Vigli

The village’s history starts about half a millennium ago. As strange as it may sound, Vigli is a village which was founded as a result of the democratic ideas of its first residents, who were rebels of democracy and justice.

Big landowners dominated at the time. As is known from other cases in Greece, these landowners oppressed and cruelly exploited the poor farmers. They wanted to perpetuate a situation of prominent social discrimination. This oppression wasn’t only financial, but cultural, spiritual and psychological as well. This oppression was also the reason behind the founding of this village.

.At the time, about 6km. away from Vigli, there was a town called Vasilikades (today a village exists in more or less the same spot, with the same name). In this town lived the landowners. One of the many demands that the landowners had, was this: they demanded that the village’s priest didn’t hold the Resurrection Mass unless they had come to church. It was a common phenomenon for them to arrive to church late, being the “lords” of the area. So the congregation was obliged to await the landowners’ arrival.

Two brothers amongst the congregation, who were dominated by democratic values of justice and equality, spoke out for the priest to begin the Resurrection Mass. The priest refused to do so out of fear and so the two brothers forced him. After some time, the “lords” arrived. They demanded an explanation from the priest for his disobedient action. Naturally, he explained that the two brothers had forced him. Then, the landowners along with bodyguards brutally attacked the priest, transgressing even the sacred. In much the same abhorrent way they attacked the two brothers. The church on the holy night of the Resurrection was turned into a battlefield. It was the church of Saint Spiridon. This night of the Lord’s Resurrection was the night that the rage and oppression of so many years burst. The incident was just the cause, as the real reasons were deeply rooted within the souls of the poor, oppressed farmers. The only thing that was needed was for the two brothers, rebels as they were that wouldn’t compromise, to just evade the oppression.

As was natural, being weaker than the landowners with their bodyguards and money, the two brothers were forced to flee the village of Vasilikades. Of course their flight was the road to freedom, justice, democracy and, therefore, a better life.

They set off from Vasilikades and ended up where Vigli is today. The two brothers’ surname was Vasilatos. Upon leaving, they agreed to take different paths and built their village’s church wherever they would meet again. Naturally, the church today is that of Saint Spiridon. The village’s first priest was “Papa Alexis” (Father Alexis). Today the surname of all the inhabitants of Vigli is Papalexatos. It’s true that the first residents of Vigli changed their surname, not wanting to remember the dark, oppressive past.

The first true name of the village is Papalexata. But because of its view and its unique location, it was named Vigli which means observatory.

There is also another version that there were 3 families from the beginning: that of Simos in Simata, of Peter which correspond to the nicknames Peronarioi and Gnesoulaioi respectively, which still exist to this day and the family of Stathis with the corresponding nickname Leotsakaioi, which also exists to this day.

The descendants of the first residents of Vigli are proud that their ancestors were rebels of freedom and justice probably worthy of Marinos Antipas.

This story has been saved by word of mouth.