The village derives its name from the river (the Greek word for river is potamόs) that runs through it, and which is a branch of Kourris, one of the largest rivers on the island.
The first inhabitants of the village may have been refugees who escaped here when the Karaman Turks destroyed their nearby village of ‘Rogia’. According to the local legend, when the inhabitants settled in the area they started building their church on the left side of the river; each night their work was reduced to rubble and each morning they had to start rebuilding. Desperate, the inhabitants called a meeting to decide what to do. The headmaster solved the problem by swirling his trowel in the air and letting it go; they were to build the church where the trowel would land. The trowel landed on the right side of the river where is today the Monastery of Panagia Potamitissa (Virgin Mary of the River).
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