From the monastery of Aghios Nektarios the main road from Aegina to Aghia Marina continues through the fertile area around the large village of Mesagros (the middle fields). The village church is dedicated to Aghios Konstantinos, whose name day is celbrated with festivities on 21 May.








In May wheat is threshed on stone floors by the roadside. In early spring the road is bordered by small blue irises and tall starry asphodel, and the fields are thick with red anemones, said to be the spiled blood of Adonis. Yellow gorse bushed brighten the hillsides and the fleshy agave plants produce tall shoots. In April the yellow daisies take over, alternating with patches of purple mallow, vetch, and convolvulus to carpet the fields. The grapes grown here are used to produce a good wine, flavoured with resin form the pines around the temple on the next range of hills. In the summer the trunks of selected trees are slashed to allow the resin to drip out and be caught in cups of bent tin. The resin is smeared on the insides of the barrels, giving the wine it characterictic flavour. This was originally done to seal the barrels, but the practics is continued in defence to acquired taste. There are several pottery works in and around the village, and they sell directly to passers-by.





Above the village to the south is the curious little house (Spity Rodaki) built in 1880 in the traditional island style. It is whitewashed inside and out and has small statues of animals on the four corners of its flat roof.

Local tradition has it that Arthistophanes lived or owned land in the area of Mesagros. A flur kilometre road from the cemetery (fork right) winds through a pretty valley to Alones and thence to Aghia Maria.





* text by Anne Yannoulis