Saint Eleusa of Kythira commemorated on August 1

On 1 August the island of Kythira in Greece holds a local feast honoring Saint Eleusa, a 4th‑century Christian martyr. According to tradition, Eleusa was born in the Peloponnese, fled her pagan father, and lived as a hermit on the mountain that now bears her name. She was beheaded on 1 August 375 AD.

Pilgrims visit her shrine at the foot of the mountain, where a modest chapel was first built in the 19th century and later replaced in 1871 by a larger church erected on the ruins of the earlier structure. The celebration includes religious services and the continuation of ancient customs that date back to early Christian worship on the island.