The monumental complex of the Roman mansion near the Loukos Monastery includes the main mansion with its outbuildings (basilicas, triclinias, baths and the aqueduct that transported the water for them).
The complex belongs to the type of ``farmhouse'', villa rustica, a large, that is, an establishment that exploited the land of a large property (latifundium), but also had luxurious facilities for the wealthy Roman owner, his family and guests of, as well as for the servants and local customers.
To date, the central part of the mansion has been revealed, with the official reception areas, which are formed around a courtyard with a peristyle, defined inside by a moat filled with water. During the last building phase which dates back to the 5th century AD, the corridors around the courtyard are decorated with mosaic floors characterized by the polychrome of the complex geometric ornaments and the richness of the pictorial decoration. Figurative subjects include portraits of private individuals, races in the Hippodrome, Muses, Fountains and Rivers, the labors of Hercules, and the hunt of Dido and Aeneas in Libya. Two large sculptures that survived from an earlier phase of habitation, the complexes of Achilles with Penthesilea and Odysseus with Patroclus, which were also depicted on the mosaic floor in front of their pedestal.
Around the central peristyle are three basilicas, the use of which cannot be determined, but they were public. The small southern Basilica included plumbing with fountains and a decorative cistern that can be attributed to a triclinium for formal banquets.
The small bathroom, on the same side, includes all the spaces necessary for its operation (bathtubs, cold and hot water tanks). His hypocaust is kept in good condition.
The Aqueduct has been built a little further south, to capture and transport the water to the mansion. The arch is preserved, which bridges the stream between the spring and the premises of the mansion. This is the richest source of water in the area and was certainly the main attraction for the neighboring establishments at times. Today Astros and the surrounding area are watered by the "Mother of Water".
Near the mansion and the Loukos Monastery is the Sanctuary of the spa hero Polemokratis, from which bas-reliefs have been found.
The large Roman building in Loukos was known by the impressive architectural members that have been built into the Catholicos of Loukos Monastery. At the beginning of the 19th century, travelers and archaeologists recorded the first large sculptures, some of which were transferred to the National Archaeological Museum, first in Aegina and later in Athens.
The excavation of Epavlis started from the 5th EPKA in 1978 by G. Steinhauer and P. Faklaris, who published the first findings. In 1984-1987 and 1989 the excavation was continued by Alcmeni Stavridis. During the 1990s, the Ephorate continued the rescue excavation under the supervision of Th. Spyropoulos.
The earliest building phase of the ruins that have been uncovered in the area of Loukos is Roman and dates back to the 2nd century AD. This phase can be combined with the activity of the wealthy and Maecenic Athenian Herodes Atticus, who had mansions and hunting lodges in Marathon, Kifissia, Dragonara in Evia and Rome. Various sculptures from the decoration of the building come from this phase, including portraits of emperors which testify that, like Herod's property in Rome, the latifundium of Loukos came to the imperial family.
The earliest movable finds are associated with the Sanctuary of Polemokratis (which has not yet been identified and excavated) and date back to the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods, along with some statues from other unknown Sanctuaries.
Source: MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS
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