-cylindrical arch. The bathhouse was converted into a church around the 15th century when the Bishop of Siteia moved to a different location.

The Church of the Holy Apostles at the western edge of Kato Episkopi is a three-aisled structure with a dome. The central space is covered by an octagonal dome supported by alternating arches and rudimentary semi-cones, while the narrower spaces are covered by a semi-cylindrical arch. The walls are covered with off-white mortar with engravings imitating ashlar masonry. The arches are built with the technique of the hidden brick. The ceramic decoration consists of four-leaf bottle stoppers surrounding the arches, and bricks arranged in a cross or sunbeam pattern.

Originally, the building was a bathhouse similar in form to the one in Episkopi Ierapetra. In the 15th century, the bathhouse was converted into the Church of the Holy Apostles with minor modifications. The original entrance of the bathhouse was on the west wall and led to the changing room, and possibly to the frigidarium. The central space, where built-in and underfloor ducts are located, from which hot air emerged, was the bathhouse’s caldarium. The side niches, in which there were built-in seats, appear to have been used as individual baths. The eastern compartment, where a low arched opening and traces of fire were found, was probably the tank and the water heating area. The architectural elements that can be linked to the tradition of Constantinople lead to the dating of the monument to the 11th century. The existence of crosses on the outer surfaces, combined with the fact that the settlement was the seat of a bishopric, lead to the assumption that the existence of the bathhouse is connected to the episcopate, as was the case in Ierapetra, where it was built opposite the cathedral.

Settlement: Key Points

• Kato Episkopi is located in the Municipality of Siteia, Lasithi, Crete, at an altitude of 40 meters.
• In 1583, the village had 171 inhabitants.
• By 1881, the village had 159 Muslim inhabitants and no Christians.
• Archaeological excavations have revealed a cluster of vaulted tombs with flat tiles and a partially excavated Roman-era building.
• The Church of the Holy Apostles in Kato Episkopi is a converted 11th-century bathhouse, possibly the seat of the Bishop of Siteia during the Second Byzantine period.
• Population Data:

References

• Elias Kolovos. 2010. The District of Siteia, Crete, in the First Years of Ottoman Rule: Preliminary Remarks Based on Ottoman Tahrir Defters. 10th International Cretological Congress. Khania: 451-472
• Wikipedia
• Orthodox Crete