A live, natural monument, 100 meters long and about 3,000 years old, is sprouting evidence of the famous Greek wine-growing and viticulture originating in antiquity.
“Klima tou Pausanias” (Pausanias Vine) is located in the settlement of Sella Pagkratiou (56 km of Tripoleos-Kalavryta Road, on the border of the Arcadia-Achaia prefectures).
The “Klima” botanically belongs to the species Vitis Vinifera Siluestris, a wild vine from which the subspecies Vitis Vinifera Sativa was derived, from which today’s vine varieties originate.
In the spring of 172 AD, the renowned “wanderer” Pausanias visited the area to find out if the rumor that had been heard about true: that the trout on the Aroian river were chirping like the thrush bird.
Pausanias in his book “Arcadians” says that while he was near the river until sunset, he saw the trout but did not hear them speak or chirp.
In the end, what probably happened is that a good eater, excited about the delicious trout, told Pausanias that they chirped deliciously!
According to folklore and for the above reason as to why he was close to the Klima’s location, it seems that he sought out shade and the residents of the village offered him a trout for dinner and water from the nearby spring.
The size and vegetation of the Klima impressed him and he advised the residents to maintain and care for it.
It is noteworthy that the vine’s trunk was much larger but during the German occupation, the German soldiers, cut off a large part of its trunk, according to resident testimonies,
Following the actions of the Pagratioton Kalavritinon “O Agios Ioannis o Theologos” Association which deals with its preservation, the Pausanias Vine was proclaimed a Preserved Monument of Nature.
Myths link the “Vine of Pausanias” to the Labors of Hercules, who chased the golden-haired doe Kernitis and reached the Vine where the long hair of the deer got entangled and allowed its capture which lead to the location being known until today as “Kynigari” (The Hunter)”.
by Evangelia Sotiropoulou