Exploring the Dragon House of Athens
The most famous dragon houses (drakospita / δρακόσπιτα) in Greece are the Dragon Houses of South Evia. Dragon houses are generally made of square and elongated stones, which are placed on top of each other, without other binders and are held only by their weight. The gaps are filled with other smaller stones. The roof is also made of huge stones according to the corbelling system. It is clear that their builders had a deep knowledge of statics, but also of the cyclopean technique.
Apart from Evia, however, there is also a dragon house very close to the centre of Athens, on the mountain of Hymettus (Υμηττός), in the municipality of Vyronas (Βύρωνας) and specifically in the area of Koutalas (Κουταλάς). The dating, the origin and use of the building, which is mainly known as the “Dragon House / Drakospito of Hymettus” (Δρακόσπιτο του Υμηττού), has not been sufficiently investigated and for this reason there are various theories.
