Entering the impressive Bishopric of Sikinos, the first thing you look at is a carved Christian iconostasis from the 17th century. But the secret is hidden in a display case to the right of the entrance with offerings that tell the story of Neykis, a noblewoman who was commemorated by a monument 18 centuries ago, but who was buried in a secret place sealed in stonework. monument, away from the eyes of gods and people. Among the finds, the visitor will see pieces of resin and sulfur, which in ancient times were placed on the chest of a woman, signs of a “deviant burial”, indicating, as archaeologists say, the superstitions of the ancients and, possibly, the occurrence of necrophobia.

“Niko and Panagia, written Roman meanders and Saint Theodore the Warrior coexist harmoniously in this cultural amalgam,” said Dimitris Athanasoulis, head of the Cyclades Antiquities Authority, during the handover ceremony of the monument to the public by the Ministry of Culture, Saturday evening, September 3rd. “This monument has been restored in the best possible way, as the Archaeological Service is able to carry out restoration work, but also to make a decisive contribution to major technical projects that are changing the face of our country,” the minister stressed. in his greetings to Lina Mendoni.

On the same evening, when the monument was illuminated by a special 3D video projection showing its passage through the centuries and the transformation of a Roman mausoleum into a Christian church, the European Cultural Heritage Prize Europa Nostra 2022 was awarded for the restoration project of the diocese, in the presence of the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

The episcopal monument will function as a temple every fifteenth of August.

The entire project, with a budget of 1,000,000 euros, was funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the South Aegean region, and its completion was a collective project in which the municipality of Sikinos, the Hellenic Society for the Environment and Culture, sponsors and of course, the local Sikinese who asked to restore a monument that ceased to function as a temple 50 years ago. The diocese will be visited as an archaeological site and will function as a temple for the great feast of the Virgin Mary every fifteenth of August.

Tera’s daughter

In addition to Episkopi, the imposing Daughter of Thera was also presented to the public at the Santorini Archaeological Museum. It is an impressive archaic sculpture 2.48 meters high in white Naxian marble, found in 2000 by the Tyrean archaeologist Charalambos Sygalas. The importance PtD places on culture is evidenced by the fact that Ms. Sakellaropoulou changed her original program and left Sikino for Santorini instead of returning to Athens. “The significance of the Aegean, the Cyclades, but also culture is not only the capital for our country, but also has great power to heal the pain of our soul, especially in difficult times,” she noted in her greeting.