Well hidden on the slopes of Mountain Hymettus is probably the oldest construction of Attica: the Dragon House. A quirky but impressive architecture made of huge stone blocks, some of which weigh several tons.
Around this dragon house, one can find remains of many other “dragon houses,” a sign that once there were many other similar strange constructions on the slopes of the mountain in East Athens.
What are the Dragon Houses?
The location where the dragon houses are does refer to an area that had human settlements.
They are usually on steep mountain slopes and the buildings stand out for their particular architecture. They are fully assimilated into the environment as they are built from huge mountain stones and carved into a rectangular shape.
Another striking element is that they do not have foundations and the building blocks are not interconnected with any material.
Their roof has a pyramid-shape and is made with precision, according to the delivery system. The big slabs are stacked on top of each other and large blocks have been used for counterweight. The way the huge stones were placed is not known, and the date of their construction remains unknown.
To date it has not been clarified who created the stone buildings. The only sure thing is that the constructors had knowledge of static and cyclical construction techniques.
The constructors were perhaps Carian slaves who worked in the quarries in the area or the Dryopes, an ancient Greek tribe that settled in 1200 BC. in the southern part of Evia and founded cities after their expulsion from the region of the Mt Parnassus.
There are 23 Dragon Houses in Evia with the most impressive one near Styra, on the mountain of Ochi at an altitude of 1,400 m.
According to the ancient legends, mythical dragons used to live in these stone houses.
The Dragon House of Ochi is considered to have been in honor of ancient god Zeus and his wife Hera. Its original construction date has been estimated between the 6. century BC
Researcher believed that the dragon houses were certainly built by the Dryopes in honor of Zeus and Hera. The fact that the dragon houses are in close proximity to the ancient quarries in the area adds yet another version, according to which they were constructed by the quarries workers as a sanctuary in honor of Hercules, who was considered as their patron.
Most likely, the mystery surrounding these strange constructions will never be revealed. The only sure thing is that it is yet another example of the advanced knowledge of static buildings and megalithic architecture possessed by ancient folks.
with info from mixanitoyxronoy
PS Hats off to video creators UpStories.
6 BC is before Greeks existed. So why a tribe that settled in 1200 BC is suggested as the builders is just nonsense. This is a late stone age construction, and has nothing to do with Greeks or their slaves.