Antissa is located three km beyond the monastery of Perivolis, nestles attractively under the only pine grove in the west of Lesvos. At the edge of the village a sign implores you to come visit our central square, not a bad idea for the sake of several kafenia sheltering under three enormous plane trees. Directly below Andissa, a paved road leads 6km north towards the fishing hamlet of Gavathas, all of 25 buildings, with a narrow, partly sheltered beach and a bare handful of places too eat and stay. A dirt side track leads one headland east to the huge, dune, surf battered beach of Kampos. You can keep going in the same direction, following the signs pointing to Ancient Andissa, and to Ovriokastro, the most derelict of the islands Genoese castles, evocatively placed on the promontory in plain sight of Molyvos and with a good stretch of coast to either side. The great founder of ancient Greek music, Terpandros, was born here.
Moni Perivolis.
The monastery of Perivoli is situated in a by-passing of the country road Kalloni-Antissa, just before the village of Antissa on the banks of the Voulgaris River. It is a women convent dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin and it was devastated in recent years. In the past (at least from the 16th up to the end of the 18th century), it constituted part of the men monastery of Taxiarches Kreokopou, which is located at approximately one hour distance from Perivoli, on the top of Mt Chalakas. On the south wall, in an apocalyptic panel worthy of Bosch, the whore of Babylon rides her chimera, and assorted sea monsters disgorge their victims, just to the right, towards the main door, the Magi approach the Virgin enthroned with the Christ child. On the north side you see a highly unusual iconography of Abraham, the Virgin and the Penitent thief of Calvary in paradise, with the mythical four rivers of paradise gushing forth under their feet; just right of this are assembled the Hebrew kings of the Old Testament.
