The precise date of the Monastery's establishment is not known, as it has been destroyed and looted numerous times over the years. The oldest inscription remaining today is the famous palindrome "Nipson anomimata mi monan opsin" ("Wash your sins and not only your face") on a fountain with the date 1701.
There is a fable explaining the establishment of the monastery: A Christian from Preveliana Monofatsiou (Heraklion County) stop ed ajanissary and was helped to escape to Lambini village in the district of Agio Vassilios.
There, he presented himself to Aga Albanis, who entrusted him with the care of a flock of sheep. The sheep were located at the current site of the Monastery, where at the time the remains of a church destroyed by the Turks could be seen. Many years later, for his own reasons, the shepherd decided to rebuild the monastery, using the three hundred coins he took with him when he left the village, and had hidden at "tou Listi o Trochalos", near Krya Vrissi village. It is said that the Monastery took its name in honour of the shepherd's place of origin.
According to a different version, which seems more convincing, a feudal lord named Prevelis, who lived in Adraktos, established the monastery at the church of Agios loannis on his fiefdom. In fact, 6 of the 16 monks at the Monastery were from Adraktos, and some were even from the Preveli family.
Today, only ruins of the Lower Preveli Monastery (Kato Moni) remain. The ceilings have caved in, leaving only the walls. However, the fountain at the entrance still spouts water... Rear Preveli Monastery (Piso Moni) is two kilometres away from its twin, and continues to operate as an abbey. The view from the Monastery is magical. It looks onto the open Libyan Sea. This is a place of worship, tranquillity and meditation. However, you should also learn of its adventurous past and the role it played in the fight for liberation. Today there are five monks who will give you a guided tour of the Monastery, provided it is not too crowded by other tourists... In 1770, abbot Ephraim participated in the Daskalogiannis revolution, stop ing jenissary Gioussouf Farsar, and was sentenced to stop . However, he managed to escape, and when he was pardoned he returned to the monastery. He bought large pieces of land and fields and donated them to the monastery.
Later, in 1817, the abbot was Michail Tsouderos, a member of the Filiki Etairia (a secret organisation established in Odissos in 18 14 with the objective to liberate Greece from the Turks). When the Turks heard of his activities, in 182 I, they arrived at the Monastery in order to arrest and hang him, making him an example for others. They used the excuse that they were there to take away the weapons he was hiding, but the abbot suspected the purpose of their arrival and gave them some
old weapons, having made sure to hide the new ones in caves by the sea prior to their arrival.
He then offered them a rich meal with plenty of wine, which dulled their senses and calmed their hostile attitude. Then the abbot seized the opportunity, and he and the other monks took all their valuables and left the monastery. On May 25th, 182 I, they hoisted the first Revolutionary flag in Rodakino village.
The monastery continued to be a refuge for persecuted Christian revolutionaries in the years to come, in 1866, and at the same time it aided Michail Tsouderos' revolutionary corps. In 1867 Rechit Pasha destroyed the monastery, but it was quickly restored, and abbot Neilos Volonakis organised another revolutionary corps there. Many more years later, during the German occupation, the monastery was pillaged yet again, and the invaders tried in vain to sell off its wealth. The buildings that one sees in the Monastery today are not the original ones. There is a wood-carved templon containing masterpieces of religious paintings, with detailed depictions of biblical scenes, some of which date from 1750. The monastery's temple is a simple popular double-aisled temple, built in 1836, containing the old abbot's quarters, which currently serve as guest-rooms. You will also find a small museum with 19th century icons, documents preserved from 1798, and the monastery's registers from the 19th century.