Agios Achilleios

For a brief period in the 10th century, the island with its town of Prespa served as the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire under Tsar Samuel.^[10] Following the capture of Larissa by Samuel, he ordered the remains of Saint Achillius to be transported from the city to the island and buried in a specially built basilica named after the saint.^[11][12][13] In 1014, the Bulgarian army was defeated in battle by the Byzantine army of Basil II and Samuel died shortly after and was buried in the basilica.^[12] Over time the location became known as Saint Achillius (Agios Achilleios, Sveti Ahil) or simply Achillius (Ahil), after the basilica.^[5][14]

The island became part of Greece in 1913 following the Balkan Wars. In the interwar period, no Greek refugees from the Greek–Turkish population exchange were settled on the island.^[3] Greek authorities considered some villagers to have either anti–state, anti–Greek or fluid sentiments.^[15][3]

During the Greek Civil War (1946–1949), inhabitants from village participated in the conflict^[3] and in February 1948 Nikos Zachariadis, the Greek Communist Party General Secretary married Roula Koukoulou, his long-time lover on the island.^[16] In 1949 many villagers were forced to flee to Yugoslavia and other Eastern Bloc countries due to their wartime involvement.^[3] From 1940 to 1951, the population of Agios Achilleios decreased by 67 percent.^[17] Queen Frederica of Greece on a national tour went to post civil war Agios Achilleios in 1951 and her visit was marked by Greek patriotic festivities and religious events.^[18]

In the late 1960s, Greek archaeological excavations of the basilica identified the remains of Saint Achillius and Tsar Samuel.^[12] In 1981, a Greek military helicopter transported the relics of Saint Achillius to Larissa and were reinterred in its cathedral.^[19] Bulgaria made failed attempts at repatriating Samuel's remains which are stored at the University of Thessaloniki.^[20] The bishop of Florina in 1971 erected a large cross upon the highest point on the island with an inscription at its base dedicated to "the sacrifices and martyrdom of Greek people".^[21] The village was in a sensitive border zone for most of the Cold War and access was inaccessible to non–residents without a special permit.^[22]

Agios Achilleios is a heritage site and tourist destination.^[23] Some of the architecture of Agios Achilleios consists of old stone houses.^[24] A floating bridge connects Agios Achilleios to the mainland.^[25] The modern village economy is based on fishery and livestock.^[24] Some inhabitants in Agios Achilleios are fishermen.^[26] Fish are caught through a traditional local form of fishing called "Pelaizia", it involves fishermen in boats using long sticks to scare, encircle with nets and drive fish toward shoreline traps made of branches.^[26] The Prespa Cultural Festival is held yearly on the island in late August.^[27][28]

The population of Agios Achilleios was 64 in 1920, 113 in 1928, 100 in 1940 and 31 in 1981.^[29][30] In fieldwork done by anthropologist Riki Van Boeschoten in late 1993, Agios Achilleios was populated by Slavophones.^[29] The Macedonian language was spoken in the village by people over 30 in public and private settings.^[29] Children understood the language, but mostly did not use it.^[29] Agios Achilleios had 21 inhabitants in 2011.^[30] The modern village population is small and in decline.^[24]