Thermisia

The castle is built on two rocky peaks on a steep ridge, 2 km north-west of the settlement of Thermisia. It is associated with the salt-ponds on the shore below, which it protected. Due to the naturally fortified site of the castle, it is spoken of in the 15th century as impregnable. It overlooks the valley of Thermisia, and Ermioni and also the gulf of Hydra.

The castle of Thermisia appears in the written sources, as Trémis, for the first time in 1347, in the will of Gautier II de Brienne, Count of Lecce, de jure Duke of Athens, and de facto Lord of Argos and Nauplia. Surprisingly the castle is not referred to in a list of frankish castles in Greece dating from 1377. After his death, his possessions passed to Guy d'Enghien, son of Isabella de Brienne, Gautier’s sister. The daughter of Guy, Maria, after the death of her husband Pietro Cornaro, in 1388 sold her possessions to Venice for the sum of 500 ducats per year as long as she lived. Before the Venetians had the chance to settle in, it was occupied by the Despot of Mistra, Theodore Palaiologos. In 1394 Theodore did a deal with the Venetians: Argos and Thermision for Megara and the Tower of Mylopotamos.

After the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Ottomans in 1460, Thermisia, like some other regions, remained in Venetian hands. Thermisia gets a mention in many documents of the late 15th century, along with the salt lakes of the region. In 1537 the castle surrendered to the Ottoman Kasim Pasha. In the second period of Venetian rule, the region reverted into the Venetians: it still retains its importance because of the salt. The castle seems to disappear from the stage of history after 1715, when it was recaptured by the Ottomans.

According to popular tradition there lived in the castle a young beautiful princess. On the opposite hill, the so-called "Rock of the Vizier", there set up camp a Turkish commander, who captured the castle by the following trick. A vassal of his, dressed as a clergyman, was received as such by the princess. As soon he entered the castle of Thermisia, he opened the gate to the Turkish commander. The princess at that point, to avoid being taken prisoner, threw herself from the ramparts and was killed. Apparently the legend is to be associated with one of the two occupations of the castle by the Ottomans.

Χρονολόγηση: Frankish/Late Byzantine periods (13th-15th centuries), Ottoman/Venetian periods (15th-19th centuries)

The walls extend over two rocky heights, connected by a saddle, so following the natural defensive position. The castle consists of a defendable line and an acropolis. The south side of the castle is inaccessible, so it was not walled. For the same reason the south side too of the acropolis is unwalled.

The entrance of the citadel will have been built south of the cistern, on the south-east side of the wall which is now in ruins. It is the only point where the terrain would allow a natural way-in.

It is likely that there existed a second entrance on the north end of the west part of the fortification, by which one might access the village. Scholars argue that there was some sort of stairway, which connected the two parts (i.e. the citadel with the fortified settlement), though there are no clear indications.

In the space enclosed by the wall and outside the citadel, there are numerous remains of buildings. On the acropolis of the castle, there are the remains of a cistern and a church; this last has been assigned by scholars chronologically either to the 11th-12th centuries or later, in the 13th century.

Remains of buildings survive outside the walls.

In the castle, based on the surviving relics, researchers have distinguished two construction phases, the first of which they put in the years between 1395 and 1537, the second in the years of first period of Ottoman rule, at which time some alterations were made to the castle. The existence of a Middle Byzantine church at the peak of the castle suggests that the area was utilized during this period. However further investigation is necessary to reach safer conclusions as to the existence of fortifications both for the Byzantine period and again in the 13th century.

Protected by Law 3028-2002

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