I’ve sat through hundreds of genealogy lectures, seminars, programs, and RootsTech presentations that present various research techniques. I understand the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) but it’s tough to apply when one can’t conduct  “reasonably exhaustive research” due to lack of records, or “analyze and correlate” how sources relate when sources are limited or do not exist.   

What I could, and did, do was to talk to every living relative and write to Archives and Church Metropolis Offices in Greece. Answers tooks months to receive, and I was thrilled when a record arrived. But clerks are busy and I was limited to one request per letter. I felt  stuck and frustrated.

Thankfully, a few years ago four things changed everything:

1. I attended several sessions on using negative or indirect evidence to establish relationships. This prompted a paradigm shift or “lightbulb moment,” and steered my mindset from conventional to unconventional. I learned that there are alternate ways to determine relationships when direct evidence does not exist (see, for example, Dr. Thomas W. Jones’  Using Indirect and Negative Evidence to Prove Unrecorded Events  and its corresponding handout). Learning the theory transformed my thinking; but without records, there is no evidence—direct, indirect, or negative. 
2. So…I took a research trip to Sparta in 2016. My colleague, Gregory Kontos, guided me to the Sparta office of the General State Archives of Greece, the Metropolis (diocese) of Lakonia, and the City of Sparta Town Hall. We found which records are available onsite. I made a list and returned every summer to obtain whatever extant records existed for my village(s). I got many! I also suggested to Greg that we offer to preserve, free of charge, the marriage records at the Metropolis of Sparta and the village church books of Lakonia. These projects were approved by the Bishop. Working under Greg’s direction, I spent three summers in Sparta digitizing these records. The collections are now available at MyHeritage; they were among the first accessible Greek records online.

3. In 2020, Greg founded GreekAncestry.net, the first online Greek genealogy website. His mission is to preserve and make available genealogical records in all areas of Greece. He locates relevant collections which his team name indexes and makes them available on his website. His work is an enormous breakthrough in Greek genealogy, not only for me but also for thousands of researchers worldwide.

4. Finally, I stopped wishing that someone would set up social media for my primary village and did this myself: a Facebook group and website for Agios Ioannis, Sparta. Waiting for others was wasting my time; I just did it.   

I absolutely recognize that not everyone can travel to their ancestral place of origin to obtain information not available online. That’s where social media can help and why I created the sites for Agios Ioannis. In Europe, village-centered Facebook groups are immensely popular. People have strong ties to their villages and have access to families who live there as well as repositories that exist there. They can translate records, provide contacts for archives and churches, give insights on the history of the area, and ask around for information about your family. Try it! A breakthrough may be waiting for you.

Finally, I have accepted Genealogy Ying-and-Yang: to be both proactive and patient.
Ying: Do all I can to find what’s available, document everything and everyone, and share, share, share.
Yang:  Trust that new records will continue to emerge and that technology will make them available.  

Marriage constituted and continues to constitute one of the most important events for community life in our villages and especially for the families and relatives of the newlyweds. The institution of the dowry was a prerequisite for the creation of marriage and at the same time became a special event with the habits and customs that accompanied the dowry.

In Anogia in earlier times, a few days before the wedding, customarily on Thursday because weddings were held mainly on Sunday, the groom with his close relatives and friends, would harness the horses and mules in the late afternoon and prepare to go to the bride’s house. They wore their best clothes and even on the animals they placed kilimia (woven rugs) on their backs, so that they would also be decorated. They loaded the baskets and proceeded to the bride’s house accompanied by local singers and musicians. The bride’s family awaited them with the dowries ready. They were mainly clothes, woven fabrics for every occasion, blankets, rugs and general household utensil such as trays, dishes and whatever else the family could provide. After the dowries were presented to the groom’s family, the bride’s relatives sat on the trunks and only left when the groom paid them in gold, so that the dowries could then be loaded onto the animals. The families mingled at the lavish table that had been prepared, dancing followed and wishes were exchanged for the upcoming wedding. The neighbors of the bride’s house gathered around, listening to the songs, and participated in the couple’s joy. In fact, the groom’s friends had an unwritten custom of “stealing” something small from the bride’s house, such as the glass they drank their wine in, or even a plate, etc.

The wedding day was special. The relatives had gathered early at the bride’s house and the women of the family and the bride’s friends took charge of her preparations, singing wedding songs. Before departing, the musicians arrived and the bride danced together with her family. Later on, they all left the house together and the instrumentalists played the patináda (wedding procession music).

The procession arrived at the church, where the groom was waiting at the door with his family and the priest. At the end of the ceremony, a commemorative photo was taken in front of the church. The wedding reception took place at the groom’s house, where the couple would live permanently. The meal was prepared by professional village cooks with the help of relatives, consisting mainly of roasted meats on spits and stews. At the end, the wedding chamber was decorated with a wish for fertility and a happy life.

I (Carol Kostakos Petranek) am honored to receive permission from the Katsoulakos family to translate and share articles from The Faris. Translation verification and corrections have been made by GreekAncestry.net. This is the twenty-fifth article of the ongoing series. Previous articles can be viewed here.

This year, the organization’s annual conference will be held on December 5-7, 2025, at the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Sparta (ground floor of the Library). The theme is “Laconia 330 AD – 1830.”

The presenters are devoted and dedicated researchers.Their goal is to educate and enlighten. Most are native to the region and work with primary source materials which may be unavailable or even unknown to outside scholars. Thus, their works extend beyond basic academics and dive into topics, people and historical elements that are less-studied and even obscure, but historically relevant and important.

This article in Lakonikos.gr outlines (in Greek) the program and speakers. My very rough computer-assisted translation of the program follows:

Friday, December 5
Opening Session (18.00-20.00) | Chair: Socrates Kougeas
18.00-18.30: Arrival
18.30-19.00: Welcome
19.30-19.15: Dimosthenes Stratigopoulos, Nikiphoros Moschopoulos, president of Lacedaemonia (ca. 1288 – ca.1315), and leader in Mystras
19.15-19.30: Dimitrios Th. Katsoulakos, Surnames with Byzantine origin in the villages of Faridos
19.150-19.30: Stavros G. Kapetanakis, Ibrahim’s unsuccessful attempt in 1826 to subjugate the Maniots and its long-term consequences
19.30-20.00: Discussion

Saturday, December 6
First morning session (9.30-11.00) | Chair: Dimitrios Vachaviolos
9.30-9.45: Danae Charalambous, The surviving frescoes of the church of Panagia Krissa in Finiki, Laconia
9.45-10.00: Sofia F. Menenakou, The brushwork of the painters Anagnostis from Lagkada and Nikolaos from Nomitsi in the Church of Saint George in Panitsa (Laconian Mani, 18th century)
10.00-10.15: Leonidas Souchleris, The northern part of the Eurotas valley in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. Residential perspective: urban planning, cemeteries and road network.
10.15-10.30: Georgios P. Kountouris, Monuments of the Early Christian Period in Voies
10.30-10.45: Panagiotis D. Christofilakos, The Byzantine church of Saint Athanasius in Paleochori, Lakedaemon
10.45-11.00: Panagiotis S. Katsafados, Following the traces of icon painters in Mani during the post-Frankish period
11.00-11.30: Break

Second morning session (11.30-13.00) | Chair: Dimosthenis Stratigopoulos
11.30-11.45: Panagiota D. Laskaris, The Laskari clan in Lacedaemon. The biographical stories of Demetrios Laskaris as a starting point for an existential historical investigation
11.45-12.00: Christina Vambouri, Highlighting the history of Byzantine Laconia through the newspaper Embros during the first half of the 20th century
12.00-12.15: Dimitrios S. Georgakopoulos, New information about the founder/donor of Panagia Chrysafistissa
12.15-12.30: Michael Grünbart , An empire vanishes – imperial concepts vs. political reality in late Byzantium
12.30-13.00: Discussion

First afternoon session (17.00-19.00) | Chair: Georgios Kountouris
17.00-17.15: Eleftherios P. Alexakis, Byzantine pronoiai, Venetian captaincies, and the development of the political system of Outer Mani
17.15-17.30: Antonis Mastrapas, Searching for ancient Sparta in the 18th and 19th centuries
17.30-17.45: George V. Nikolaou, Laconia through the work of the English traveler William Leake, envoy of the English government (early 19th century)
17.45-18.00: Kyrillos Nikolaou, Laconia through the second travelogue of the French consul and traveler François Pouqueville (early 19th century)
18.00-18.15: Panagiotis N. Xintaras, Laconian place-names through the pen of French travelers
18.15-18.30: Alexandros Gizelis, Sparta in the political literature of Protestantism during the era of the Religious Wars (16th-17th century)
18.30-19.00: Break

Second afternoon session (19.00-20.30) | Chair: Yannis Tsoulogiannis
19.00-19.15: Yianna Katsougraki, At the end of the thread: from the material to the immaterial. The presence of weaving in Byzantine and modern Laconia
19.15-19.30: Michalis Sovolos, Indexing the first decisions of the Court of First Instance of Sparta: Persons and matters concerning Mani, 1770-1821
19.30-19.45: Georgios A. Tsoutsos, Enlightenment and Ancient Sparta: The case of Gabriel Bonnot de Mably (1709-1785)
19.45-20.00: Dimitrios Galaris, Nikitas Nifakis: the author of the Declaration to the European Courts at the liberation of Kalamata from Ottoman rule
20.00-20.30: Discussion

Sunday, December 7
9.30-10.30: Guided tour of the Archaeological Museum of Sparta
Morning session (11.00-12.30) | Chair: Georgios Nikolaou
11.00-11.15: Marios Athanasopoulos, “In this sacred Struggle, I too, taking up arms in my hands, ran to all the battles of my most beloved homeland…”: The life and deeds of the 1821 fighter, Father Polyzois Koutoumanos
11.15-11.30: Dimitrios Mariolis, Dimitrios Poulikakos. Military leader of 1821 from Vamvaka, Mani
11.30-11.45: Socrates V. Kougeas, Mosaics of the life and actions of the legendary figure Zacharias Barbitsiotis – The actions of the chieftain Sousanis
11.45-12.00: Giannis Michalakakos, Ilias Bispinis, a forgotten fighter of 1821 from Laconia
12.00-12.15: George – Konstantinos K. Piliouras, The Holocaust at the Paleomonastiro of Vrontama
12.15-12.45: Discussion

Afternoon session (17.00-19.00) | Chair: Dimitrios Katsoulakos
17.00-17.15: Pepi Gavala, Court of First Instance of Laconia – Correspondence Register: Transactions and Cases (February-April 1830)
17.15-17.30: Yannis N. Tsoulogiannis, The action of Panagiotis Krevvatas through two letters
17.30-17.45: Dimitrios Th. Vachaviolos – Stylianos D. Dimitropoulos – Dimitrios Ath. Christou, Two unknown documents from the Museum of Ecclesiastical Art of the Holy Monastery of Monemvasia and Sparta concerning Bishop Kyrillos Germos of Karyoupolis († July 1842)
18.00-18.15: Nikos I. Karmoiris, Papa-Kalomoiris, the Levite (cleric) chieftain from Vordonia
18.15-18.30: Katerina Diakoumopoulou – Maria Giatrakou, “ For Giatrakos’ great struggles.’ The monumental speeches in Parliament and the indirect references in the dramaturgy of M. Chourmouzis.
18.30-19.00: Discussion
End of the conference proceedings

These papers will be published in the next issue of the Journal. If there is an essay of interest to you, contact the Lakonia Studies organization at: etlasp@gmail.com. This pdf document lists the Table of Contents for each of the twenty-three volumes of Lakonia Studies, prior to this 2025 conference. Volume(s) can be purchased from the Lakonia Studies organization for 20 euros per book.

The work of this organization and its members is important, and must be accessible to people worldwide. I have written previously about bringing the Journal of Lakonian Studies to the Library of Congress, first in 2024 and this year in 2025. Let’s spread the word together and introduce the world to our modern-day Spartan intelligentsia!

I have received requests from people asking where they should write to obtain an ancestor’s birth certificate. The answer is: if you are seeking information for a person born after 1925 and you know the exact village of birth, contact the lixarcheion office for that village.

This post explains how to access contact information for the Lixarcheion offices under the Municipality of Sparta.

1. Lixarcheia are under the jurisdiction of the Dimos Sparta / Δημος Σπαρτη. The link to the website is: https://www.sparti.gov.gr/.

2. Under the tab for Municipality is the category “Municipal Services”. The direct link is: https://www.sparti.gov.gr/dimos/dimotikes-ypiresies

3. Under Municipal Services, at the very bottom, is an entry for “Registry Offices of the Municipality of Sparta”.

4. Click on the title “Registry Offices of the Municipality of Sparta” to access the chart below with contact information for each Lixarcheio office. The direct link is: https://www.sparti.gov.gr/liksiarxeia-dimou-spartis

A note about the government structure: The Municipality is Sparta; and under it are several Municipal Units. Each Municipal Unit services several villages. The title of the Municipal Unit reflects its government hierarchy. For example, the first entry on the chart is ΛΗΞΙΑΡΧΕΙΟ Δ.Ε ΣΠΑΡΤΙΑΤΩΝ ΔΗΜΟΥ ΣΠΑΡΤΗΣ which translates to Civil Registry Office of the Municipal Unit of Spartiaton, Municipality of Sparta.

The Municipal Unit office information is on the left column of the chart, and the villages it services are on the right. You must know the exact village and be sure to contact the office which serves your village!

My recommendation is to bookmark this last link for direct access: (https://www.sparti.gov.gr/liksiarxeia-dimou-spartis)

When writing an email to a Lixarcheio office, prepare it in both English and Greek (use an online app such as Google Translate). Or, put your English text into ChatGPT or another AI service for translation. If your Greek is limited, it’s a good idea to enter your text into two different translator apps to check for consistency. Including the English version is important because if the Greek is not well-translated, an English-speaking clerk will be able to read your original English message and understand your request.

This is the Lixarcheion office for the municipal unit of Mystras, which services my village of Agios Ioannis. It is located in Magoula, outside Sparta. When I visited in person, the clerk was kind and helpful and I left with both both and death records about my family. I wish you success as you contact a Lixarcheio for assistance!

NOTE: Translate the Sparta Dimos website into English using Google Translate or a similar translation app. In the images for this post, I used screenshots to put the Greek and English side by side; the website does not appear like this.

This is Greg’s announcement of his award:

I was extremely honored to be included in Greece’s Forbes Under 30 List released yesterday morning.

This is not an honor for myself only, but for the entire field of Greek genealogy, which is finally recognized as innovative and influential! We at Greek Ancestry will continue to serve our community and pursue our mission for high-standard genealogy research and access to genealogical data.

The official ceremony is to take place at the Athens Concert Hall on November 25 with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Here is an English translation of the text in the article:

DIGITAL GENEALOGY – Greek Ancestry
“Gregory Kontos, with studies in migration history and a passion for Greek heritage, transforms forgotten archival traces of the past into a vibrant, global digital experience of exploring our genealogical history.

He began at the age of 15 by mapping his own family tree and, at 24, founded Greek Ancestry, the first Greek genealogical research platform that reconnects Greeks from every corner of the world with their roots.

Until recently, genealogical research in Greece was nearly impossible, as historical records were fragmented and inaccessible. In just five years, Greek Ancestry has radically changed the landscape: through pioneering collaborations with the General State Archives, the University of Athens, metropolises, and local communities, it digitizes centuries-old genealogical records — from civil registrations and church registers to family archives from across Greece. The result is a constantly growing database of more than 8 million ancestral names, spanning from the 18th century to today, and accessible worldwide.

From uncovering the ancestors of Jennifer Aniston and George Stephanopoulos for American television programs to documenting the history of Asia Minor refugees, Greek Ancestry modernizes and deepens Greek genealogy, revealing small, everyday, yet often astonishing stories of the past.

More than just a service, the platform is a global bridge “with roots”, reconnecting millions of Greeks of the diaspora with their history—using technology to preserve and showcase our cultural heritage for generations to come.”

Congratulations, Greg! Wishing you continued success as you advance the mission of Greek Ancestry, build its database of records, and help people connect with their Greek ancestral history!

UPDATE: December 22, 2025. Gregory’s interview on Greek television’s “Rush Hour.”

In the villages of our region, as in almost all the villages of the non-urban areas of the country, until the end of the previous century, their economy was and remained almost self-sufficient and based on exchange among the households as well as the craftsmen of the area. This meant that almost all the needs of homes and families were covered or met through the exchange of their agricultural and livestock farming products and through the exchange of labor and working hours among the residents.

Even the making and the use of “tools” that required specialized knowledge or skills were carried out within the communities of the villages (or in their neighboring ones) by self-construction and self-use. A most characteristic example was the loom which covered the entire process of design, creation, and making people’s clothing (the woolen garments), as well as the necessary bedding, coverings, and decorations of the houses.

Here we must refer to our multiskilled ancestors who learned from improvisation, experimentation, applications and improvements, to reach the rationality and the experience of perfection in their self-made constructions (…). Most of them practiced many and different professions (and crafts) at the same time. Giorgis St. Rigakos (or Stylianakos), for example, practiced in Goranoi until his eighty-fourth year, in old age, the professions/crafts of farmer, lumberjack, carpenter, floor-layer, cooper, basketmaker, house roofer, farrier, saddle-maker, tool and loom maker…

We must also mention the women of our villages who had -all of them- exceptional skills and endurance to be wives, mothers, and housekeepers, but also nurses, farmwomen, cooks, seamstresses, bakers, weavers, embroiderers, knitters… with imagination and lateral thinking.

Along with the self-construction and self-use of the loom, we refer in this note to the process of searching, testing, and selecting natural dyes for the threads/yarns from local plants and herbs, completing the making and artistry of the woven fabrics.

We must, of course, remember that up until the end of the previous century there were no such dyes available commercially in a variety of colors. But we must also correct the notion cultivated by many people that every substance (food, medicine, dye, cosmetic, …) that comes from nature is more effective and safer, without side effects, than the corresponding substances that come from chemical laboratories.

Their supposed “purity” (!?) should not be attributed only to their composition—since they consist of the same chemical elements and compounds as the commercial ones—but mainly, their dosage and other characteristics must necessarily be controlled, such as the pesticides, the environment in which they grow (temperature, rainfall, humidity, …), their processing, etc. The artisans of the dyeing industry learned empirically the secrets for achieving beautiful, bright, and -above all- indelible / unalterable colors resistant to light and washing.

The dyeing of the yarns, after they were washed (always in lukewarm water and with the homemade soap that each family made), was done carefully—coordinating the fire with the boiling—then spreading / wringing them in natural air and without strong sunlight, so that the dye would “set” and become uniform, but without the yarns becoming moldy.

First, however, they had to search for, test, experiment in practice, and select roots, leaves, but also barks and fruits of trees and wild herbs, to create the colors of the dyes they desired. All these were pounded, soaked overnight or boiled, strained, cooled, and  afterwards poured into the water where the yarns were, and boiled for four to five hours. They often rinsed them with *alísiva* (lye).

For example, to get the brown color for the yarns (threads), they used husks from green walnuts. To get the dark walnut color or honey color, they added tobacco, while to get the sweet light brown of the ripe apple, they used leaves and soaked dry onion peels. For dark olive or khaki color (and oak color), they used dried acorns. For yellow, they used venetian sumach (Cotinus coggygria) and daffodils; for beige, bark of wild almond trees; while for red, roots and leaves of holly oak and heather. Finally, for dark blue, they bought (!) from the flower shops indigo (a mineral imported from China), which they washed in lukewarm water.

___

NOTE: In 2022, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation initiated a collaboration with the Cultural Society of Geraki to investigate and relate the story of the history of weaving in Geraki. The Geraki Weaving website has photos, videos, and descriptions of the project.

I (Carol Kostakos Petranek) am honored to receive permission from the Katsoulakos family to translate and share articles from The Faris. Translation verification and corrections have been made by GreekAncestry.net. This is the twenty-fourth article of the ongoing series. Previous articles can be viewed here.

Last month, I asked my cousin Panos if he would help me get to Perganteika. He was a bit incredulous. Why would I want to do that? It’s a terrible road, and no one lives there. Even when I explained that our Kostakos ancestor may have resided there, he was hesitant. He explained that although remote roads might be cleared after winter snows and spring rains, there is no way of knowing if that was done until one goes in person. It was only after Panos examined satellite maps that showed the road looked fairly clear did he agree to venture forth. Note: isolated mountain roads are not paved. At best, they are packed gravel, at second best they are packed dirt, and at worst they are neither — just a widened donkey path left to nature’s mercy.

Nevertheless, he said yes! On a Sunday evening, Panos and his sister and my daughter and I piled into his car for the great ascent.

The drive to Anavryti is always breathtaking. The panoramic views into the valley are humbling and always cause me to contemplate my miniscule place in this world.

As we enter Anavryti, the road guides us through the center of the village. There are no sidewalks, only narrow cobblestone streets. It is a charming place. In the early 1900s, numerous Anavrytians emigrated and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they formed the Vyrseon Society to support each other in their new homeland. Many of their descendants return each summer to their ancestral village.

At the end of the village, the road turns left and we traverse the edge of the mountain. It’s not long before a sharp turn to the right takes us off the main road to hardpack gravel. Panos was right–the road had been cleared and it seemed quite navigable. I was excited to realize that we would really get to our destination!

The remote landscape was green and brown; rugged terrain with a mixture of deciduous and pine trees, scruffy underbrush, and thorny weeds. There is absolute quiet and perfect peace. No people; no cars; no houses; no distractions. It felt almost sacrilegious to break the silence.

As we continued, Panos had to navigate steep terrain and rock-filled gullies. Downshifting and stomping on the gas coaxed the car up the inclines, but there were times it was frightening and dicey. Worried about car damage, I implored him to stop and turn around. But he knew the limits of his vehicle and they had not been breached. When the road eventually flattened and the curves ended, we entered into a clearing were stunned to see an edifice rise before us. It was the village church of Agia Triada. We had arrived!

I became emotional as we entered this modest church. It was impeccable and beautiful inside. The altar and icons, the stone floor and wood ceiling, the proskynetarion¹ and chandeliers–all were in perfect condition, ready for worshippers. There was even a page of hymns resting on the analogion², waiting for the baritone voice of the psaltis (cantor) to resonate within the building.

As I absorbed the spirit of this holy place, this thought came to me: “in their poverty, they spared nothing to build this church.” No matter how miniscule or remote a Greek settlement, an Orthodox church will surely be built there.

The silk flowers, burned candles, and immaculate surroundings indicated that a service had been held recently. One of the priests from either Anavryti or Mystras would have chanted a liturgy to commemorate the church’s patron saint. Descendants of the founding families, among others, would have made the trek up the mountain for this yearly event. My cousin Joanne, who has been at the service, explains: “the service is conducted 50 days after Easter (Tou Agiou Pnevmatos ) and there is a big picnic afterwards at the platiea with boiled goats and whatever everyone brings. It is a fabulous tradition.”

We exited the church, carefully closing the iron gate at its entrance, and began walking the path down the hill. Our footsteps crunched on the gravel. The vegetation was wild and thick. We saw no wildlife, heard no birds. We spoke in low tones as if not to interrupt the silence. It felt as if time had stopped.

I didn’t know what we would find as we followed the path. Imagine our utter surprise when a stone tower jutted out from the treetops to our right! This was the type of tower that is found in Mani, the southern Peloponnese. Who built it here? Maniate settlers who had traveled north?

And houses! We saw two that were standing structures; one was outfitted with beds and sparse furniture. There were many that had crumbled into heaps of rocks, barely visible through the vegetation. The settlement had been populated by several resident families.

At the bottom of the path in a large clearing was the proof that Perganteika had been a viable community: a plateia with its plane tree in the center, and a fountain gushing frigid but pure mountain water. Large or small, every Greek village had these requisite, distinct features.

I read the transcription on the stone fountain: This water is for you from the families Moundrouka, Kostea, Koutrou, Mitakea, Dorites. From my genealogy research, I knew every one of these names. Some were in the scant records which exist for Perganteika and others were in the records of Anavryti. This, of course, made sense as official records in Lakonia began in 1840, at the end of the Greek Revolution and simultaneous with the period of downhill migration. I was thrilled to see these surnames–irrefutable proof that these families had lived here.

As we began our drive to the valley, the vista descending from Perganteika was even more spectacular than the one ascending. I cannot spot even a hint of Anavryti when I am in Agios Ioannis, looking up the mountain. Yet here we were, above the village looking down at its rooftops!

Thank you, Panos, for this marvelous experience! It is so very meaningful to me–if Andreas Kostakos did live here, even for a short while, I have walked in his footsteps. My curiosity is satisfied and my heart is happy.

¹a wooden structure, holding a framed icon, where worshippers can approach, venerate, and light candles.
²a lecturn or stand specially designed to allow the psaltis to easily read the text.

As I explained in this 2024 post, Dr. Pahlumi is most enthusiastic about securing primary sources for the Library’s collections. Historians in their native lands who can walk the grounds, speak with local specialists, and access materials not available outside their countries are the ones who write with first-hand knowledge and accuracy. Their works are eagerly sought by researchers worldwide who visit the Library seeking such materials.

This pdf document lists the Table of Contents for each of the twenty-three volumes of Lakonia Studies². It is 47 pages–too long to add a typed copy to this post. If there are articles of interest to you, the volume(s) can be purchased from the Lakonia Studies organization for 20 euros per book.

Next year, I will deliver the supplements to the journals. Those books are just as large and comprehensive as the original volumes!

Contact the organization for more information or to purchase a volume:
e-mail: etlasp@gmail.com.

And if you are in Athens, make an appointment to visit the office and the staff.
63 Charilaou Trikoupi, 4th floor, 104 81, Athens
Office hours: Monday – Wednesday – Friday 11.30 am – 1.00 pm
Telephone: 210-3304422
6936-734920 (Sokrates Kougeas – president)
6974-343619 (Despina Koutsari – general secretary)

These books should be in the hands of researchers worldwide. If you know of an organization, library or repository that would welcome this incredible collection, please contact either the Lakonia Studies organization or me. Our Spartan historians deserve to be referenced and respected for their exclusive and preeminent works.

¹Dr. Pahumi is the Reference Librarian for Latin American, Caribbean, and European Division and oversees the Greece and Cyprus collections at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
²The English version was translated using the Greek Genealogy Assistant chatbot which I created in ChatGPT5. My Greek language skills are elementary, and although I reviewed the translations which appear accurate, there may have errors.

The Archive office moved to this beautiful and spacious location in 2023. It is on the 3rd floor of 61 Gkortsologou, 1/2 block from the Sparta plateia. The Director, Michalis Sovolos, and his staff of three are cheerful, kind, knowledgeable and totally dedicated to assisting researchers.

Attendees gathered in the large meeting area where Michalis and Gregory Kontos, founder of GreekAncestry.net, described the records available for Amykles and the most efficient way to begin the research process.

The staff had pulled various collections for people to access: Amykles school records, newspapers, notary files, and Town Registers (Dimotologion Koinotitos). Research in Greece is challenging. Prior to 2020, there were no records online. Through Gregory’s work, digital collections are now becoming available at GreekAncestry.net and MyHeritage.com.

However, most research must be conducted in person at archive offices and town halls. That is why this visit was so important to these guests. They received personal assistance from the staff and were able to view information not found elsewhere.

The preeminent yet most elusive key to unlocking Greek family history is notarial files. These are official contracts which document the legal transactions of everyday people: dowries, wills, sales, purchases, loans. The Archives of Lakonia has a vast collection. Michalis showed us a notary book dated 1862.

Books and documents created over 165 years ago will naturally turn yellow and brittle, and be in need of preservation. I was elated (no exaggeration!) to learn that all of the notarial files of Lakonia are in the process of being digitized and will be available online in the near future.

The digital archive of Lakonia is at this link. Within this are two notary collections with images of original documents:

1. ΣΥΜΒΟΛΑΙΟΓΡΑΦΟΣ ΜΥΣΤΡΑ [1849-1979] (Notary of Mystras)
2. ΣΥΜΒΟΛΑΙΟΓΡΑΦΟΣ ΣΠΑΡΤΗΣ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΣ ΔΗΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ [1863 – 1974] Notary of Sparta Konstantinos Dimopoulos.

I can’t begin to imagine the human manpower it would take to create name indexes for hundreds of thousands of these pages. If artificial intelligence can be trained to read old Greek script, then every-word document searches on notarial records will become a reality. We will be able to find “hidden treasure” — nuggets of currently inaccessible information — about our families. Thankfully, AI technology is rapidly evolving and every-word searches on handwritten documents are now a reality (see FamilySearch Full-Text Search.) All our community needs are more digitized records and Greek language chatbots.

The bottom line is patience, faith and gratitude:
patience to wait as the Archives of Lakonia (and others) arrange for record digitization;
faith that technology will advance to enable record accessibility that we cannot fathom today:
gratitude for what is happening, what we currently do have, and for those who are working diligently to make their records accessible.

My sincerest thanks to Michalis and his staff for hosting our group on August 13, 2025. You are the best!

Note: the General State Archives are under the Ministry of Education of Greece.

However, nestled on this piece of land are more than just a house and a vegetable garden; it also holds the inspirational and emotional Hellenic ANZAC Memorial Gardens. This stands as a tribute to those of Greek heritage who served in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and is a crowning achievement of Peter’s legacy.

The site was conceived by Peter and hand built, rock by rock, by Peter himself and his devoted friends. “This project became a source of purpose and fulfillment, allowing me to honour those who had come before me and to contribute to something greater than myself,” Peter wrote.¹ “[It allowed] me to channel my energy into something meaningful. It gave me a sense of purpose and connection to my heritage, as well as a way to honour the legacy of those who had sacrificed for our freedom. This endeavour was not just about creating a monument; it was about building bridges between cultures and fostering understanding.”

The culture of Pellana has long been a focal point of Peter’s intensive studies. His historical research of Pellana’s consequential place in the Hellenic story is legendary among his friends and local villagers. During my visit in 2017, he took me on a tour of ancient Pellana ruins. With insight and intellectuality that revealed years of research, he shared facts and hypotheses, stories and anecdotes about Mycean tombs, Menelaus and Helen, history and folklore.

Born in Pellana and raised in Australia, Peter has melded his two cultures into one remarkable life. He is a prolific and thoughtful writer who has authored over 20 books and many personal narratives. All are hosted on his Abalinx website and available as free pdf downloads. A link to the webpage listing his books is here; click on an image to access the book.

Peter’s years of deep research into the history of Pellana from ancient times to present is now published in Pellana, a book available here.

A companion volume, Pellana and Travellers in the Peloponnese, can be downloaded here.

Peter’s historical writings and personal reflections reveal the soul of a man who yearns to “record as much as I can for future generations.”² For this, and for dedicating this season of his life to lifting and memorializing others, I honor him as a dear friend. We are kindred spirits.

Peter can be contacted through or via email: abalinx1950@gmail.com

¹https://abalinx.com/blog/cancer-and-resilience/
²Personal message, Peter Adamis to Carol Kostakos Petranek, September 8, 2025