Spatharaioi of Samos

Spatharaioi is a mountainous village of Samos with a population of 236 residents (2011). Administratively, it belongs to the Municipal Unit of Pythagoreio of the Municipality of Samos.

📍 Geographical Location

The village is located in the southern part of the island at an altitude of 582 meters.

📝 Description

Spatharaioi are almost built on the top of Mount “Bourniás”, so that when there is no cloud cover, you can see the island complex of Fournoi and Ikaria, and to the southeast as far as Patmos. For this reason, the people of Samos call the village “the balcony of the Aegean”.

The village is also famous for its picturesque square with the Jasmine (tree) and the centuries-old Plane Tree, while the Church of the Taxiarches, right next to the square, is the center of the village. The festivals for the Dormition of the Virgin Mary (15 August) and for the patron saint Archangel Michael (9 November) are well known. Also, in the village, on the last Sunday of Carnival, the custom of the Kadi is still celebrated to this day. The custom of the Kadi originates from the history of the island and is related to the official establishment of the Kadi on the island in 1617.

The Kadi, visiting the island twice a year, collected taxes and was also involved in judging various matters. The corruption, severity and arbitrariness he committed made him hated by the inhabitants of the island.

Spatharaioi are located at a distance of five kilometers from the village of Pyrgos on the road towards the village of Pagondas, while via a rural road it is also connected with the village of Skouraika.

Its name is attributed to priest Petros Spathas who first settled there and created the village with his 18 children. Another version is that during the re-settlement of the island it was inhabited by settlers from Spathari in Evia. Finally, yet another version connects the village with the Spatharioi (Latin Spatharii) of the Byzantine Court. This version is based on the fact that due to its location, the village could have been a place where Spatharioi were exiled when the ruling faction in Constantinople changed, but also on the fact that findings have been discovered in the wider area of the village (sites “Kastri & Palioekklisies”) which justify the existence of inhabitants before the re-settlement.

The inhabitants are mainly engaged in agriculture, with the most important crop being the olive.

Spatharaioi also include the newer coastal settlements of Avanti (Zephyros), Apostolos Pavlos (Pavlou), Vergi, Kalogera, Kyrgianni, Limnionaki, Metochi, Sykia and the small island of Samiopoula.