In a snug northwestern corner of the mountainous region of Nafpaktia - just where the borders of Evritania and Trichonida meet - lies the little village of Perista. It consists of about 200 little white houses, and rests on the western face of the Xerovouni mountain. A small plateau sticks out along the bottom edge of the village, extending in length from Stavrouli to the Prosilia, and all the way to Karoula, giving villagers the illusion of stability and security. In reality, the plateau is what keeps the villagers from being constantly aware of the abyss that lies below them: the deep ravines of Lidora and of Saras, which lead - almost at a sharp, vertical drop - to the dark green waters of the Kakkavos and Fidari rivers down below.

The beautiful but wild scenery does lead one to wonder: why would any people want to populate such a desolate area?

Demographically speaking, Perista is shrinking. Its permanent inhabitants have been dwindling in number, but small pockets of Peristians still live in Thermo, Agrinio, Nafpakto and Mesologgi, in Patras and in Athens, Thessaloniki and many other major Greek cities. Peristians have emigrated to the United States, Canada, and Australia. All of this may have started when the road from Thermo was finally built, and was subsequently extended past Perista to Platanos and finally Nafpaktos and the world beyond.

There is evidence that there was life in the village in ancient times. Papanikolas dug up some old copper weapons, pots, and pans when he first planted his vineyards at Prosilia during the Balkan wars. Other examples include the large ancient vessels found shortly before Papanikolas' time at Lainakia, the Byzantine tower above Ai-Lia, and the traces of ancient buildings at Lakoi.

At the start of the eighteenth century, the village consisted of 15 large families, seven priests, and three churches. At the time, the village itself was situated slightly below its present position, on the plateau between Lakk's, Kallikranias, and Kokkaliaras.
The village's patron church was Agios Apostolos, but it sank and was destroyed during a great mudslide in 1917. A smaller church was also located at Mantzodimitreika, near the Kostaiki Fountain, and a third one later became the village's main church; it was located behind the old St. Athanasios.

Head priest was Father Papainaki-Economos (1745-1830); subsequent generations of priests included the more recent Papageorgis, Papailias, and Papanikolas. The latter served the village community for a full 30 years not only as priest, but also as a leader, folk doctor, veterinarian, and engineer. Papainaki was also an important figure during the Greek fight for independence, since he was one of the few people in the mountainous Nafpaktia region with a house spacious enough for secret meetings and conferences.

Village life was calm and prosperous during the years following the Revolution. Sloping mountainsides were being cultivated with wheat, corn, and bean plants, as well as apple, pear, and cherry trees. Vineyards were a common sight as well. The agricultural produce was enough to feed not only the region's inhabitants, but was also plentiful enough to be exported for profit. Sheep, cows, mules, pigs and chickens also dotted the landscape, and provided the villagers with animal pelts and dairy products, used both for their own consumption and also for trade at other villages. The most profit-making enterprise for the villagers by far, however, was the silkworm trade. They sold the cocoons - often for a good sum of money - to wholesalers who made the long trek from Patras or even Athens. The silkworm trade was so profitable, in fact, that it led one Akropolis journalist to describe Perista as "the poorest village in Greece with the richest inhabitants."

Very few traces of these profitable trades remain in the Perista of today. Many say that the greatest blow to the village economy was a great mudslide - estimated to have occurred about 150 years ago - which resulted in about a third of the Xerovouni mountainside sliding down about 500 meters to dam up the swollen Kakkavo river.The river eventually burst through the dirt dam, hopelessly destroying the road and taking with it trees and property.

Houses may have been rebuilt and lands re-cultivated, but the consequences were long lasting. A major water source for the village was lost when the stream bearing water to Giona (near the top of the village) was rerouted, and ended up pouring into the Kakkavos farther downriver. The stream had been used to water the same trees whose leaves were used to feed the silkworms. Eventually, the trees slowly withered, the silkworm trade suffered, the lush gardens dried up, and the livestock died out; as a result, poverty became a daily fixture of village life.
But men do not give up as easily as nature. The men of the village began to depart for better, more fertile lands. At first they headed for "Vlaxia" (Romania), where some believed that milk and honey flowed freely in the streets. They left in caravans, either by foot or on their already burdened mules, laden with belongings. The crossed through the Ottoman-occupied lands of Thessalia, across the Greek region of Macedonia and into Bulgaria, finally reaching the Danube and Romania. The entire trip took six months.

Those that did not meet with success in Romania crossed the Atlantic to try their luck in the United States. A few of the first Peristians to make the trek included Xatzinikolaou, Kommatas, Tarkazikis, Sakellaris, Andreopoulos and others. Each of them left at a very young age, during the last decade of the 1800s. Their financial success in the United States acted as a catalyst for the rest of the village men, causing a mass exodus of almost biblical proportions in the years preceding the Balkan wars (1912-4). The years following the exodus were prosperous ones for Perista, since the constant flow of dollars from the US served to build the church, the school, and the village roads.

The village was left with nothing but women, infants, elementary-school aged children, and the very elderly. Two men - and priests at that - lived permanently in the village. The first was Papanikolas, a dynamic, knowledgeable figure. The second was Daniel (Dimitrios Thanasoulis), who became a monk and a hermit. He lived near Pirgouli, where he devoted himself to God and nature, and during his lifetime contributed greatly to the esthetic and religious life of Perista. He was responsible for building Ai-Lias, the little church located on the road towards the village of Platanos, and renovating the church of Aghia Sotira. He also dug wells, planted hundreds of trees, and built a guest house for visitors and travelers in the area. Daniel died when he was hit by a mortar round during the war, in 1948.

In the years following World War II, it was not only men but entire families that left the village to seek a better life elsewhere - either in the cities of Greece or in other continents, including the United States and Australia. What remains in Perista today are 200 well-built homes, and most of them are empty during the winter months. A few elderly women are the permanent inhabitants of the village, and they live far from their children and grandchildren, waiting for the time when they will join their buried family members in the village graveyard.