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I. Pre-hellenic
times
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Remains of
a pre-hellenic pelasgic wall have been found in Limenas
of Mesta. The inhabitants of the area (before the arrival of the Greeks)
had built their wall on arruged region on the hill over the port. That
shows that Limenas of Mesta as well as the wider expanse around it used
to have a significant commercial position in Aegean Sea.
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II.
Ancient times
.
In those times workshops
of ceramics and pottery are made in Limenas
of Mesta. Even these days potsherds of that era can be traced down
in several spots of Limenas.
These
works created a tradition that lasted until the beginning of the twentieth
century. The finds in questions may not be of archaeological interest but
they are identical of the dwellers' activity during the Ancient Greek times.
It seems that many products of the area reached very distant spots, since
(according to tradition) there was a colony in Thraki called Aenos established
by the residents of the later Mesta. Indeed Chios as it is related founded
one and only colony during the great Greek colonization; that was Maroneia
in Thraki and perhaps tradition is the mouthpiece of this event.
There is a witness
about the commercial activity of the region that mentions a second port
named Nottion (=the south one). The port of Limenas was the North one.
According to weather conditions either one or the other was used. All these
remarks were made by Stravon the Observer. In accordance with his references
and with more recent sources this south port used to be apparently at the
gulf of Avlonia or that of Salagona in
the south district of Mesta.
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III. Roman
times
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During the Roman
Age (86 B.C. - A.D. 327) it seems that the activity of the area becomes
more intense. A marble sign found on a property in Limenas is related to
Athletic Games the so called "Caessaria" that used to take place there.
"Caessaria" had started the times of Julius Caesar and took place in many
spots of the Roman Empire. Those who organized these games were protected
by the emperor. Most specifically the emperor Traianos ordered that whoever
would annoy the "Caessaria" organizers would be concerned as insidious
enemies of himself. That marble sign is about the organization of the games
near the spring (perhaps it is the spring near the small coastal church
of Zoodochos Pighi, or another one near the river which ends to Limenas.
It also reads about a municipality and officers, a group of youngsters
(athletes), polemarchs, priestesses and of chief of ships as well as about
imperfections (tax exemptions) as far as the games organizers were concerned.
A mere allusion to such offices shows the residents' activity. The reference
to a municipality confirms that it was not just a commercial settlement
but an organized state which definitely used to include not only Limenas
but the entire expanse of Mesta.
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IV. Byzantine
times
.
In Byzantine Age
(A.D. 327 - A.D. 1346) the region of Mesta follows the historical evolution
of the whole island. The different settlements of the wider area now concentrated
into a big village for security reasons. From now on if we talk about Mesta
we mean one village. Before that the residents used to live in smaller
villages - settlements.
The pirate raids
that the district of Mesta as well as Chios in general suffered started
since the times of Justinianus (6th century A.D.). Between the years 668
and 678 (when Constantinos Pogonatos was emperor) the region undergoes
one of the most disastrous raids of the Arabs. In order to be saved the
dwellers were obliged to work out defensive understatements. As such they
installed at the place known these days as Mesta and they attended to its
fortification. Of course it was not the way we see it nowadays, but it
was definitely a kind of fort.
Towards
the end of the Byzantine Empire, Mesta together with the other Mastichohoria
becomes a matter of rivalry between Orient and Occident. That happened
because mastic which was on demand, reached very high prices.
In A.D. 1124 Chios
is occupied by the Venetians. They are allotted privileges by the Byzantine
empire although in A.D. 1173 they leave Chios because they judged that
their presence in the Aegean islands was uneconomical, disadvantageous
and impossible. So Mesta together with entire Chios returned to the Byzantines.
In A.D. 1204 along with the occupation of Byzantium by the Westerns, Chios
comes to the authority of the Latin Emperor of Istanbul. As such Mesta
are occupied by the Westerns for a second time within a period of a hundred
years. After the regaining of Chios by the Byzantines there is a period
of successive western raids the most significant of which - as far as Mesta
is concerned - is that of the Catalans in A.D. 1303. By this raid all schini
(= the trees that produce mastic) were
destroyed. Needless to mention how many years of hard work was needed in
order to produce mastic again. It is also easy to conceive the decline
of the region which suffered the loss of its primary financial factor.
In order to avoid
the danger of being occupied by the Turks, Chios is sub ceded to the Genoans
by the Byzantine emperor in A.D. 1304. This lasted for 10 years. The Genoans
did not abide by their signature and kept Chios until 1329 when the island
was regained by the Byzantine emperor Andronikos.
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V. Genoan
times
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In 1346 Chios is
re-occupied by the Genoans up to 1566. The pirate raids that started from
Smyrni and Ephessos multiplied. The natives in order to be saved and the
Genoans in order to maintain the military and consequently the financial
control of the island they co-operated in its fortification. That is how
the villages - castles of Chios were constructed. A typical and vivid example
of those is Mesta. Apart from the external change the Genoans achieved
to control the natives too through the villages - castles. The hardest
control was that of mastic; in cases of stealing mastic the penalties were
exterminating. In spite of the Genoans' severity the villages - castles
dwellers used to live better than those of other regions. The conquerors
needed then since they knew everything about mastic cultivation and production.
We should underline that the Genoans were the proprietors of schini and
more specifically "Maona" was. "Maona" was formed by the Genoans for the
political and financial control of Chios. Thus the residents of Mesta as
well as those of the rest Masticochoria were simple workers who used to
offer their services to "Maona".
During
the Genoan occupation Mesta played a special role because of Limenas which
was a natural gift to the village. It is a port in Chios that is not in
direct contact with the shore of Asia Minor, where the Turks - the Genoans'
main antagonists - used to lurk. As such Limenas was used by the Genoans
many times for commercial and military purposes. For instance, when they
determined to invigorate the economy of the island a decree was out that
obliged all the cargo vessels under the Genoan flag to stop at Chios. The
ports where the ships used to stop were that of the capital of Chios and
that of Mesta (Limenas).
According to historical
sources some military operations started at Mesta. In A.D. 1432 when the
Venetians besieged the capital of Chios in terms of their general antagonism
with the Genoans, Tomaso Giustiniani who had arrived from Genoa set his
troops ashore at Limenas of Mesta. Moreover during the days of the Genoan
occupation Limenas was named "Porto di St. Anastasio" (= port of St Anastassios)
because the chapel in Limenas which is nowadays dedicated to Zoodochos
Pighi was then dedicated to St. Anastassios.
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VI. The
period of Turkish occupation
.
In 1566 Chios was
conquered by the Turks. The new conquerors allotted many privileges to
the residents of the island and especially to villages where mastic
was produced (Masticochoria). Mesta along with some other villages of the
area were dedicated to the sultan's mother. As such during the Turkish
occupation it was established that the villages which produced mastic should
be dedicated to a member of the sultan's court and that they should form
a separate administrative region. It was not depended on the capital of
the island, but it was linked directly with Istanbul.
Masticochoria
belonged to the region of which Agha Sakiz Eminis was in charge. This region
during the Turkish occupation had a powerful local government. The residents
of Mesta used to elect the governors of their village (the Elders of the
village) and their churchwardens through a general meeting. Their office
lasted for a year. The churchwardens were responsible for the village problems;
they collected the taxes, they solved certain misunderstandings, or problems
in general between the Greeks and the Turks, they appointed teachers and
field guards, they also guarded the village wells and the village boundaries.
Furthermore, the
Elders of the village took part in the second grade of local government
that Masticochoria had established. Along with the Elders of the other
villages they were responsible for the good operation of their common hospital
(leper-house) in Tholopotami, for their school in Armolia and they participated
in the elections for the ephor of Masticochoria in Istanbul.
One of their most
important achievements was the providing of the right to sell mastic in
the free market. That happened in 1840 when, under the pressure of the
Elders, a firman was out by sultan Abdul Metzit. Since that year every
village was free to sell the precious product to whoever made him the best
offer.
Thus an improvement
in the financial state of the villagers is noticed. Even in 1866 when privileges
in the entire Turkish empire were abolished by sultan Abdul Aziz, Mesta
as well as the rest of Masticochoria retained the right of electing their
own Elders and the right of free sale of Mastic.
The greater adventure
of Mesta, though, during the Turkish occupation is that of 1822. Lykourgos
Logothetis from Samos arrived at Chios and set his troops ashore in order
to persuade Chios dwellers to rebel against the conquerors. After the rebels'
first successful attempts, the Turks managed to reassemble. The rebels
as well as the civilians headed west (toward Masticochoria) so as to be
rescued from the Turks' reprisals. Mesta dwellers sheltered many of them
from slaughter. In some cases they succeeded, while in some other ones
they did not. According to witnesses many of the residents of the capital
and Kambos were slaughtered by the Turks outside the castle of Mesta.
The villagers were
saved because of one of the elders of the village, Ilias Pipidis, who had
been in contact with admiral Andreas Miaoulis from Hydra. He guided the
villagers to Merikounta (a coast on the
north side of the village). From there most of the villagers went to Psara
or Cyclades by Miaoulis ship. Those who did not leave, they hid in some
caves or in the fields. Many people were arrested and intended to be sold
as slaves in Asia Minor. There is a remarkable case of Nikolaos Tsokos
who managed to escape from 100 armed Turks while they shooted him; he ran
to Limenas and swam to a French ship that anchored there.
The residents of
Mesta were saved from slavery because of their knowledge about the cultivation
of mastic. When the Turks realized that they would lose the highest income
that they had from Chios, they granted amnesty to the cultivators of mastic.
Thus all villagers who had been arrested as hostages were set free and
many of those who had left their village returned back. The destruction
of the village was great anyway. According to a census conducted in 1802
it consisted of 275 families, 1112 people whereas in accordance with a
census conducted in 1831 it had 152 families, that is some 600 people.
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VII.
Mesta at liberty
.
In 1912 Chios is
free and since then it has become again both geographically and politically
a part of Greece. When our country was in hard times the villagers of Mesta
as all Greek people defended their homeland. moreover, during peace they
worked hard and made progress. Many villagers sacrificed their lives in
all wars our country had to participate in (there is a monument for them
in the entrance of the village).
During peace many
people from Mesta have excelled in literature, arts and trade. Not only
have they excelled in Greece but abroad too. Almost all of them, no matter
where they live, often visit their village and never forget their roots.
It is something they consider as their primary duty.
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