Ardaktos, Agios Vassilios

Ardaktos (Άρδακτος) is a village in the Agios Vasileios municipality in the Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece. It is located in the southern part of the Rethymno regional unit, forty kilometers from the city of Rethymno. The village sits at an elevation of 630 meters above sea level.

Origin of the Name

The village’s name most likely originates from the plant ardachtyllinos (αρδαχτυλλίνος), a thorny, perennial plant about 0.50 meters tall. This plant, known in ancient times as atracktyllis i maloti (carthamus lanatus), is a particularly favored food source for donkeys. The plant is abundant in the village. The name evolved over time, with the second declension changing to the first declension, resulting in the form ardachtyllinas (αρδαχτύλλινας), with a somewhat magnifying connotation. The common toponym Ardachtyllines (Αρδαχτυλλινές) is derived with the comprehensive plant name ending -es (-ές). The plant is also called Adrachtyllini (Αδραχτυλλίνι), with a transposition of the letters r (ρ) and d (δ), as in the word ardachti (αρδάχτι) < adrachti (αδράχτι).

Ardaktos (Άρδακτος) is also a weaving tool with a thin metal stem and a metal crown that is rotated by appropriate handling on the spindle to wrap the thread.

Administrative

Ardaktos is officially mentioned as a settlement in 1925 in the Government Gazette 27A – 31/01/1925 to be designated as the seat of the newly founded community of the same name. In 1997, with Government Gazette 244A – 04/12/1997, it was annexed to the then municipality of Lampi, to which it was incorporated when the “Kapodistrias” administrative system began to apply in 1999, and in 2010, with Government Gazette 87A – 07/06/2010, it was detached from the municipality of Lampi, because the Municipality of Lampi was united with the Municipality of Finikas and joined the new municipality of Agios Vasileios.

Ardaktos Ag. Vasileiou is located 40 km from Rethymno, on the road to Ag. Galini (right turn 5 km from Kambos Kissou), at an altitude of 630 m.

It is a municipal district of the Municipality of Ag. Vasileios together with 4 villages (Ardaktos 32, Ag. Paraskevi 13, Aktounta 74, Vatos 34), a total of 153 inhabitants (2011 census).

In 2001 it belonged to the municipal district of the Municipality of Lampi with 216 inhabitants (Ardaktos 67, Ag. Paraskevi 27, Aktounta 70, Vatos 52).

In 2014, there were 289 registered voters in the municipal district (188 voted).

History

It is mentioned in the Venetian census of 1583 with 180 inhabitants, as Ardaktos and in 1659 in the Turkish census with 17 houses. No Turks lived in the village and in 1834 it had 25 Christian families.

In 1881 it belongs to D. Ag. Pnevmatos with 157 Christians, while in 1902 it belongs to D. Melambon.

In 1925 it is the seat of the community of the same name, together with the villages of Aktounta, Vatos, Doumaergio, Kissos and they have 1,101 inhabitants in 1928 (Ardaktos has 218 and the most of all the censuses).

Participation in all Struggles

From the revolution of Daskalogiannis in 1770, the Ardaktian abbot Ephraim of M. Preveli took an active part.

In 1821, residents fought the Turks under the orders of Melchizedek Tsouderos, as in 1866 when the monk Iakovos Petychakis and Georgios Al. Prevelakis were killed at the Bank of Arkadi. The action of the Ardaktians continued in other revolutions against the Turks until 1898.

The same happened from 1912-1949, with the then colonel Alexandros Koundourakis and Michalis Pelekanakis losing their lives in Albania.

The 16 Abbots of I. M. Preveli

Ardaktos, despite being a small village, has several remarkable people and scientists, among them are 6 abbots of I. M. Preveli (named after a progenitor who had a large fief, donating it and making the church a monastery).

• Preveli Akakios, founder of I. M. Preveli, which had been destroyed in 1646 by the Turks. In 1670 he came to this place and built the first house and gradually life in the monastery began. During his time, olive trees were planted and livestock and beekeeping developed.

• Preveli Iakovos, abbot around 1701, built the Fountain in the Back Monastery with the inscription about cancer. He secretly built the chapel of the Annunciation, for this reason he was imprisoned for two years by the Turks. He was a courageous and decisive abbot.

• Preveli Ephraim, abbot from 1769-1800), son of the priest Ardaktos Alevizos, took over the then small monastery and managed to develop it and make it big and rich. With a patriarchal Sigillion in 1798 it became independent and thus helped in national struggles. He took part in the Revolution of Daskalogiannis in 1770 and to him is attributed the donation of the miraculous Cross of blessing with a silver-gold cover.

• Moschovitis Neilos, abbot from 1823-1862, was born in Ardaktos in 1775 to an Ardachtian mother and an Amariώtis father. He followed Melchizedek in the battles, while as abbot he did important works, created schools in the province and repaired the school of Ag. Pnevmatos.

• Merkourios came from Ardaktos and was one of the most educated monks of his time. His name is preserved in a handwritten prayer book of 1807.

• Volonakis Neilos was born in 1858 in Ardaktos and was the nephew of Neilos Moschovitis. At the age of 35 in 1893 he became abbot, helped education and fed the revolutionaries, while several of his monks took part in the battles.

Churches

• Agia Marina (dimartyr Agios Charalambos), the parish church, is the oldest in the village, with Byzantine frescoes.