Panteli Castle
(Kastro Panagias)

Byzantine castle of the 10th or 11th century, on the top of the hill Pitiki or Apityki. According to a golden bull decree of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, the castle was given to the founder of the Monastery of Agios Theologos of Patmos, Saint Christodoulos, in 1089. In 1314, Leros was ceded to the Knights of St. John of Rhodes (their coat of arms can be seen in various parts of the castle). From 1522 and after the defeat of the knights by the Ottomans, Leros and its castle fell under Ottoman occupation until 1912 when it passed into Italian hands, only to become Greek again in 1948. The history of the castle is directly linked to the church of Panagia, also a building of the 11th century. Its gold-plated iconostasis, the Despotic throne and the Pulpit are works of 1745 AD. The silver-plated miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary Hodegetria dates from 728 AD and is believed to be the work of the Evangelist Luke. Tradition says that it was sent from Constantinople during the Iconoclasm to be