Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Άστρος

Nearby the Loukos monastery stands an old aqueduct bridge crossing a small ravine. The Roman aqueduct carried water from a spring located about one and half kilometer to the northwest. Its purpose was to supply water to the nearby villa of Herodes Atticus, one of the richest and most important Greeks at the time. The aqueduct was built during the second century, when Greece was under Roman rule. The water was rich in dissolved minerals and nowadays the brickwork of the aqueduct is completely covered with lime sinter.

The Loukous Monastery ( Ιερά Μονή Λουκούς ) is probably built on the site of an early Christian church of the 5th century AD. The current catholicon - was rebuilt on its remains in 1117 - is a domed church of the composite four columned. It is decorated with fine wall paintings and its floor is paved with coloured marble slabs. The iconostasis is decorated with portable icons dated to the 17th century. ( Just a pity we were not allowed to take pictures inside the church ) Today the monastery is one of the most important Byzantine monuments in Arcadia. The most possible etymology of the name of the monastery is from the Latin word “Lucus”, which means “Holy Forest”. The monastery was male until 1946 which after turned into a female one.