Kiveri

At the southern limit of the Argolid plain near the sea, on the hill of Pontinos. It has visual contact with Larissa Castle (Argos) and Acronauplia. It controls the Argolid plain and the south entrance of the Gulf of Argos. The castle is located behind the village of Myloi (previously known as Kiveri). Today's settlement of Kiveri is located a few km to the south.

There are few historical references to Castle Kiveri. Pausanias (2nd century AD) reports that on the top of the Pontinos hill were the ruins of the Temple of Athena Saitis, and the foundations of the house of Ippomedon.

Many centuries later, during the period of Frankish rule, comes the first mention of the castle: Gautier de Brienne II, heir to the Duchy of Athens and Lord of Argos and Nauplia, mentions in his will in 1347 the castles of Kiveri (Chamires or Chameres) and of Thermisia  (Tremis). It is there stated that the sixty hyperpyra (gold Byzantine coin, called the bezant in the West), the income from renting premises at Argos for the sale of fabrics, is to be given by the executors of the will to the castle priest, providing he stays there continuously and conducts a daily liturgy.

 The successor to Gautier de Brienne was his nephew Guy d'Enghien. His daughter, Maria d'Enghien, Lady of the castles of Argos, Nauplia and Kiveri, sold her lands to Venice in 1388. But before the Governor (provveditore) Perazzo Malipiero could take over their administration, the Despot of Mystras, Theodore Palaeologos, captured Argos and Kiveri. 

Kiveri castle did not survive the Venetian­Turkish war of 1463­1479. In 1481 the Treaty between the Turks and the Venetians states that the latter could keep it, but could not rebuild it. 

Around 1715 the settlement at the foot of the Pontinos hill was referred to as Tsiveri; today Myloi is there located.

Before 1841 the famous traveller and historian Jean­Alexandre Buchon wrote that the central tower was preserved to a height of several storeys.

Χρονολόγηση: 2ο μισό του 13ου-1ο μισό 14ου αι.

The castle consists of the acropolis and outer ward enclosure: in total an area of ​​approximately an hectare is involved, with a circumference of 440 meters. The layout of the fortification is carefully done and its construction conscientious.

The six­sided citadel has a uniform wall thickness of about 2 m, with a side length of approximately 15 meters. The six towers are attached to the outside at the corners. The towers had several floors, which today are not preserved. The holes for the staircases for many levels are visible on the exterior faces. In the centre of the acropolis are the remains of the rectangular main tower. The cistern, in the south­east corner of the basement, is covered by two arches in parallel. Another similar cistern, somewhat larger, survived in the east.

The external enclosure to the north of the citadel has an irregular ground plan, especially so at the west, where it followed the physical formation of the rock. Eight towers are stuck onto the corners, with no organic link to the walls, as have the towers on the citadel. The curtain length varies between 18 and 40 m: it is preserved to a height of 2.50 meters and a thickness of 1.70 to 2.50 m. To the SW of the precinct there are traces of stairs which might have lead to a minor postern gate. The position of the gate that would have allowed communication between the citadel and the enclosure is not known.

The building material is the local, roughly hewn stones with a few tiles and many small stones at the joins. The lime­mortar is quite strong in four of the six towers of the citadel and in the cisterns, while in the rest of the fortifications it has either disappeared or turned back into dust and sand.

Inside the enclosure were buildings, surviving today as stone piles. Probably they are residences and military quarters, and there are at least four churches. The single­nave church of small dimensions (9.00 x 4.80 m) abutting the wall is important: it has a semicircular apse to the east and in the middle of the long sides open the entrances. The configuration of the building with its raised paved floor and the absence of any trace of a built altar and iconostasis screen are indications that the building belonged to the Roman Catholic rite. In the cleaning work done in order to obtain data for this present web­page, there were discovered three small one­room churches and many houses.

The conservation status of the castle today is bad and so is theaccessibility. Next to the castle is a more recent chapel, to the Prophet Elias. Periodically the appropriate Ephorate of Antiquities  is cleaning out the monument. Under the remit of this project "Digital access and promotion of the castles of the Argolid, Arkadia and Corinthia", cleanings were made that revealed parts of the fortifications and the settlement.

N. 3028/2002 (Government Gazette A/153). Older proclamations: YA 16307/9.9.1965 (Government Gazette 605 / B/16.9.1965); and YA 16 307/9.9.1965 (Government Gazette 605 / B/16.9.1965).

• Antoine Bon, La Morée Franque, Paris 1969, 494-496.
• Wallace E. McLeod, “Kiveri and Thermisi”, Hesperia 31, (1962), 378-392.
• Ι.Δ. Βαραλής, Γ. Π. Τσεκές, Κ.Φ. Μπουντούρης, «Το λατινικό κάστρο Chiveri στους Μύλους της Λέρνας», υπό έκδοση στα Πρακτικά του Συνεδρίου για την Οχυρωματική Αρχιτεκτονική στην Πελοπόννησο (5^ος – 15^ος αι.).