Amorgos Island – Greece Cyclades
The once vibrant agricultural establishment, untouched by later influences, seals the site with its simple aesthetics: threshing floors and wells, ovens and the internal configuration of the house (location of home, built-in beds, etc.), the stone path crossing.
… Stone, as a building material, is difficult to distinguish from the natural surroundings, forming a complex picture, in all the simplicity of its traditional folk architecture.
On the right and left of the road, travelers will observe atypical carved rock paintings. These were painted about 100 years ago, by the hand of a disabled child, whose soul and senses were supported and strengthened by the firmness of the barren and desert landscape! Pictures that associatively lead to ancient times, sealed by rare rock paintings.
In the centre of interest is the church of St. Nicholas, demonstrating special architectural touch, a rough white touch onto the gray pattern of the stone. A rough downhile trail leads east from the village to Halara, an unspoilt coastline in the SE, with a significant source of water.
The Cycladic Asfontylitis is able, important and historic times, since remains of a Hellenistic tower have been identified in the region.
The “Kingdom” of the Asfontilitian
by Elias Provopoulos
In Asfontyliti, which was the center for the near by dissolved settlemened -Halara, Riza, Apolaka and Xirokampi- several families and their members lived permanently until the early 1950. Usually, they would meet on the first Sunday of the month, when the priest would come from Potamos for the Sunday mass.
What is widely unknown is that in Asfontyliti, the institution of monarchy was informally in force. Michael Artemis’s grandfather, a Michael himself, was king, and his father Rousetos was viceroy. Nicholas Dimitrios headed a number of male members of the village who formed a garrison aroound the kings. Naturally, the king’s powers were limited to the territory of Asfontyliti but even so, it was an important principle for the area and he probably even had say to many of the functions of this small society over which he reigned.
Perhaps the “power” was imposed by the old Michael who, in 1957, moved to reign in heaven. Michael had performed his military service as member of the royal guard. However, that was not the only reason he seemed so imposing; that also sprang from his physical strength. The king was six feet tall and possessed such great strength that, he is being attributed as the person who placed the large lintel in the homes of the settlement. He had once brought a engraving of Tsar Nicholas of Russia and his wife. This adorns Michael’s living room where, some of the fallen Greek crown are also being displayed…
In contrary, in the residence of Nikola Thireou, whose father was a simple guard, nothing iconic hangs on the wall and the decor is limited to simple modern family photos. 
Regardless of all that, which constitutes the raw material for many playful dialogues, both Artemis’ and Thireos homes are excellent examples of regional architecture as, because of constantly being habituated, they have not been affected by time and they still keep all the native elements that characterize the old houses of Amorgos intact. It is likely that they are the only ones that still exist today on the island; that fact alone makes them even more important to the cultural study of the island and of course, enforces their their protection.
Elias Provopoulos (Actimon)
