Prehistorical Period ...
...The island of Poros,
otherwise known as Kalavria, along with the
entire southeastern part of the Peloponnese,
was inhabited for the first time during prehistoric
times.
Throughout that era, the
historical years and beyond, Sferia was unoccupied.
The only thing that was there was the Temple
of Apatouria which was dedicated to goddess
Athena.
In
the early Hellenic years, the residential
area of Kalavria seems quite populated because
there is evidence that three settlements existed
during this time period. One village replacing
the sanctuary of Poseidon’s Temple, another
in the area which eventually became the town
of Kalavria, near the sanctuary and a third
one westward, on the mountain slope of Prophet
Elijah located further up from the plain of
Foussa.
The
origin of these residents is basically unknown,
but it seems that a couple of them had Egyptian
roots just like the first inhabitants of Trizina
and all of Argonafplia.
While
these pre-Hellenic tribes seem to derive
from
Egypt, the descent of other tribes later
on,
such as the Ionians and Dorians, almost completely
altered the entire original race but preserved
many of their old local traditions.
Chronologically,
the area first welcomed Ionian residents,
who eventually prevailed and Trizina and
Kalavria
turned into Ionian cities and had special
relations with the inhabitants of Attica and
Viotia during that time. This is evident from
the worship of Athena of Apatouria since it
is typically Ionian. With the descent of
the
Dorians, Trizina accepted Dorian settlers
from Argos, most likely in a peaceful manner.
Recently,
the discovery of an extended territory (approximately
20 acres) from the early Hellenic period
(3rd
millenium B.C.), offered us valuable information
about prehistoric times.
Specifically, an ancient village of Poros
from the early Bronze Age was revealed, at
the location of Cape Vasili which is on the
northeastern side of the island. This is the
oldest settlement ever discovered in Trizina
til today. Two well-preserved buildings with
large rooms and storage areas came to light.
This settlement is probably associated with
the shipwreck that was found a few years ago
on the island of Dokos and dated from the
same period.
A
significant nautical residential area was
also observed on the islet of Modi, east of
Poros, dated from the last stage of the Mycenaean
era (13th century B.C.). The findings indicate
that their residents had some type of commercial
transactions with other Aegean regions.