Anthousa Ανθούσα | |
|---|---|
 The early 19th century castle built byAli Pasha in Trikorfo | |
  Anthousa | |
| Coordinates:39°18′N20°22′E / 39.300°N 20.367°E /39.300; 20.367 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Epirus |
| Regional unit | Preveza |
| Municipality | Parga |
| Municipal unit | Parga |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Community | 673 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Anthousa (Greek:Ανθούσα), known before 1927 asRapeza (Greek:Ράπεζα[2][3]) is a village in the municipality ofParga,Preveza regional unit ofEpirus, in westernGreece. In 2021 its population was 673 for the community, which also includes the village Trikorfo. Anthousa is situated 3 km northwest of the town Parga, under a Turkish castle on a hill, attributed toAli Pasha. Remains and coins of the ancient city of Elaia have been found near the village.
Tombs of the Hellenistic and Roman era have been unearthed in the area of the municipal unit of Anthousa.[4] In the 12th century the monastery of Virgin Mary ofVlacherna was erected. Traces of a Venetian garrison are also visible.[5]
In 1814 Anthousa was plundered by units of the Albanian rulerAli Pasha and the local inhabitants fled to the nearby Parga.[6] Ali Pasha then built a castle over Anthousa in order to plan a siege of Parga.[7]
Anthousa was one of the ChristianOrthodoxAlbanian-speaking villages (Albanian:Rapëza),[8]), which either due to the absence of Greek or for reasons of demographic importance, would see Greek education expanded through measures such as the establishment of kindergartens.[9]
In Anthousa and alsoKanallaki, the closest existing variants ofSouliotic Albanian are spoken. This dialect is spoken only by few people in modern times.[10]
| Year | Village population | Community population |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 592 | 742 |
| 1981 | - | 870 |
| 1991 | 586 | - |
| 2001 | 624 | 683 |
| 2011 | 621 | 677 |
| 2021 | 628 | 673 |
I was told that coins were found in the immediate vicinity of Parga, at a small village called Rapeza, north-west of Parga, and at Ayia, further to the north-west, and that ancient tombs had been opened near Rapeza. [...] He also saw cist tombs and a piece of polygonal retaining wall, and he heard of Byzantine and Venetian coins, all in the vicinity of Anthousa, which I take to be the new name of Rapeza.