VILLAGESChurch of the Panagia PETRALONA Like Ancient Phigaleia, Petralona is built on the northern side of a deep gorge. People passing through, en route to or from the sea, are just skirting the top of the village which spreads down the mountainside. Petralona means 'stone threshing floor' and, if you explore, you will find stone circles where donkeys used to flatten wheat or barley, loosening off the grain. This was then separated from the chaff using big flat wooden pitchforks and legend says that the criss-crossing steps that characterise the Greek circle dance were originally the kicking of the grain to separate it.
Pass the church en route to the sea
Watch traffic from a taverna terrace
Or turn your back on the road
Search for stone threshing circles
Approach from the west Petralona
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