Petros Dimakis–National Benefactor
Petros Dimakis was born in the Mikri Anastasova village (present-day Piges community) in Messenia. The village of Piges is between Alagonia and Artemisia and 25 kilometres from Kalamata. His birthplace is next to the church of Agia Varvara, and he also had a second house in the lower part of the village.
At a young age, Petros Dimakis moved to Romania, where he engaged in trade. His ethos and his hard work helped him acquire a large fortune. In fact, the rulers of the Phanar, for his ethos and his love for his homeland, gave him the position of Pitaris. After many years of living in Romania, his passion for his homeland led him to sell his movable and immovable property and return, in 1852, to Athens. He brought large sums of Austrian florins and initially resided in his mansion on Ermou Street.
Between 1852 and 1854, Dimakis offered the Greek State over 15,000 drachmas and 10 Greek Coastal Shipping Company shares. Following an agreement with the Minister of Education, he built, at his own expense, a two-story elementary and Greek school building on the site of the old Mele School (in the village of Artemisia), with a capacity of 500 students. This particular location was chosen for its spaciousness and its distance from other villages, but primarily for the historical continuity of the glorious "Mele" school.
On November 15, 1854, by Royal Decree, Petros Dimakis undertook the obligation to repair the cells of the Monasteries of Agios Ioannis (Mele), of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Sideroporta) and of the Holy Apostles with his own money, as well as to repair the churches (catholic) of the monasteries. Among other things, he undertook the payment of the Headmaster and the teachers, the school maintenance, and the taxes to the State and the Ecclesiastical Fund. Finally, a fixed amount of money was determined in his Will for the operation of these schools by the executors of the Will after his death. The national benefactor, Petros Dimakis, died in July 1864. According to the "Alagoniaka" by Antonis Masouridis, he died in the Monastery of Sideroporta. After the death of Petros Dimakis, the State continued to pay the executors the annual allowance (rent) of 5,000 drachmas. However, because there was no care for the maintenance of the schools, it took back the monasteries with their lands and collected the income. Finally, in 1902, during the time of Georgios Manolakos as the Head of the School, a fire broke out in the area of the Mele Monastery, resulting in the complete destruction of the Dimakia Schools.