Lagia is not only a traditional village of our region. Everyone who strolls around the narrow streets will understand the glory of the ancient times. With its towers and tower-houses, Lagia, at Inner Mani, was the center of the region of Tainaron.
There was the See of the Episcopacy and of the Municipality of Lagia (one of the 10 municipalities of Mani. Its emblem was the mythical Cerberus.
The organization of the traditional society in Lagia, as in the whole Mani, was in families (clan). Each one had its own tower, its buildings around, its church, and the great one had their own cemetery! The vendetta was something usual. Its characteristic is the big number of churches, written down per family:
Agia Barbara – Bougiouklakis
Agios Haralabos – Despotisms
Agios Stylianos – Vavoulogiannis
Agios Ioannis – Papadogiorgis
Agios Nikolaos – Kalogerogiannis
Agia Faneromeni – Kalogerogiannis
Agia Triada – Vasilakeas
Agia Stavrosis – Goulielmos
Agios Zaharias – Giannakodimas
Agios Konstantinos – Kouzigiannis
Agia Kyriaki – Bedrests
Agios Georgios – Galakos
Agios Nikolaos – Koutsilaios
Agios Dimitrios – Dekoulakos
Agios Spiridon – Giatrakos
Agios Grigorios – Petrounias
Agios Nikolaos – Ritsos
Agios Efstratios – Koutsilieris
Evangelistria – Georgariou
Agios Ioannis – Vougiouklakis
Agios Vasilios – Kalogerogiannis
Agios Efstratios – Gonellas
Agios Nikolaos – Tourlaftis
Apart these church there some others too: Agia Pelagia, Agiathekli, Aϊ Lemas, Aϊ Thanasis, Agia Triada and Agios Sotiras.
The village appears at the ancient times too. The karneatiki scripture indicates that the village was inhabited during the roman times. We also find it on 1570 at the Exhibition of Bardo (there, there is reference to many churches).
In Lagia, there are very old towers (as there are in Kita), the charectistics kolouri towers of Giannogona, Mavrokordatos, etc.
In the newest times Lagia is deserted. Today there is the ΤshadowΥ of the ancient glorious Lagia, without schools, without children. There are only few residents. In the summer time a lot of tourists visit the village and the settlements around Piontes, Korogonianika, Kainourgia Hora, Dimaristika, Kypriano, etc. That time there is the great problem of watering. The water supply of the region is the same since the Homers times!!! That means, from the water-tanks for rain water….. Although here is the mother land of many important men (B. Mihaloliakos, Th. Kasimis, Elias Bougiouklakis, etc.)
Lagia is proud of the intellectuals and the artists who come from here. We make reference to the historian – philosopher Anargyros Koutsilieris (writer of the History of Mani etc.), the graver P. Georgariou, the famous actress Aliki Vougiouklaki, the professor Elias Dekoulakos, … the footballer M. Galakos.
Finally, here is the origin of Mih. Nikolarakos, the first elected Mayor of Mani and the last hero of Greece, Panagiotis Vlahakos (Imia Island 1996)
G.P.Dimakogiannis