Meteora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Greece, consisting of Eastern Orthodox monasteries on sandstone pillars up to 550m tall. Six monasteries remain, founded by hermits in the 9th century and later by monks seeking refuge from the Turks. Meteora now relies heavily on tourism.
Meteora is the name given to a number of Eastern Orthodox monasteries located in Greece. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been since 1988. The name means suspended in the air or, more poetically, suspended in the sky, and a visit to the site reinforces the perfect name that it is.
The Meteora are located in the plain of Thessaly, perched on majestic natural sandstone pillars that reach towards the sky. The tallest of these pillars reaches more than 1800 feet (550m). These pillars are the result of the elevation of the seabed and the subsequent wearing down of the surrounding land by water and wine.
Historically, Meteora is not mentioned in classical Greek texts. The Thessalian plain itself is mentioned by Herodotus in the 5th century BC, but he makes no mention of the massive stone pillars. The strangeness of this oversight has led some to speculate that the pillars didn’t exist in Herodotus’ time, but in the absence of an alternative geological explanation for the Meteora pillars, most experts simply ignore it.
There are six monasteries still in operation in Meteora: the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron, the Holy Monastery of Varlaam, the Holy Monastery of Rousanou or Santa Barbara, the Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapausas, the Holy Monastery of St. Holy Trinity.
In the 9th century, Christian hermits began to inhabit the natural crevices of the towers. Meteora’s remote location, as well as the difficulty of climbing the towers, made it an ideal place for hermits. A small chapel was built at the foot of the Dhoupiani, and there the hermits gathered collectively for Sunday mass.
In the 12th century an ascetic community had formed in Meteora, for reasons similar to those of the first hermits. In the mid-14th century, a group of monks came from Mount Athos, led by Anthanasios Koinovitis, and founded the Holy Great Meteoron Monastery, on Broad Rock. This was one of the most secure monasteries imaginable, virtually impregnable, as the monks could simply pull up the rope ladder leading up to the monastery if they ever felt threatened. As the Turks were beginning to take a violent interest in the Thessalian plain at the time, this was especially welcome.
Later, towards the end of the 15th century, the Holy Trinity Monastery was built. The Holy Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapausa followed, followed by the last three monasteries in the mid-16th century, including the Monastery of St. Stephen, which is the only one of the women’s monasteries of Meteora.
While originally intended to be quite remote and hermetic monasteries, in recent years Meteora has grown to rely heavily on tourism and has built an infrastructure around this. The Great Meteoron is the largest monastery and serves as a museum for visitors. Many of the monasteries charge a small entry fee to visit, and all offer various icons for sale as keepsakes.
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