Just beyond the palace of Odysseus (St. Athanasius) is the fountain  of "Calamus" which supplied water to the palace tenants, their employees, many suitors but mainly to the inhabitants of the city of Ithaca.

The area of Platrithias lies 20km from Vathy and only 3km from Stavros village and it has been inhabited since the ancient years. I n the middle Ages due to the presence of pirates population moved to the mountains.