The Holy Monastery of Saint Myron, patron saint and protector of Antikythera, is located in the village of Galaniana. Tradition has it that the building of the first church in the eighteenth century is linked with the finding of an icon of the saint by Cretan hunters who over the years populated the island. The original church was enlarged and gradually cells were added around it, along with other outbuildings, creating a small monastery complex. In addition to the auxiliary buildings and the cells, there are also graves of priests inside the monastery’s walled precinct. The church is of the type usual on Antikythera: single-space with domical vault without tiles, an entrance at the midpoint of the south long side, a belfry with two conches and pedimental crowning. The wood-carved iconostasis was made in different phases, with the earliest in the eighteenth century. Some of the portable icons in the church are dated to the same period. The annual feast of the saint, on 17 August, is an important day for the island. Its few inhabitants, along with hundreds of expatriate Antikytherians from Greece and abroad, take part in the service and the celebrations.
The Non-profit Civil Company AEGEAS responded immediately to the request of the Metropolis of Kythera and Antikythera to restore the historical monastery, the buildings of which presented many structural problems due to the ravages of nature and time, as well as unsuitable building materials and lack of conservation. The donation covered the necessary studies and interventions for the restoration of the church, the conservation of the iconostasis, the restoration and functional upgrading of the auxiliary buildings, as well as the landscaping of the monastery grounds.
