Stone Lion
Being the most popular sight of the island, it is definitely worth a visit when you get to Kea. The stone lion dates back to the Archaic period, around 600BC. To find the Stone Lion you you need to walk to the Spring of Kounderis where you will find an old stone road which leads straight to the Lion of Kea (also known as Liontas).
The Lion is carved out of natural stone slab by the same architects who built Parthenon’s temple at Acropolis of Athens. The lion itself is around 8m long and 3m tall and lies in a feline curl on the slate from which it was carved. His head is raised, and it looks like he has a smile on its face.
According to ancient mythology, Kea was once inhabited by water nymphs, mythical creatures that made the gods’ jealous. The gods wanted to destroy the nymph’s happiness and therefore they have send a lion to destroy the whole island. Once the plan came to an end, a temple was built in memory of the cruel gods. The lion statue was built to remind the islands inhabitants of the god’s strength.
The island was also known as the Water Island (Ydroussa), because of the nymphs that once lived there.
Archaeological Museum of Kea
Address: Antoniou Lazaridou Street 84002 IOULIS , KEA , GREECE
Tel.:Â +30 22880 22079
Opening hours:
01Jul – 31Oct Mon-Sun, 0900-1600
01Nov – 30May Thu-Sun, 0800-1500
The Archaelogical Museum of Kea was founded in the 1970’s near the capital of the island, Ioulida. It houses the finds derived from excavations of the prehistoric sites at Kephala and Agia Eirene. There are also findings from Ioulis, Karthea, Korissia and Poiessa. The museum had major renovations from 1997 until 2002.
The museum’s collections are divided in two collections, the pre-historic and the Historic collection, where visitors can see parts of ancient temple of Athena as well as parts with scenes from the fight of Amazons. There are also collections of ceramic vases, marble statues, ancient coins, sculptures, building remains and columns.
There is also a section on the 19th-century local scholar Konstantinos Manthos (1826-1890) with valuable manuscripts.
Monastery of Agia Anna
This beautiful Byzantine Monastery can be found on top of a hill east of Ioulida town. It played a very important role in history as it was the island’s most prominent monastery during the 16th century. Today only the church part has been preserved and renovated over the years, the rest lies in ruins.
The monastery had three naves, which lead to three sanctums with three respective chancel tables, supported by parts of ancient columns, which shows the existence of an ancient temple on the site that is now occupied by the monastery.
Ancient Karthea
The ancient Karthea is located on the southeastern side of the island, right above the bay of Poles and is a region that is really hard to access. Ancient Karthea was the most important of the four city-states of Kea in the antiquity.
Ancient Karthea originated in the archaic times and reached until the early Byzantine period. The reach ancient Karthea, you need to drive 23km from Ioulida and then walk around 30min on foot.
The city used to have walls around it with at least 6 entrances, walls with bstions and towers to protect the city. It had public buildings, laboratories, mines, water supply systems and its own authorities and laws. The bay of Karthea and the neighboring Poles were the natural ports which served the needs of the residents.
Monuments that can be seen in Karthea is the Doric temple of goddess Athena (late 6th century BC) and the archaic Temple of Pythion Apollo (530 BC). In the valley of Vathipotamos you will find the Temple of Demetra (3rd century BC) and the theatre (1st century BC). Exhibits with parts of the Temple of Athena and parts of the city can be found in the Archaeological Museum of Kea.
Monastery of Panagia Kastriani
The monastery is located on the northern side of the island, 12km from Ioulida, the capital of Kea. It is constructed on the location Kastri, which is why the monastery was named Kastriani. Around 1700 AD, a few shepherds saw a light on top of Kastri hill and when they climb to the top, they found a cave and started digging when they found an icon of Virgin Mary.
The believers interpreted this icon as sacred and precious and therefore they built a church on that spot that survived until today. In 1912 a larger church was also constructed that is the katholikon of the monastery till nowadays.
In the premises of the monastery, there is also a two-storey building with guest houses, cells and auxiliary rooms. The entrance is coloured in blue and white and there is a tall bell tower. Every year on the 15th August they celebrate with a large panigiri. Its location offers breath taking views of the Aegean Sea and island of Andros.
Tourist information:
Address: Kea, 840 02, Greece
Prehistoric Settlement of Agia Irini
This area took its name from the chapel that dominates above the bay as its close to the seaside. The ruins of the settlement dates back to the Neolithic period (3300-3200 BC) to the end of the Bronze era (1200-1100 BC). And it shows that Kea had cultural interactions with continental Greece.
According to excavations the houses was destroyed by natural causes and repaired with use of older materials. It is believed that the people who lived there was farmers and fishermen and they also dealt with metallurgy. It also shows that the town of Agia Irini was the communication channel between the Minoan and the Mycenaean culture.
The settlement had fortified walls and had a good geographical location and the availability of a safe harbor contributed to the social and economic development in the area.
Many objects were found during the excavations like clay ovens, pottery items, jars, utensils, marble figurines. Marble statues of ladies with folded hands and long clothes was found and was also called “Kores”. The “Depous amfikypellon”, a narrow tall vessel with two handles, was also found in this site. All of these can be viewed in the Archaeological Museum of Ioulida.
Currently the site of Agia Irini is not open to the public. Visitors can walk around the fenced settlement and have a look. Entry is only allowed only to archaeologists after permission has been given. There are lots of ruins from all ages as well as ruins of an old ship that can be seen at the bay close to the site.
The systematic excavation of the site was conducted by the University of Cincinnati and professor J.L. Caskey during 1960-1981.
Church of Agia Marina
The Church of Agia Marina can be found 6km southwest of Ioulida, next to a ruined Byzantine tower in the center of the island. It was constructed during the 17th century and used to be the main church of the Monastery. Next to the church you will find a spring with running water.
Next to the Church is the Monastery of Agia Marina, and they still celebrate the saint on the 17th of July with a big festival.
Neolithic Settlement of Kefala
The Neolithic Settlement was found at cape Kefala on the northwestern coast of Kea. The community of this settlement lived in rectangular stone-built houses. They were involved in agriculture, cattle-breeeding, basketry, fishing, maritime trade as well as metallurgy. The community’s cemetery consisted of built, rectangular and circular, individual and common graves. This was the first organized cemetery in the Aegean.
