Editing Meteora (section)

==History==
===Archaeology===
{{See also|Theopetra Cave}}
[[Theopetra Cave]] is located {{convert|4|km}} from [[Kalambaka]]. Its uniqueness from an archeological perspective is that a single site contains records of two greatly significant cultural transitions: the replacement of [[Neanderthals]] by modern humans and later, the transition from hunting-gathering to farming after the end of the last [[Last glacial period|Ice Age]]. The cave consists of an immense {{convert|500|m2}} rectangular chamber at the foot of a limestone hill, which rises to the northeast above the village of Theopetra, with an entrance {{convert|17|m}} wide by {{convert|3|m}} high. It lies at the foot of the Chasia mountain range, which forms the natural boundary between Thessaly and [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]] regions, while the Lithaios River, a tributary of the [[Pineios River (Thessaly)|Pineios River]], flows in front of the cave. The small Lithaios River flowing literally on the doorsteps of the cave meant that cave dwellers always had easy access to fresh, clean water without the need to cover daily long distances to find it.<ref>[http://www.visitmeteora.travel/what-to-see/theopetras-prehistoric-cave Theopetra's Prehistoric Cave] from Visit Meteora Travel. Retrieved 26, Jul 2013.</ref>

===Ancient history===
Caves in the vicinity of Meteora were inhabited continuously between 50,000 and 5,000 years ago. The oldest known example of a built structure, a stone wall that blocked two-thirds of the entrance to the [[Theopetra cave]], was constructed 23,000 years ago, probably as a barrier against cold winds (Earth was experiencing an [[ice age]] at the time), and many [[paleolithic]] and [[neolithic]] artifacts of human occupation have been found within the caves.<ref name="Radiocarbon">Y. Facorellis, N. Kyparissi-Apostolika and Y. Maniatis 2001 The cave of Theopetra, Kalambaka: radiocarbon evidence f ''Radiocarbon'' '''43''' (2B): 1029–48</ref><ref>[http://www.reviewhype.com/viral/oldest-known-man-made-structure-found-in-greece] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206004238/http://www.reviewhype.com/viral/oldest-known-man-made-structure-found-in-greece|date=6 December 2014}}</ref>

Meteora is not mentioned in classical [[Greek mythology|Greek myths]], nor in [[Ancient Greek literature]]. The first people who were documented to inhabit Meteora after the [[Neolithic Era]] were an [[asceticism|ascetic]] group of [[hermit]] monks who, in the 800s CE, moved up to the ancient [[pinnacle]]s. They lived in [[wikt:hollow|hollows]] and [[fissures]] in the rock towers, some of them as high as 1800&nbsp;ft (550m) above the plain. This great height, combined with the sheerness of the cliff walls, kept away all but the most determined visitors. Initially, the hermits led a life of solitude, meeting only on Sundays and special days, to worship and pray in a chapel built at the foot of a rock known as [[Dupiani]].<ref name="meteora"/>

As early as the eleventh century, monks occupied the caverns of Meteora. However, monasteries were not built there until the 1300s, when the monks sought somewhere to hide in the face of an increasing number of attacks by the Turks upon [[Greece]].<ref name=":4"/><ref name=":5">"[https://www.kalampaka.com/en/meteora-monasteries/monastery-of-saint-nicholas-anapafsas/ Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas Anapafsas]." ''Kalampaka.com'', 10 July 2016.</ref> At this time, access to the top was via removable ladders or hoisting ropes. Currently, getting up there is much simpler, due to steps having been carved-into the rock during the 1920s. Of the 24 monasteries, only six (four of men, two of women) are still functioning, with each housing fewer than ten individuals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meteora |url=https://www.beautifulworld.com/europe/greece/meteora/ |access-date=2016-09-27 |website=www.beautifulworld.com}}</ref>

===History and construction of the monasteries===
The exact date of the establishment of the monasteries is widely believed to be unknown. However, there are clues to when each of the monasteries was constructed. By the late eleventh century and early 1100s, a rudimentary monastic state had formed, called the [[Skete]] of [[Stagoi]], and it was centered around the still-standing church of [[Theotokos]] (Mother of God).<ref name="meteora"/> By the end of the 1100s, an ascetic community had flocked to Meteora.

In 1344, [[Athanasius the Meteorite|Athanasios Koinovitis]] from Mount Athos, later known as Athanasios the Meteorite, brought a group of followers to Meteora. From 1356 to 1372, he founded The [[Monastery of Great Meteoron]] on the Broad Rock. That location was perfect for the monks, because there, they were safe from political upheaval, and they had complete control of the entry to the monastery. The only means of reaching it was by climbing a long ladder, which was drawn-up whenever the monks thought that there was a threat to them.<ref name=Hammond1965>{{cite journal | last=Hammond | first=Peter | title=Meteora: the Rock Monasteries of Thessaly. By Donald M. Nicol. London: Chapman & Hall, 1963 | journal=The Journal of Ecclesiastical History | publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) | volume=16 | issue=2 | year=1965 | issn=0022-0469 | doi=10.1017/s0022046900054099 | page=229| s2cid=161659078 }}</ref> The creation of the monastic community at Meteora was protected and sponsored by the local lord [[Simeon Uroš]], based in nearby [[Trikala]], who in 1356 had proclaimed himself [[Emperor of Serbs and Greeks]] following the death of [[Stefan Dušan]].<ref name=Savvides>{{citation |title=Splintered medieval hellenism: The semi-autonomous state of Thessaly (AD 1213/1222 to 1454/1470) and its place in history |author=Alexis G. C. Savvides |journal=Byzantion |issue=2 |year=1998 |volume=68 |pages=406–418 |publisher=Peeters Publishers|jstor=44172339 }}</ref>{{rp|414}} 

Simeon Uros was succeeded in 1370 by his son [[John Uroš]], who three years later retired as a monk to the Meteoron monastery and died there in the early 1420s. At the end of the fourteenth century, Christian rule over northern Greece was being increasingly threatened by Turkish raiders who wanted control over the fertile plain of Thessaly, which they finally secured in the second half of the 15th century. The hermit monks, seeking a retreat from the expanding [[Ottoman empire]], found the inaccessible rock pillars of Meteora to be an ideal refuge. More than 20 monasteries were built,<ref name=":5"/> of which six remain today. In 1517, [[Theophanes the Cretan|Theophanes]] built the [[monastery of Varlaam]], which was reputed to house the finger of [[John the Apostle|St. John]] and the shoulder blade of [[St. Andrew]].<ref name=":2" />

Access to the monasteries was originally (and deliberately) difficult, requiring either long ladders that were latched together, or large nets that were used to haul-up both goods and people. This required quite a leap of faith, because the ropes were replaced, so the story goes, only "when the Lord let them break".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://travelwithachallenge.com/Greece-Meteora.htm|title=Greece Meteora – Travel with a Challenge|website=travelwithachallenge.com|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=5 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905155631/http://travelwithachallenge.com/Greece-Meteora.htm}}</ref> In the words of UNESCO: "The net in which intrepid pilgrims were hoisted up vertically alongside the {{convert|373|m}} cliff where the Varlaam monastery dominates the valley symbolizes the fragility of a traditional way of life that is threatened with extinction."<ref name="Janz2017">{{cite book|author=Bruce B. Janz|title=Place, Space and Hermeneutics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uPqODgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67|date=29 April 2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-52214-2|pages=67–}}</ref>

Until the 1600s, the primary means of conveying goods and people from these high places was by means of baskets and ropes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsfinder.org/site/more/meteora_connecting_with_heaven/|title=Meteora, Connecting with Heaven presented in History section|website=www.newsfinder.org|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524004020/http://www.newsfinder.org/site/more/meteora_connecting_with_heaven/|archive-date=24 May 2014}}</ref>

Under the [[Convention of Constantinople (1881)]], [[Thessaly]] was taken-over by the [[Kingdom of Greece]]. In 1921, [[Queen Marie of Romania]] visited Meteora, becoming the first woman ever allowed to enter the Great Meteoron monastery.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.revistafelicia.ro/articol_1012281/regina_maria_prima_femeie_la_marea_meteora__fotografii_inedite_din_interiorul_manastirii_facute_chiar_de_regina.html |title=Regina Maria, prima femeie la Marea Meteoră. Fotografii inedite din interiorul mănăstirii, făcute chiar în timpul vizitei reginei :: Spiritualitate :: Calea, adevarul si viata :: Revista Felicia |access-date=2015-04-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419154101/http://www.revistafelicia.ro/articol_1012281/regina_maria_prima_femeie_la_marea_meteora__fotografii_inedite_din_interiorul_manastirii_facute_chiar_de_regina.html |archive-date=2015-04-19 }}</ref>

In the 1920s, there was an improvement in the arrangements: Steps were cut into the rock, making the complex accessible via a bridge from the nearby plateau. During [[military history of Greece during World War II|World War II]], the site was bombed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldheritagesite.org/connection/Damaged+in+World+War+II|title = Damaged in World War II – World Heritage Site – Pictures, Info and Travel Reports}}</ref>