Karyes Pafsanias

Karyates Association

Syndesmos Apantaxou Karyaton (S.A.K.)


The Karyates Association or Syndesmos Apantachou Karyaton (S.Α.Κ.) was founded in 1970 in Athens so as to continue the project of the two previous clubs (1948 and 1954) that had disbanded. From 1970 to 2015 it operated with an 11-member board and from 2015 with a 9-member committee that fulfills its operating regulations.

During that period S.A.K. with the help both of the Karyes community council until 2010, the Karyes local council of Sparta Municipality afterwards, the rest of local clubs and the Karyes clubs all round the world in U.S.A., Australia, and Canada, has given a strong financial contribution in many projects at Karyes village. In specific, the Association has sponsored: .

  • The water supply and irrigation project of Karyes (reconstruction of the aqueduct, tubing e.t.c.).
  • The reinforcement of the "Karyatis Sports Club"(uniforms and shoes supply, works of field improvement e.t.c.).
  • The construction and painting of the church of Apostle Andreas and the maintenance, reconstruction, improvement and lighting of the village's other churches and cemeteries.
  • The smooth running (offering materials and funding Excursions) of Karyes nursery and primary school.
  • The function of the summer school (for kids 3 up to 12 years old) during the period 1998-2009.
  • The tourist upgrading of Karyes through the management of the Karyes website, the issuing of a tourist map and the insertion of information signs.

Association's largest project up today is the construction of the Caryatids Monument whose inauguration took place on July 24, 1983. This is a full scale copy of the extension of the Karyatides at the ancient "Erecthion" temple at Athens Acropolis. It has been constructed at an eminence place above the entrance of the village in a field owned by the Association. The construction costs reached the amount of 1.8 million drachmas (prices of 1982) and it was financially supported by hundreds of compatriots and their clubs. In 2017-18, it also completed the restoration of the Monument from the time damage and the overall renovation of the area with the finacial support of compatriots and friends of Karyes.

Other Association's goals are the organization and support of events in order to create closer relations among its members, friends, the village's inhabitants and the expatriates. Especially, it organizes a series of festivities such as:

  • The Divine Liturgy and Reception at the name day of the village's patrion Apostolos Andreas each December.
  • The Annual ball each January in Athens.
  • The Annual Reception in honor of expatriates in the hall of the former Karyes municipal offices every July.
  • The Annual Summer Festival at the grove of Agia Paraskevi and primary School in August.

From 2014, it publishes the Quarterly Bulletin of the Association (newspaper), in two languages (Greek, English), which is sent by mail and e-mail to about 500 compatriots in Greece and the rest of the world.

Through the organization of lotteries, the financial contribution of its members and the proper financial management, the Association has in the property three (3) offices at the Stadiou str. in Athens and a farm field of 11 acres in Karyes.

Since 2006, the association has purchased a complex of two (2) old buildings on the main square of Karyes to create a Folklore and Cultural Center. This is the new major project of the Association, which aims to create a Culture and Memory Center for the Karyates through the centuries, with particular reference to our compatriots' immigration.