ANCIENT VRAVRONA (BRAURON)

Brauron was one of the twelve cities of ancient Attica, but never mentioned as a deme, though it continued to exist down to the latest times. It was situated on the eastern coast of Attica, near the river Erasinus. Brauron is celebrated on account of the worship of Artemis Brauronia, in whose honour a festival was celebrated in this place.

The sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron is an early sacred site on the eastern coast of Attica near the Aegean Sea in a small inlet. The inlet has silted up since ancient times, pushing the current shoreline farther from the site. A nearby hill, c. 24 m high and 220 m to the southeast, was inhabited during the Neolithic era, c. 2000 BCE, and flourished particularly from Middle Helladic to early Mycenaean times (2000–1600 BCE) as a fortified site (acropolis).

 Brauron was one of the twelve ancient settlements of Attica prior to the synoikismos of Theseus, who unified them with Athens.

The cult of Artemis Brauronia connected the coastal (rural) sanctuary at Brauron with another (urban) sanctuary on the acropolis in Athens, the Brauroneion, from which there was a procession every four years during the Arkteia festival. The tyrant Pisistratus was Brauronian by birth, and he is credited with transferring the cult to the Acropolis, thus establishing it on the statewide rather than local level. The sanctuary contained a small temple of Artemis, a unique stone bridge, cave shrines, a sacred spring, and a pi-shaped (Π) stoa that included dining rooms for ritual feasting. The unfortified site continued in use until tensions between the Athenians and the Macedonians the 3rd century BCE caused it to be abandoned. After that time, no archaeologically significant activity occurred at the site until the erection of a small church in the 6th century CE.

Votive dedications at the sanctuary include a number of statues of young children of both sexes, as well as many items pertaining to feminine life, such as jewelry boxes and mirrors. Large numbers of miniature kraters (krateriskoi) have been recovered from the site, many depicting young girls — either nude or clothed — racing or dancing. The Archaeological Museum of Brauron — located around a small hill 330 m to the ESE — contains an extensive and important collection of finds from the site throughout its period of use.

Saint Timothy of Euripos (+ 1590) and St George's chapel

Having lived as an ascetic in the Kallisia area of Mt Penteli he settled in the deserted Skete of the Holy Trinity. Later he decided to build a monastery in the name of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. The monastery was completed in 1578.  Saint Timothy remained in the monastery until 1580. 

The longing of Saint Timothy for more quiet and greater ascetic feats led him to retreat to the Hermitage of Saint George in Gargittos and later to the Hermitage of Saint George in Vraurona, which lay in ruins. There he renovated the Church of Saint George, and built cells around the chapel.  The houses the oldest iconographic depiction of Saint Timothy from the early seventeenth century. 

Early Christian Basilica of Vravrona

The Early Christian Basilica of Vravrona is an ancient temple of Vravrona . This is an archeological site located west of the temple of Artemis . The church saw the light of day in 1951 with its excavation. Ιt seems to have been built during the seconf half of 5th century BC. 

It must have been destroyed by natural disasters in the 10th century. Despite its destruction, the basilica is remarkable and competes in beauty with the sanctuary of the ancient goddess according to the testimonies of the early Christians. In 2015, sheep were grazing in the area as it was abandoned.

Frequent raids and looting by pirates also took place. This prevented the inhabitants from rebuilding the church for about eight centuries. Among the archeological findings were tombs, which means that the area inside and outside the temple, later served as a cemetery. It appeared that a large number of shields were used for slabs in the tombs. Inside them were clay and copper vessels.

At the beginning of the 18th century there were catastrophes by Morozini in Attica, during the second Turkish period . It was then that a smaller church was built inside the first one in the main aisle of the basilica with a single-aisled arch. Today only the foundations have been saved and it is unknown to which Saint both temples were dedicated.

The church has three aisles and these are separated by two arched colonnades . They consist of Pentelic marbles . There are Ionic capitals on them . It is possible that a Hellenistic building existed there before and that they were used there as well. It is alleged that the roof was made of wood like all the royal churches of Greece, as well as Dalmatia, Italy and Asia Minor. The architectural elements are entirely built for the temple and are not taken by others, as is usual in archeological sites. It has a total area of ​​665 m2 (35x19), while the church of Agios Georgios that is built inside the sanctuary of Artemis is 45 m2.