Drakona.
Kyriakoselia.
CRETE
250
373. Kyriakoselia, Saint Nicholas, wall
painting (Κυριακοσέλια, Άγιος Νικόλαος,
τοιχογραφία)
the first from the mid-13th c; and the second created in 1303
by the well-known painters Theodoros Daniel Veneris and his
nephew Michael. The surfaces of the narthex are decorated
with the Second Coming (second half of the 14th c.).
372.
Drakona.
Outside Drakona stands the single-nave church of Aghios
Stephanos. Its walls are decorated with modest paintings, in-
cluding the hagiological cycle of Aghios Stephanos from the
second half of the 14th c.
373.
Kyriakoselia.
On a hill approximately 5 km SW of Stylos, close to Kyriakose-
lia, are the ruins of Kasteli fortress. Within its defensive walls,
which skirt the hill, is the church of Aghia Paraskevi. To the N
a fortified passage led to the cave church of Aghios Mamas; in
a conch a cross can be distinguished with an inscription of the
9th c. The fortress controls the road from Rethymno to Chania
and the Gulf of Souda; it played a key role in the rebellion
of the local population against the Venetians between 1230
and 1236 with the help of Nicaean Emperor Ioannis Doukas
Vatatzes. To the N stands the church of Saint Nicholas (pos-
sibly “Stouditis”), originally single-nave with a raised central
bay in the transverse barrel-vault acting as a dome. In the
