Springs of Viotikos Kifisos

The beautiful village of Polydrosos is built on the northern foot of mount Parnassos at an altitude of 380 meters. According to the ancient scripts of Pausanias the original name of the area was Lilea, a city which was ruined in 480 BC from Xerxes army during the second Persian campaign against Ancient Greece. The area in modern times was named Souvala. In Slavic it means a hollow with surrounding mountains, in the Turkish language it is interpreted as a location with a lot of water. All of which are interpretations that fit perfectly with the region’s scenery.

 

Ιn 1928 with a government decree of the New Hellenic state, the name changed from Souvala to Polydrosos. The village was originally at a higher altitude than its present location but was destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 1870. Subsequently its residents were forced to descend to the plains and create Polydrosos in its present form.

 

Very close to the village, about 1.5 km northwest, lies the spring of Kifissos or else of Agia Eleousa. The village was originally located at a higher altitude than its current location but was destroyed by the powerful earthquake of 1870 and the inhabitants were forced to descend to the plain and create Polydroso, in its current form.

 

Exactly above the spring we find remnants of an ancient sanctuary devoted to the worship of Apollo. In 1908 a sculptured statuette was found in excavations carried out in the area. It is a work of the 3rd century BC, which is exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum (No. 2772) and is known as “The Child with the Goose”. It is believed to have been crafted in an Athenian workshop by the son of Praxiteles, Kifissodotos and made of Pentelic marble. The discovery of the inscription leads to the conclusion that the sculpture was an appeal to the god Kifissos. Originally handed over by an officer of the state police P. Dalona to the National Library and then to the National Archaeological Museum.

 

A beautiful location surrounds the springs with ancient and Byzantine buildings, whilst in close proximity to the ruins of the Byzantine church of Agia Eleousa. In the 1980s, the first drilling was carried out for the exploitation of the natural water resources to supply the inhabitants of Polydroso and for irrigation use.

 

Sights

 

1. The village of Polydrosos