Esphigmenou Monastery - Name

Name

The monastery's name translates to Greek literally as tightened. There exist conflicting traditions regarding the naming of the monastery. One attributes the name to the fact that the monastery is built on a stretch of land, tightened by three surrounding hills and the sea. Byzantine emperor John Komnenos in his book Proskynetarion tou Agiou Orous tou Athonos (Greek: Προσκυνητάριον του Αγίου Όρους του Άθωνος) describes the monastery thus:

It is called "Esphigmenou" because it is restricted by three small mountains, close to the sea.

Another tradition attributes the name to the monk that either founded or renovated the monastery. It recounts that he used to wear a tight rope around his waist, therefore the monastery got the name "of the tightened".