Sidirokastro: the village of statues
In the village of Sidirokastro, which is 19 km from Kyparissia, visitors can see a unique outdoor sculpture exhibition. Numerous statues (over 30) adorn the entrance of the village, the square and the streets. Most of the statues are located on the 88-step staircase leading to the church of Agios Nikolaos—literally, a work of art accounts for almost every ten inhabitants.
All the impressive statues result from the sculptor Costas Georgakas, born in Sidirokastro in 1904, after many years of work. His sculptures adorn public spaces in various world countries, such as the five statues of Hippocrates placed in US medical schools since the '70s and many more.
Visitors walking around Sidirokastro travel through history and time with the statues. Together with "Phryne before the judges", with the "Adolescent" dedicated to sculptor Rodin, the "Discobolus", the equestrian "Kolokotronis" (statue with which he had received the second prize in the competition of the Municipality of Tripolis), "Karaiskakis", the "resting" artist with a hammer in his hand, the "Farmer", Sidirokastro teacher "George Stathopoulos", writer "Panagiotis Konstantinidis", "Orpheus", "Artemis", "the Unknown Soldier" and the bust of the distinguished runner "Spilios Zacharopoulos". In fact, Zacharopoulos is the only survivor whose figure has been made into a statue by Georgakas and, perhaps, the only one who became a statue while still living in Greece.