Methoni's Catacombs

Just outside Methoni, you will find the Catacombs "Agionoyfri" ( Saint Onoufrios) as the locals call them. Carved on a rock ,in the third century A.D., those catacombs are One Out of the Two (the second is in Milos) that exist in Greece.

The Catacomb was underground ( and not visible initially) where the entrance was to be found high up on the rock ,while one could descend into the caves with the carved tombs.Unfortunately, the Franks and the Venetians later in time, used those unique limestones of the catacombs to fortify the castle of Methoni. As of today,a  visitor could only admire just a few internal caves with their tombs ,in the place that once was an astounding underground burial monument.

The Early Christian years,those Catacombs were used by Christians as a hidden place of worship, fulfilling the Sacred- Holy -Mass upon the  tombs of martyrs.

The same tradition outlived in these catacombs, during the years of the Byzantine Empire, when again were used as a place of worship ,with yet several hagiographies preserved on the walls of those caves.