Timios Stavros church at Archanes
Within the picturesque narrow streets of the market of Epano Archanes, we meet the small square with the small temple of the Holy Cross (Timios Stavros). The church is single-aisled and vaulted, and part of the sanctuary is carved in rock, while its sanctuary is stone-built. The interior does not bear frescoes. On the floor there is the family tomb of the priest of Archanes, dating back to 1736, who was called Kalathas.
The building of the church dates back to 1630, a date that survives in an inscription above the entrance. The building date of the temple may be even older and in 1630 an extension or renewal of pre-existing temple may have taken place.
In the small square outside the temple there is an impressive Ottoman marble fountain, relocated from the house of Pasha, west of the town, bearing the date 1894. The same square also hosts the statue of the monk Afthonios Dretakis, who heroically fought in the Battle of Archanes in 1897 against the Ottomans.
