In a small plateau near Makrys Gialos the visitor comes across Agios Stefanos, a village with centuries old history and archaeological finds that date back to the 9th century BC.
The village was once called Gras, either in hnour of the hero Gras, Archelaou’s son, as reported by Stravon, or as a possible alteration of a Venetian lord’s surname.
There’s a third story to the name though. According to folk tradition, when the villagers were defending their village from the Saracens, an *old lady betrayed the only entrance to the fortress were the defenders were camped, and the Saracens invaded Fortetsa(the fortress) and killed everyone but the old lady.
A similar story assigns to the old lady the role of the martyr, she being the only person the Saracens came across when they invaded the village, and killing her at the location Lougara when she didn’t betray the villagers’ hiding place.
The visitor can enjoy the drive to Agios Stefanos among pine and olive trees, wander along its narrow alleyways, and then rest in one of the coffeehouses at either of the 2 village squares to taste traditional titbits along with raki.
*(old lady/elderly woman=gria/gra in Greek).
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