Avgou Monastery is one of the most important sights in Argolis , and is located on a steep side of the Didymon Mountains, almost an hour away from Nafplio.
Dedicated to St. Demetrius the Myrovlitis , the Avgou Monastery is built at an altitude of 853 meters, overlooking the gorge of the river Rados. To the west, the monastery opens out towards the Irias, the sea and the mountains of Nafplio, offering a spectacular view of the natural landscape that unfolds before it.
The roots of Avgou Monastery go back to Byzantine times. Before its official foundation, it was one of the asylums of the region, while its cells hosted the revolutionaries of 1821.
Various legends surround the name of the Avgou Monastery. The most prevalent is the one about a mother who brought her sick child there in order to be healed by the Virgin Mary, and she commanded her to throw the child off the cliff of the mountain. The unfaithful mother was afraid and instead of throwing her child, she first threw an egg. The egg landed softly on the ground without breaking. Seeing this, the mother also threw her child, but the child was “broken into a thousand pieces”.
Inside the main temple of the Avgou Monastery, which is dedicated to two Saints, one can see religious painting from the 17th and at the top of the building, inside the cave of Metamorphosis, icons from the 11th century are salvaged . The main building of the monastery consists of the ground floor and two floors, while the connection between the floors is made by a stone staircase. On the top level, where there is the largest church, that of St. Demetrius, you can get out and walk up to the top of the dome of the church.
Today, the Αvgou Monastery has no monks. It belongs to the Holy Metropolis of Hydra and is open on October 26, on St. Demetrius day.. However, the people of Didyma also have a great feast of Saint Theodora (on Saturday of the first week of Fasting).
