Mikro Horio

The Site

The island of Kythnos has a central spine running along its north-south axis, with folds and fingers of land sloping down on either side. Our property is about 10 hectares in area. From the sea, it slopes up steeply to a high point of about 130 meters above sea level.

Gastromeni, the name of our tract of land, means "pregnant" in Greek, and we assumed it acquired that name in the distant past because of the shape of the southern point of Stroggyli, on the right in the picture below, which resembles a pregnant woman's belly. However, further research suggests it is instead a corruption of Kastromenos, meaning the place of a "castle," or fortification. Pirates roamed the seas in olden days, and perhaps this location contained a fort or tower lookout to warn villages of approaching raids. Later, when the fort no longer existed and pirates were a distant memory, the shape of Stroggyli suggested the more plausible description of Gastromeni.