Listed 27 sub titles with search on: History for wider area of: "MESSINIA Prefecture PELOPONNISOS" .
MESSINIA (Ancient area) MESSINIA
The earliest inhabitants of Messenia are said to have been Leleges.
Polycaon, the younger son of Lelex, the king of Laconia, married the Argive Messene,
and took possession of the country, which he named after his wife. He built several
towns, and among others Andania, where he took up his residence. (Paus. i. 1.)
At the end of five generations Aeolians came into the country under Perieres,
a son of Aeolus. He was succeeded by his son Aphareus, who founded Arene, and
received the Aeolian Neleus, a fugitive from Thessaly. Neleus founded Pylus, and
his descendants reigned here over the western coast. (Paus. i. 2.) On the extinction
of the family of Aphareus, the eastern half of Messenia was united with Laconia,
and came under the sovereignty of the Atridae; while the western half continued
to belong to the kings of Pylus. (Paus. iv. 3. § 1.) Hence Euripides, in referring
to the mythic times, makes the Pamisus the boundary of Laconia and Messenia ;
for which he is reproved by Strabo, because this was not the case in the time
of the geographer. (Strab. viii. p. 366.) Of the seven cities which Agamemnon
in the Iliad (ix. 149) offers to Achilles, some were undoubtedly in Messenia;
but as only two, Pherae and Cardamyle, retained their Homeric names in the historical
age, it is difficult to identify the other five. (Strab. viii. p. 359; Diod. xv.
66.)
With the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians a new epoch commences
in the history of Messenia. This country fell to the lot of Cresphontes, who is
represented as driving the Neleidae out of Pylus and making himself master of
the whole country. According to the statement of Ephorus (ap. Strab. viii. p.
361), Cresphontes divided Messenia into five parts, of which he made Stenyclerus
the royal residence.1 In the other four towns he appointed viceroys, and bestowed
upon the former inhabitants the same rights and privileges as the Dorian conquerors.
But this gave offence to the Dorians; and he was obliged to collect them all in
Stenyclerus, and to declare this the only city of Messenia. Notwithstanding these
concessions, the Dorians put Cresphontes and all his children to death, with the
exception of Aepytus, who was then very young, and was living with his grandfather
Cypselus in Arcadia. When this youth had grown up, he was restored to his kingdom
by the help of the Arcadians, Spartans, and Argives. From Aepytus the Messenian
kings were called Aepytidae, in preference to Heracleidae, and continued to reign
in Stenyclerus till the sixth generation, -their names being Aepytus, Glaucus,
Isthmius, Dotadas, Sybotas, Phintas, -when the first Messenian war with Sparta
began. (Paus. iv. 3.) According to the common legend, which represents the Dorian
invaders as conquering Peloponnesus at one stroke, Cresphontes immediately became
master of the whole of Messenia. But, as in the case of Laconia, there is good
reason for believing this to be the invention of a later age, and that the Dorians
in Messenia were at first confined to the plain of Stenyclerus. They appear to
have penetrated into this plain from Arcadia, and their whole legendary history
points to their close connection with the latter country. Cresphontes himself
married the daughter of the Arcadian king Cypselus; and the name of his son Aepytus,
from whom the line of the Messenian kings was called, was that of an ancient Arcadian
hero. (Hom. Il. ii. 604, Schol. ad loc.; comp. Grote, Hist. of Greece, vol. ii.
p. 437, seq.)
The Messenian wars with Sparta are related in every history of Greece,
and need not be repeated here. According to the common chronology, the first war
lasted from B.C. 743 to 724, and the second from B.C. 685 to 668; but both of
these dates are probably too early. It is necessary, however, to glance at the
origin of the first war, because it is connected with a disputed topographical
question, which has only recently received a satisfactory solution. Mt. Taygetus
rises abruptly and almost precipitously above the valley of the Eurotas, but descends
more gradually, and in many terraces, on the other side. The Spartans had at a
very early period taken possession of the western slopes, but how far their territory
extended on this side has been a matter of dispute. The confines of the two countries
was marked by a temple of Artemis Limnatis, at a place called Limnae, where the
Messenians and Laconians offered sacrifices in common and it was the murder of
the Spartan king Teleclus at this place which gave occasion to the First Messenian
War. (Paus. iii. 2. § 6, iv. 4. §2, iv. 31. §3; comp. Strab. vi. p. 257, viii.
p. 362.) The exact site of Limnae is not indicated by Pausanias; and accordingly
Leake, led chiefly by the name, supposes it to have been situated in the plain
upon the left bank of the Pamisus, at the marshes near the confluence of the Aris
and Pamisus, and not far from the site of the modern town of Nisi (Nesi, island),
which derives that appellation from the similar circumstance of its position.
(Leake, Morea, vol. i. p. 361.) But Ross has discovered the ruins of the temple
of Artemis Limnatis on the western slope of Mt. Taygetus, on a part of the mountains
called Volimnos (Bolimnos), and amidst the ruins of the church of Panaghia Volimniatissa
(Panagia Bolimniatissa). Volimnos is the name of of a hollow in the mountains
near a mountain torrent flowing into the Nedon, and situated between the villages
of Sitzova and Poliani, of which the latter is about 7 miles NE. of Kalamata,
the ancient Pherae. The fact of the similarity of the names, Bolimnos and Limnai,
and also of Panagia Bolimniatissa and Artemis Limnatis, as well as the ruins of
a temple in this secluded spot, would alone make it probable that these are the
remains of the celebrated temple of Artemis Limnatis; but this is rendered certain
by the inscriptions found by Ross upon the spot, in which this goddess is mentioned
by name. It is also confirmed by the discovery of two boundary stones to the eastward
of the ruins, upon the highest ridge of Taygetus, upon which are inscribed Horos
Lakedaimoni pros Messenen. These pillars, therefore, show that the boundaries
of Messenia and Laconia must at one period have been at no great distance from
this temple, which is always represented as standing near the confines of the
two countries. This district was a frequent subject of dispute between the Messenians
and Lacedaemonians even in the times of the Roman Empire, as we shall see presently.
Tacitus calls it the Dentheliates Ager (Hist. iv. 43); and that this name, or
something similar, was the proper appellation of the district, appears from other
authorities. Stephanus B. speaks of a town Denthalii (Denthalioi, s. v.: others
read Delthanioi), which was a subject of contention between the Messenians and
Lacedaemonians. Alcman also (ap. Athen. i. p. 31), in enumerating the different
kinds of Laconian wine, mentions also a Denthian wine (Denbis oinos), which came
from a fortress Denthiades (ek Denthiadon erumatos tinos), as particularly good.
Ross conjectures that this fortress may have stood upon the mountain of St. George,
a little S. of Sitzova, where a few ancient remains are said to exist. The wine
of this mountain is still celebrated. The position of the above-mentioned places
will be best shown by the accompanying map.
But to return to the history of Messenia. In each of the two wars
with Sparta, the Messenians, after being defeated in the open plain, took refuge
in a strong fortress, in Ithome in the first war, and in Eira or Ira in the second,
where they maintained themselves for several years. At the conclusion of the Second
Messenian War, many of the Messenians left their country, and settled in various
parts of Greece, where their descendants continued to dwell as exiles, hoping
for their restoration to their native land. A large number of them, under the
two sons of Aristomenes, sailed to Rhegium in Italy, and afterwards crossed over
to the opposite coast of Sicily, where they obtained possession of Zancle, to
which they gave their own name, which the city has retained down to the present
day. Those who remained were reduced to the condition of Helots, and the whole
of Messenia was incorporated with Sparta. From this time (B.C. 668) to the battle
of Leuctra (B.C. 371), a period of nearly 300 years, the name of Messenia was
blotted out of history, and their country bore the name of Laconia, a fact which
it is important to recollect in reading the history of that period. Once only
the Messenians attempted to recover their independence. The great earthquake of
B.C. 464, which reduced Sparta to a heap of ruins, encouraged the Messenians and
other Helots to rise against their oppressors. They took refuge in their ancient
stronghold of Ithome; and the Spartans, after besieging the place in vain for
ten years, at length obtained possession of it, by allowing the Messenians to
retire unmolested from Peloponnesus. The Athenians settled the exiles at Naupactus,
which they had lately taken from the Locri Ozolae; and in the Peloponnesian War
they were among the most active of the allies of Athens. (Thuc. i. 101-103; Paus.
iv. 24. § 5, seq.) The capture of Athens by the Lacedaemonians compelled the Messenians
to quit Naupactus. Many of them took refuge in Sicily and Rhegium, where some
of their countrymen were settled; but the greater part sailed to Africa, and obtained
settlements among the Euesperitae, a Libyan people. (Paus. iv. 26. § 2.) After
the power of Sparta had been broken by the battle of Leuctra (B.C. 371), Epaminondas,
in order to prevent her from regaining her former influence in the Peloponnesus,
resolved upon forming an Arcadian confederation, of which Megalopolis was to be
the capital, and at the same time of restoring the Messenian state. To accomplish
the latter object, he not only converted the Helots into free Messenians, but
he despatched messengers to Italy, Sicily, and Africa, where the exiled Messenians
had settled, inviting them to return to their native land. His summons was gladly
responded to, and in B.C. 369 the new town of Messene was built. Its citadel or
acropolis was placed upon the summit of Mt. Ithome, while the town itself was
situated lower down on the slope, though connected with its acropolis by a continuous
wall. (Diod. xv. 66; Paus. iv. 27.) During the 300 years of exile, the Messenians
retained their ancient customs and Doric dialect; and even in the time of Pausanias
they spoke the purest Doric in Peloponnesus. (Paus. iv. 27. § 11; comp. Muller,
Door. vol. ii. p. 421, transl.) Other towns were also rebuilt, but a great part
of the land still continued uncultivated and deserted. (Strab. viii. p. 362.)
Under the protection of Thebes, and in close alliance with the Arcadians (comp.
Polyb. iv. 32), Messene maintained its independence, and the Lacedaemonians lost
Messenia for ever. On the downfall of the Theban supremacy, the Messenians courted
the alliance of Philip of Macedon, and consequently took no part with the other
Greeks at the battle of Chaeroneia, B.C. 388. (Paus. iv. 28. § 2.) Philip rewarded
them by compelling the Lacedaemonians to cede to them Limnae and certain districts.
(Polyb. ix. 28; Tac. Anns. [p. 345] iv. 43.) That these districts were those of
Alagonia, Gerenia, Cardamyle, and Leuctra, situated northward of the smaller Pamisus,
which flows into the Messenian gulf just below Leuctra, we may conclude from the
statement of Strabo (viii. p. 361) that this river had been the subject of dispute
between the Messenians and Lacedaemonians before Philip. The Messenians appear
to have maintained that their territory extended even further south in the most
ancient times, since they alleged that the island of Pephnus had once belonged
to them. (Paus. iv. 26. § 3.) At a later time the Messenians joined the Achaean
League, and fought along with the Achaeans and Antigonus Doson at the battle of
Sellasia, B.C. 222. (Paus. iv. 29. § 9.) Long before this the Lacedaemonians appear
to have recovered the districts assigned to the Messenians by Philip; for after
the battle of Sellasia the boundaries of the two people were again settled by
Antigonus. (Tac. Ann. l. c.) Shortly afterwards Philip V. sent Demetrius of Pharus,
who was then living at his court, on an expedition to surprise Messene; but the
attempt was unsuccessful, and Demetrius himself was slain. (Polyb. iii. 19; Paus.
iv. 29. §§ 1-5, where this attempt is erroneously ascribed to Demetrius II., king
of Macedonia.) Demetrius of Pharus had observed to Philip that Mt. Ithome and
the Acrocorinthus were the two horns of Peloponnesus, and that whoever held these
horns was master of the bull. (Strab. viii. p. 361.) Afterwards Nabis, tyrant
of Lacedaemon, also made an attempt upon Messene, and had even entered within
the walls, when he was driven back by Philopoemen, who came with succours from
Megalopolis. (Paus. iv. 29. § 10.) In the treaty made between Nabis and the Romans
in B.C. 195, T. Quintius Flamininus compelled him to restore all the property
he had taken from the Messenians. (Liv. xxxiv. 35 ; Plut. Flamin 13.) A quarrel
afterwards arose between the Messenians and the Achaean League, which ended in
open war. At first the Achaeans were unsuccessful. Their general Philopoemen was
taken prisoner and put to death by the Messenians, B.C. 183; but Lycortas, who
succeeded to the command, not only defeated the Messenians in battle, but captured
their city, and executed all who had taken part in the death of Philopoemen. Messene
again joined the Achaean League, but Abia, Thuria, and Pharae now separated themselves
from Messene, and became each a distinct member of the league. (Paus. iv. 30.
§§ 11, 12; Liv. xxxix. 49; Polyb. xxiv. 9, seq., xxv. 1.) By the loss of these
states the territory of Messene did not extend further eastward than the Pamisus;
but on the settlement of the affairs of Greece by Mummius, they not only recovered
their cities, but also the Dentheliates Ager, which the Lacedaemonians had taken
possession of. (Tac. Ann. iv. 43.) This district continued to be a subject of
dispute between the two states. It was again assigned to the Messenians by the
Milesians, to whose arbitration the question had been submitted, and also by Atidius
Geminus, praetor of Achaia. (Tac. l. c.) But after the battle of Actium, Augustus,
in order to punish the Messenians for having espoused the side of Antony, assigned
Thuria and Pharae to the Lacedaemonians, and consequently the Dentheliates Ager,
which lay east of these states. (Paus. iv. 31. § 2, comp. iv. 30. § 2.) Tacitus
agrees with Pausanias, that the Dentheliates Ager belonged to the Lacedaemonians
in the reign of Tiberius; but he differs from the latter writer in assigning the
possession of the Lacedaemonians to a decision of C. Caesar add M. Antonius (
post C. Caesaris et Marci Antonii sententia redditum ). In such a matter, however,
the authority of Pausanias deserves the preference. We learn, however, from Tacitus
(l. c.), that Tiberius reversed the decision of Augustus, and restored the disputed
district to the Messenians, who continued to keep possession of it in the time
of Pausanias; for this writer mentions the woody hollow called Choerius, 20 stadia
south of Abia, as the boundary between the two states in his time (iv. 1. § 1,
iv. 30. § 1). It is a curious fact that the district, which had been such a frequent
subject of dispute in antiquity, was in the year 1835 taken from the government
of Misthra (Sparta), to which it had always belonged in modern times, and given
to that of Kalamata. (Ross, Reisen im Peloponnnes, p. 2.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
MESSINI (Ancient city) ITHOMI
(Paus. 4,29,1-12).
At this time, it may be explained, the Lacedaemonians had finally overcome both the Helots and Messenians, with whom they had been at war over a long period, and the Messenians they had allowed to depart from Ithome under a truce, as we have said, but of the Helots they had punished those who were responsible for the revolt and had enslaved the rest.
KORONI (Ancient city) PETALIDI
A Boeotian, repeoples Corone, his tomb.
AMFIA (Ancient city) MESSINIA
During the 1st Messenian War the Spartans seized the town and destroyed it killing all the Messenians. Amphea was probably located to the N of Ithome, at the fords from ancient Messenia to Laconia, to the E of the village Katsarou or near the village Tryfa (Papyrus Larousse Britannica Encyclopedia).
KYPARISSIA (Small town) MESSINIA
MESSINI (Ancient city) ITHOMI
...and Messene was destroyed by the Lacedaemonians but restored by the Thebans and afterward by Philip the son of Amyntas. The citadels, however, remained uninhabited.
METHONI (Ancient city) MESSINIA
Now the Illyrians, having tasted empire and being always desirous of more, built ships, and plundering others whom they fell in with, put in to the coast of Mothone and anchored as in a friendly port. Sending a messenger to the city they asked for wine to be brought to their ships. A few men came with it and they bought the wine at the price which the inhabitants asked, and themselves sold a part of their cargo. When on the following day a larger number arrived from the town, they allowed them also to make their profit. Finally women and men came down to the ships to sell wine and trade with the barbarians. Thereupon by a bold stroke the Illyrians carried off a number of men and still more of the women. Carrying them on board ship, they set sail for the Ionian sea, having desolated the city of the Mothonaeans.
This extract is from: Pausanias, Description of Greece. Harvard University Press
Cited Aug 2002 from Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
SFAKTIRIA (Small island) PYLOS
In like manner the Lacedaemonian reverse made Sphacteria known to all mankind. The Athenians dedicated a bronze statue of Victory also on the acropolis as a memorial of the events at Sphacteria (Paus. 4.26.6).
EIRA (Ancient fortress) MESSINIA
Aristomenes and the soothsayer Theoclus had received a divination which said that the end of the Messenians was not far. This came true when, one stormy night, the Lacedaemonians managed to enter the acropolis of Ira and started fighting the Messenians, who were not prepared for this. The battle lasted several days, and even the Messenian women fought in any way they could. Theoclus and Aristomenes, though, knew that this was the end. Theoclus decided to die in battle but advised Aristomenes to take the Messenian people and lead them out of the acropolis to their saviour.
This extract is from: Pausanias, Description of Greece. Harvard University Press
Cited Aug 2002 from Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
METHONI (Small town) MESSINIA
In the northest part of the west coast of the Peloponnese, lies the
great fortress of Methoni. In the small peninsula, that was already fortified
from ancient times, there has always been a city, renown for its harbour. It has
been identified to the city Pedasus that Homer mentions under the name "ampeloessa"
(of vine leaves), as the last of the seven"evnaiomena ptoliethra", that Agamemnon
offers Achilles in order to subdue his rage. Thucydides (2,25) notes that the
fortification of the city during the Peloponnesian war (431 π.Χ.) wasn't strong.
Pausanias names the city Mothoni -and Mothonians its inhabitants- and mentions
that it was named after either the daughter of Oineas or after the small islet
-that was later fortified- the name of which was "Mothon Lithos ". The rock protected
the port of Methoni and at the same time stopped the large sea turbulation. The
people of Nafplion settled
in Methoni after the end of the 2nd Messinian was because they were chased away
by the Argeians as allies of the Lacaedemonians. Even after the independence of
Messinia from the Spartans
(369 π.Χ.) the Nafpleians continued to live in the area because they had maintained
a friendly attitude towards the Messinians who returned to their homeland. During
the 4rth century B.C. Methoni was fortified with more elaborately and continued
to remain autonomous to the imperial roman years, when it enjoyed the favour of
some emperors. During the Byzantine years it continued to remain a remarkable
harbour and one of the most important cities of the Peloponnese, home of the bishop.
The Venetians started having their eye on the harbour of Methoni since
the 12th century, since "it was in the middle of the route from Venice to
the East". Moreover, in 1125, they had lanched an attack against the pirates
who used it as a shelter, because they had captured Venetian traders on their
way home from the East. When the Franks had Constantinople
under a siege in 1204, Geoffrey de Villehardouin strayed with his ship to Methoni
on his way to Constantinople and had to spend winter in the area. He then accepted
the invitation of the local lord Ioannis Kantakouzinos to help him occupy the
Western Peloponnese and "success crowned the arms of this unnatural alliance".
When Kantakouzinos died, his son tried to break the alliance, with no success,
since Villehardouin had understood that the conquering of the Peloponnese by the
Latins would be easy work.
Methoni initially, together with Koroni, were given to Geoffrey de
Villehardouin. The Chronicle of Moreas mentions the reception of the Franks by
the inhabitants. "They came out with the crosses, as well as with icons and came
and kneeled before Kampanesis and they all sworn themselves his slaves to the
death".
In 1206, however, the Venetians occupied the two cities and their
domination was established in the spring of 1209 with a treaty signed with Villehardouin,
who made all the necessary consents that would guarantee him the help of Venice
for the final subordination of the Peloponnese. Life was organised in Methoni,
as well as Koroni, according
to the interests of Venice and the two cities became guardians of its interests,
the "most important eyes of the State" to the trade and sea routes to and from
the east. The Venetians fortified Methoni, which developed, as well as Koroni,
into an important trade center with great prosperity. There are detailed descriptions
in the venetian archives of the organisation and authority of the two messinian
colonies of Venice as are on the image that they projected during the second half
of the 14th century and mainly after the famish, when it was necesarry for them
to be populated with "a new body of colonisers from the metropolis". It
was only natural to attract the attentions of the Turks, who, despite the treaties
with Venice, were harbouring the notion of conquering the area. Vaghiazit B',
in late 1500, gathered his forces against Methoni, "Port-Side of Frank Greece,
the important middle station between Venice and the Holy Lands, where every traveller
stopped on their way to the East. A pilgrim who went by in 1484 admired its strong
walls, the deep moats and the fortified towers" ten years later it was more fortified.
Vaghazit, despite the hard siege, would not have been able to invade it if the
inhabitants, thrilled by the arrival of reinforcements, hadn't deserted the walls,
a fact that the yenitsars took advantage of and invaded the tower from the governor's
palace. The city was given to the flames, the Catholic bishop was killed while
talking to the people, the men were decapitated, the women and children were sold
to slavery. On the 9th of August 1500 "Methoni fell after having been in the hands
of the Venetians for about three hundred years. Happy for his trophy, Vagiazit
made the yenitsar who first climbed the walls a santakbei, meaning a provincial
commander and on the first Friday after the invasion, when the fire went out,
he went to the desecrated cathedral to offer his thanks to the god of battle,
to whom, as he confessed, when he was looking into the deep moat, owed the conquering
of this fortified city". The desolation was so complete that he ordered families
to be sent "from every village of Morias" so that Methoni regains its population
again. The walls were repaired and the period of the first turkish occupation
began. In 1531 the Knights of St John landed on the port of Methoni, planning
to occupy the previously Venetina colony. Initially, they managed with a conspiracy
to disembark and take out the guards. But the occupation of the fortress was not
completed because turkish reinforcements arrived that forced them to leave, after
having ransacked the town and arrested 1600 prisoners. In 1572 the shores of Methoni
were threatened by Don Juan of Austria, who did not manage to occupy it in the
end.
During the whole of the 16th and 17th century, even though the look
of Methoni hasn't changed, the decline in all sectors is obvious. In June 1686
the forces of Morozini had Methoni under siege, which was deserted by the Turks
on the 10th of July. The walls, that suffered substantial damages during the siege
were repaired and new inhabitants were sent to reinforce the population of the
town. However, this second period of Venetian occupation did not last for long.
In 1715 the Turks launched a siege to the castle and the Venetian defenders, deserted
it terrified leaving via the sea gate. During this second period of Turkish occupation
the decline was complete. As is apparent from the travellers' descriptions, the
population was reduced, the battlements were in bad condition and the harbour
became shallow. The most important trade conducted was that of slaves! The disappoinment
that the travellers of the era felt, is also obvious in F. Chateaubriand's Tour,
where its story is considered "with no glory".
In 1825 Imrahem occupied Methoni and settled in the command building,
over the entrance of the castle. In the same building, the French general Maison
who freed the town together with others in the Peloponnese, settled in 1829.
Nowadays the walls of the fortres, even though in ruins, continue
to be impressive. The castle of Methoni occupies the whole are of the cape and
the southwestern coast to the small islet that has also been fortified with an
octagonal tower and is protected by the sea on its three sides. It's north part,
the one that looks to land, is covered by a heavily fortified acropolis. A deep
moat seperates the castle from the land and communication was achieved by a wooden
bridge. The Venetians builded on the ancient battlements and added on and repaired
it during both periods that they occupied the castle.
Its entrance is roughly in the middle of the north side and is accessed
by a stone bridge of 14 arches, that was built over the moat by the techniciats
of Expedition scientifique de Moree, that accompanied general Maison. At the same
time the gate was renovated, which with its monumental form constitutes one of
the most impressive features of the castle. The other is the area it occupies.
The entrance gate ends in a curviform arch framed on the right and left by pilasters
with corinthian capitals. It is considered to be the work of Venetians after 1700.
On the right and left of the entrance two large battlements can be seen. On the
east part is the one built by general Antonio Loredan, during the second period
of Venetian occupation.
That is when the moat that surrounded the battlmemets was expanded
towards teh land and work was done on the bank of soil, that bears a plaque with
a relief of the Lion of St. Mark. On the west edge is the Bembo battlement, which
was built during the 15th century, The north side of the walls had reached its
final form in the beginning of the 18th century and it retains it to this day.
The north part of the walls reach 11 metres in height and the two battlements
communicated through a passage. The wall is fortified with square towers on the
NE side and a large round one on the NW. In order to build that they used well
worked stoned that were lined with mortar. In some parts they used ancient construction
material, easily seen nowadays in one of the north side towers as well as on the
south part of the walls.
Right after the central gate, a domed road opens up that leads through
a second gate and then a third in the interior of the castle, where the habitable
part was and which was seperated from the north part with a vertical low wall
(approximately 6 meters), fortified with five towers (four square and one octagonal)
is dated to the period after 1500, when the Turks tried to reinforce the population
and the fortification of the caste. In the interior there are ruins of the houses
where the venetian lords lived during the period of rise, the paved street that
led to the sea gate, the ruins of a turkish bath, the Byzantine church of St.
Sophia, close to which a slate with latin lettering was found (dating back to
1714), parts of doric pillars, a monolithic granite pillar (1493/4), unlined,
with a capital on the top of byzantyne style, which is supposed to have supported
either the winged lion of Venice or the bust of Morozini. That is why it is called
"Morozini's stele". There was an inscription on the capital that has not survived
to this day. On the left of the entrance are the ruins of the building which originally
Imbrahem used as a residence in 1826 and later general Maison. The French of the
liberating corps remained in the area till 1833 and the construction of the church
of Santa Sotira, which is still in the castle is attributed to them. In the interior
of the castle there are also a few cisterns and the remains of the british prisoner's
cemetary during the 2nd World War.
On the south part of the walls rises the spectacular sea gate which
has recently been restored. It is comprised of two tall square towers (16 meters)
that are linked with a platform (about 18 meters long and 6 wide) that is crowned
with bastions. The gate opens in the center, and it ends uo in an arch on the
top. The towers are build with large poros stones and had rooms in their interior.
A stone-paved stretch leads over a small bridge to the small fortified islet of
Bourtzi. This is the
place where many soldiers and inhabitants of Methoni were slaughtered, when the
Turks occupied the fort in 1500.
Bourtzi is dated back to the period after 1500 and has been used in
various instances as a prison. It has a two-floor octagonal tower. On each floor
there is a parapet with bastions. The tower finishes in a round dome. On the lower
floor there was a cistern and the whole works, with small defensive value, is
dated during the first period that the Turks occupied the fortress.
The west part of the walls is not as well costructed as the others.
The wall was fortified with 5 square towers and chonologically it dates to the
first period, when the Venetians occupied the fortress. This part with the rocks
and the rough sea makes it hard to attack the castle and this is probably why
there was not much attention paid to its construction. Moreover, this part of
the castle seems to have suffered less damages as well as less repairs. It was
here that during the 2nd World War, after an exlposion, parts of well constructed
stones from the ancient walls of Methoni were found. Ancient constructing material
has also been used in the foundations of one of the square towers. In the interior
of the walls, ruins of turkish military establishments are preserved.
The east side of the walls also reached initially to the sea. Nowadays,
a long strand of beach lies in front of a large part of it. Parallel to the east
wall, up to the Bourtzi, there was a pier and this is where the small fortified
harbour was formed (mandrachio), while the big one was to the northeast where
ships could be pulled. The wall was fortified with towers on this side as well.
The long east side has suffered many repairs, performed on the initial venetian
battlements of the 13th century, mainly during the second venetian occupation
and the turkish occupation. In one of the towers parts of the byzantine fortification
are preserved. On the east side there was a small gate protected by a tower. On
the southeastern part the ruins of a turkish tower are preserved.
On various parts of the fortification there are venetian emblems with
the winged lion of St. Mark and inscriptions. This is the case on the north part
of the Loredan battlement, where there is an inscribed plaque from the time when
general Loredan was in command in the Peloponnese. On the north wall, on the right
of the main entrance, there is also a plaque with the coat of arms of the families
of the Foscarini, Foscolo and Bembo, to which the inscription denotes the construction
of the Bembo battlement, just before 1500.
The castle of Methoni rises deserted and isolated today. When the
winter winds hit its walls the locals say that you can hear the screams of the
prisoners and the unjustly killed in the Bourtzi.
The best time to enjoy Methoni is the late afternoon, from the hill
opposite. Then the light of the sun that is ready to sink on the side of the Ionian,
glides over the large walls crowning them with dull tones. A sweet tranquility
dominates everything.
The above text comes from the book "Castles of the Peloponnese"
Athens 1993, by ADAM Publications
This text is cited Febr 2004 from the Municipality of Methoni URL below, which contains images.
ITHOMI (Mountain) MESSINIA
Mountain of southwestern Peloponnese,
north of Messene.
This mountain served as a refuge to Helots in rebellion against Sparta
in 464. When, about a century later, Epaminondas, the Theban general, after his
victory over Sparta at Leuctra
(371) freed the Messenian Helots of Sparta's dominion, it is at the foot of Mount
Ithome that they built their capital city, Messene.
Bernard Suzanne (page last updated 1998), ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Plato and his dialogues URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
MESSINI (Ancient city) ITHOMI
City of southwestern Peloponnese,
west of Sparta, in the district
of Messenia. Messenia
had been conquered by Sparta
during the VIIIth century B. C., and most of its population had become slaves
of Sparta, under the name
“Helots”, so that an earlier city by the name of Messene no longer
existed.
Some fleeing Messenian eventually ended up in Sicily,
where they took over the city of Zancle
and rebaptized it Messina in memory of their former city.
After Epaminondas, the Theban general, following his victory over
Sparta at Leuctra
(371), freed the Messenian Helots of Sparta's dominion, they rebuilt Messene at
the foot of Mount Ithome.
Bernard Suzanne (page last updated 1998), ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Plato and his dialogues URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
MESSINIA (Ancient area) MESSINIA
District of southwestern Peloponnese,
west of Sparta, around the
city of Messene.
Messenia had been conquered by Sparta
during the VIIIth century B. C., and most of its population had become slaves
of Sparta, under the name
“Helots”. It was freed of Spartan dominion by Epaminondas, the Theban
general, following his victory over Sparta
at Leuctra in 371.
Bernard Suzanne (page last updated 1998), ed.
This text is cited July 2003 from the Plato and his dialogues URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks.
GARGALIANI (Small town) MESSINIA
It is not clearly known when the town was built or from whom it got
its name. In the Venetian maps it is referred to with the name "GURGULIA".
Fr. Poukevil, who visited Gargaliani in 1805 says about it: "It does not
seem that this large village was more populated in the ancient times than it is
nowadays, since historians have forgotten about this place of the country which
is between Kiparissia
and Pilos." However,
it is certain that in Gargaliani during the post-roman era (150 AD- 950 AD) there
was a small settlement. This was testified by the Ancient Tombs which were discovered
in 1933 as well as large jar ditches in the north of the town, called "Anemomilos".
The various findings from the graves and ditches are from that period. There is
no doubt that the whole of the town plus the previous Municipality of Platamodas
and now Municipality of
Gargaliani was inhabited in prehistoric times.
There have been traces of inhabitants during the following:
•Proto-Hellenic period (3000-2000 BC) in Orntines, 7 km northwest of Gargaliani,
above the Lagouvardos Bay and near the south bank of the river.
•Mid-Hellenic period (2000-1600 BC) in Tsouka, 3 km east of Gargaliani, in
Kantamo 4km south of the town and in Kanalos, 4 km west of Gargaliani.
•Post-Hellenic period (1600-1400 BC) in Lagos, 7.5 km east of Gargaliani.
•Classic Years in Davanos, 2.5 km south of Gargaliani
•Hellenistic Years in Chouchlasti, 4 km west of Gargaliani.
•Roman Years in Vrisomilos, 7 km south of Gargaliani.
•Byzantine Years in Koutsouveri, 2.5 km north of Gargaliani.
During the Homeric Years the whole of the Municipality belonged to
the kingdom of Nestor. In ancient times, 6 kms southwest from Gargaliani in Dialiskari
there was a big and important town. Studying the various findings it is concluded
that the town was inhabited from the 4th century BC up to the 7th century AD.
During the Venetian Times, Gargaliani became part of the Arcadia region (TERRITORIO)
of Methoni prefecture and then of Messinia prefecture. In the Venetian scripts
of that time the town is referred to as GARGALIANO, which according to the historian
Paul Karolidis comes from the name Gargalos or Gargalianos and according to the
journalist M. Rodas, it comes from the Venetian exile in the area named GARGALIANO.
History (2nd Part)
At the beginning of the second Turkish Domination (1715) the Cathedral
of the town, "Virgin Mary's Birth" was completed; the building of it had started
during the Venetian times. One of the most important historical events of that
period (1715-1821) is the revolution of the Greek slavery against the Turks in
1770, which although it was encouraged by Russia, it did not get the Russian support
with failing as a result. In order to control that revolution, the Turkish Marshal
pasha Moustafa set off from Larissa,
he came all the way to Trifillia
and having controlled the revolution there, continued from Kiparissia to Gargaliani,
where he camped with 20,000 Turkish and Albanian infantrymen and horsemen. From
then he moved towards Neokastro (Pilos).
At the end of the 18th century, the senior-archimandrite Archbishop
of Christianoupoli Anthimos Andrianopoulos was appointed as the notable and chief
of Gargaliani. His brother Ioannis or Anagnostis served in the Russian Army and
he got up to the rank of a major. During that time the desert island Proti
which is opposite Gargaliani was used as a hideout by wild pirates, both local
and from other areas who found shelter in the bays, the rocks and the caves. The
security of the country had been disturbed since the Orlof period. During that
time Gargaliani was the headquarters of the Ottoman court. There is written evidence
that the Albanian cadi (judge) of Gargaliani arbitrarily decapitated six innocent
Gargaliani citizens in 1770.
On the eve of the Great Revolution, there were 1,000 residents in
Gargaliani, the houses were covered with shiny, red tiles and their gardens had
beautiful cypress-trees. Poukevil describes the scenery with the following words:
"Small mountains covered with vineyards, a scene full of picturesque forests,
the sweetness in the air smelling of countless flowers, the beautiful view of
the sea, make this place the most attractive in the whole of Messinia".
In 1812 the first school was established in Gargaliani, with teacher
the relative and fellow citizen of the national martyr Archbishop Grigorio the
5th, Mr. Kallinikos Kastorchis, who later became the principal of Kalamata and
later Archbishop of Fthiotida
and Lokrida.
During the Greek Revolution the political leader of the town was Antonios
Loukas, owner of a large property, who contributed to the development of the Revolution
with great amounts of money, the Army chief was Captain Dionisios Agapinos who
served throughout the Revolution with 50 local fighters under his supervision.
The Agapinos' family along with Dimitrios Papachristofilou were members of the
Society of Friends. Telos Agras, the famous chieftain of the Macedonian War was
their descendant and he got murdered by the Bulgarians; his real name was Sarantelos
Telas or Sarantos Agapinos. King Othon awarded the fighter Dionisios Agapinos
a medal and certificate of national gratitude.
The following fighters of the Revolution survived and were awarded
a distinction by king Othon: Theodoros Alexopoulos, Dimitrios Anagnostopoulos,
Ioannis Anagnostopoulos, Konstantinos Anagnostopoulos, Theodoros Vlachadamopoulos,
Panayiotis Diakoumopoulos, Nikolaos Kotaras, Athanasios Kousoulas, Athanasios
Krekoukias, Kostas Kritharas, Dimitrios Konstantinou, Georgios Nikolopoulos, Dionisios
Nikolopoulos, Athanasios Pantelopoulos, Georgios Papadimopoulos, Antonios Papachristofilopoulos,
Georgios Petropoulos, Dionisios Petropoulos, Spiridon Petropoulos, Georgios Skiadas,
Nikolaos Skoutzopoulos, Theodoros Chronopoulos, Dimitrios Christofilogiannopoulos.
After the disembarkation of Ibrahem's Egyptian Army in February 1825,
Gargaliani, due to its geographical position, became a passing-through place of
warriors heading for Neokastro (Pilos) and Old Navarino.
Ioannis Makrigiannis rushed to the castles, which were in danger and
under the government's orders, when he reached Gargaliani he recruited. As he
saw 1,600 men from the area of Gargaliani recruiting, he writes being moved: "They
are such decent people although they are few and far away". It was here in Gargaliani
that he met with his brother Petrobei Katzi, went to church, and took the Holy
Communion in the Church of Virgin Mary and set off for Navarino.
Between 1825 and until 1828 and during the numerous attacks of Ibrahem
to Trifillia, his army ransacked, burned down and destroyed Gargaliani and the
surrounding area including the whole plain of Trifillia. On the 23rd May 1825
Ibrahem himself with his army set off at 7am from Filiatra
came to Gargalianoi and left through Lagoudisti (Chora) to Neokastro and Methoni.
The residents of the town had found shelter in Kontovounia, Soulimohoria and Zourtsa
following the government's order. On October 7th 1825, Ibrahem with 23,000 soldiers
invaded the plain of Trifillia and ransacked it until Kiparissia and mountainous
Trifillia through Pilos. The Egyptian Army did a new invasion on Trifillia from
Neokastro on 28th October 1827 during which Gargaliani along with the rest of
the area got ransacked and everybody who was there, unarmed and powerless got
killed. In the church of Virgin Mary there is an icon, which still shows the signs
of his atrocities. A lot of families, women and children in particular, had found
shelter in the Ionian Islands
and mainly in Zante throughout
the revolution from where they returned after the liberation.
The population of the town went through terrible difficulties because
of Ibrahem's repeated ransacks. The houses were burned and the land destroyed.
They had to start from scratch with no money or income. That is why after the
liberation, the citizens asked from the government to support them financially
for their agricultural needs.
After the liberation, in February 1829, the members of the French
Scientific Delegation following Marshal N. MAISON coming from Navarino, visited
Gargaliani. The French impressed by the warm welcome wrote in their report: "In
Gargaliani we made contact with the local people (the Greek people) and we feel
obliged to restore the bad reputation immediately which had been forced to form,
because we heard them slandering and because almost everywhere we only came across
beggars, weak and dirty people". This 'report' from the French, informed
us that from the 1,000 citizens of Gargaliani only 250 survived after the war.
After the liberation, Gargaliani kept improving and king Othon visited the town
on October 4th 1833, he stayed in Dionisios Skilodimas residence and on February
14th 1838 he and Amalia went back to Gargaliani and that time they stayed in Theodoros
Alexopoulos residence, an elder fighter.
The main product of the area until the 2nd World War was raisin, with
its production reaching 9,000 Venetian kilolitres.
Gargaliani started to develop mainly after 1850, when the raisin plantations
multiplied from year to year, but from 1893 the raisin trade started going through
great difficulties and it was then that many people immigrated from Gargaliani
to America. Among these was Theofrastos S. Anagnostopoulos, who immigrated in
1906 and lived in Baltimore, USA and later had a son, Spiros Agniou, who became
the Vice President of the USA.
In the more recent history of Gargaliani and of the whole nation,
the young second lieutenant and Macedonian warrior-leader captain Telos Agras
(Sarantis Agapinos) stuck out. The following iconographers coming from Gargaliani
are also important to be mentioned: Ioannis G. Tabakis and Alexandros A. Diakoumopoulos.
Gargaliani paid a big death toll during the last wars (1912-1913, 1918-1922, 1940-1944)
until the final National settlement.
In the more recent years Dimitrios V. Briskas, the brother of the
Professor in Paris University Sotirios Briskas became a great benefactor. The
money he sent from the city FORT LAUDERDALE in America, was used to build the
Briskios City Library and the city Athletics Centre of Gargaliani.
This text is cited Oct 2003 from the Municipality of Gargaliani URL below
MESSINIA (Prefecture) PELOPONNISOS
Messini remained under Roman occupation and lived in a carefree way
until 395/396 A.D. when it was attacked and probably plundered by the Germans
(Visigothi) of Alarichos.
Despite that, it is probable but also without evidence that the city
kept on its historic life as it is proved by the foundation of fourty houses of
residents who lived in this contemporary archaeological site from the fourth to
the seventh century, until about 700 A.D.
When the inhabitants of Messini became Christians they forgot all
about the Religious Tolerance which was granted to all the inhabitants by the
Decree of Mediolanos and, with the frenzy of the newly-initiated, they destroyed
every ancient statue they found in front of them.
The fragments were collected by Petros Themelis who found them in
an enclosed room in the «Gymnasio», while in the area of the ancient 'Agora' he
also found architectural parts of a pro-christian basilika (temple) where the
Bishop of Messini must have been officiating as a clergyman in the fourth century.
After the seventh century and for unknown reasons the presence of
Messini is lost from the history scene and only during the last Byzantine centuries
does the Byzantine temple of the Assumption (of the Virgin Mary) make its appearance
on its land, at the top of the mountain of Ithomi
or Voulkano. Finally, the extensive area of Messinia loses even its freedom in
the beginning of the thirteenth century.
In 1205 A.D. the Frank (=French) Goulielmos Samblites along with Godefredos-Villeardouinos
disembarked at Methoni and before 1212 A.D. the French had conquered the Peloponnese
and founded sovereignty, the «Principality of Achaia» whose capital was Andravida.
So, from 1205 to 1430, Messinia, except Methoni
and Koroni, was in the hands
of those conquerors, the most important of which was the «Prince of Achaia» and
occupant of Kalamata, Nisi,
Androusa, and temporarily
Arkadia (Kyparissia), Goulielmos
the 2nd Vileardouinos.
He had been born in Kalamata and that's why Greeks called him «Kalamata»
He was a very ambitious and daring man. While taking part in a military confrontation
in 1259, however, he was beaten by the Byzantine forces in the battle of Pelagonia,
near Kastoria, he was captured
and he had to yield the castles of Mystra,
Bofor and Great Mani in 1262 to the emperor Michael the seventh the Paleologos
(1258-1282) so that the could be released. Consequently, the Despotato of Mystras
was created and the land of Messinia became a part of it, in about 1430. After
the fall of Konstandinoupolis,
in 1453, the bigger part of Messinia surrendered to Mohamet the 2nd the Conqueror
in 1460, and the surrender was completed in 1500 when the next Sultan, Vagiazit
conquered Methoni, Koroni and Navarino
which was in the hands of Venetians.
About the ancient history of Messenia, see ancient country: Messinia
This text is cited June 2003 from the Messenia Prefecture Tourism Promotion Commission URL below, which contains image.
The occupation of messinian land lasted until the 23rd March 1821
when, thanks to the efforts of Filiki Eteria, the heroic captains of West Mani,
the chieftains of Messinia and their brave men, the liberation of the Country
started from Kalamata making
it the first free Greek city.
The liberation of Messinia was completed in 1827 with the intervention
of the Superpowers and the naval battle of Navarino
on 20 October 1827 but it was not until the next year that General Mezon's french
expeditionary force made Ibrahem abandon Peloponnese
via Methoni on the 28th September
1828.
Finally, after 1832, and the recognition of the Proclamation of Independence
of Greece by the Sultan, free life finally started for Greek people.
About the ancient history of Messenia, see ancient country: Messinia
This text is cited June 2003 from the Messenia Prefecture Tourism Promotion Commission URL below, which contains image.
MESSINIA (Ancient area) MESSINIA
Because of its Mediterranean and mild climate Messinia was first inhabited
by people from the «Early Palaeolithic years» (26000-9000 B.C) The
first inhabitants of «Messini» as the country was first called, were the Leleges
from Lelegia (Lakonia) who were brought by Polykaon and his wife, Messini and
settled in the country, according to Pausanias.
We don't have sufficient information on the physical appearance of
this race, but the human skeletons which were found in the areas of Kokora Troupa
of Velika as well as in the cave; 'Apinema' of Inner Mani which is close to Itylo
and Alepotripa at Diro could
be attributed to people belonging to this race.
According to the archaelogical findings during the Neolithic Age there
was a civilization in the areas of Chora,
Epano Eglianou, Malthi,
where there is a neolithic acropolis on a hill, Handrinou
and Koryfasio.
The Protohellenic period (2600-2200 B.C) is represented in the areas
of Koryfasio, Epano Eglianos, Malthi, Kalamata
in the area of Akovitika,
where an extensive building complex and a manor house were recently discovered
as well as in ancient Thouria
and Finikounda.
In Malthi, Kyparissia,
Koryfasio, Epano Egliano, Pappoulia
and Tragana there was life
in the Mesohellenic period (2200-15580 B.C).
In about 2700 B.C, at the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of
the Protohellenic era, according to recent academic research, the Achaei (Greeks)
came and settled Messinia.
They were from Thessalia and later made Messinia the most densely
populated area of the Peloponnese.
Their settlement covered the entire land of Messinia from Alfios
to Methoni and from Kardamili
to Nomia, as the scattered domed and chamber tombs of the rulers and their subjects,
where human skeletons, signs of ceramic pottery, vases and ostraka were found
prove. During the Trojan war and at the foot of Taygetos
there were the seven homeric cities which were under the ruling of Agamemnon and
among these was the most important one, the city of Firon
(today: Kalamata).
Homer preserved names of its rulers as well; Ortilohos and Dioklis.
But the most important homeric city was in western Messinia and dominated the
area of the Ionian coast from Alfios to Methoni.
It was the «Emathoes Pylos» of Neleas, Nestoras and their successors
until 1200 B.C approximately, when the palace was burnt down by arsonists. Some
invaders, may be the «Races of the sea» suppressed the military forces of Pylos
and generally the Mycaeneans and crushed their power.
Taking advantage of the annihilation of the military force of the
Kings of the Peloponnese, the hellenic race of the Dories descended from the Greek
Mainland (Sterea Ellada) and
invaded almost all the Peloponnese
in 1120 B.C.
The results of the Descent of the Dories or Iraklidon to Messinia
were a lot of generations (families) of Pylion,
who belonged to the dynasty of Neledon, who abandoned Pylos and settled Attica.
They took there the worship of goddess-glafkas of Athena, they renamed
the well-known mountain of Attica «Egaleo»
after the mountain in Pylos,
the contemporary Agia, and Melanthos, father of the Athenian King Kodros, became
the first Athenian king of messinian descent. Many other eminent personalities
at Athens like Kleisthenes, Pericles, Solon, Plato as well as Aristotle were of
Pylian descent, too.
This text is cited May 2003 from the Messenia Prefecture Tourism Promotion Commission URL below.
After the Descent of the Dories in 1120 B.C. Kresfondis his wife Meropi
and the men of their military force settled in Upper Messinia, at «Steniclaro»,
while Lower Messinia, «Makaria» remained free until about 740 B.C. as the cities
of southwestern and western Messinia did. These were in the hands of the Pylians
which is a sign of the peaceful co-existence of Achaei and Dories.
In about 740 B.C, the Dories from Lakonia, believing that the valley
of the river Evrotas was
not enough to sustain them, laid eyes on the land of the Messinian people who
were of the same race as them.
On the pretext of a boundary dispute by the temple of Limnatidos Artemidos,
on Taygetos, they took military
action which is well-known as the (four) Messinian wars; that is, the first war
(740-720 B.C approximately) and the three revolutions which occasionally followed
until 460 B.C when the conquest of the region was completed.
Better-known is the Third Messinian war (500-489 B.C) , the «war of
Aristomenis», in which that heroic general with his men and the castle of Era
as a base for attack, led. His base was by the borders with Arkadia,
the contemporary Kakaletris and the Arkades were its allies. He was, however,
defeated and was forced to leave Messinia and find shelter in Rhodes where he
got ill and died without realizing this dream; to free his homeland.
One of the painful consequences of the Messinian Wars was the scattering
of some Messinians, who were made to abandon their country either willingly or
unwillingly and settle Regio
and Metapondio in Italy and
Zagli in Sicily
where they went after the Third Messinian war (500-489), and renamed it «Messini»(today,
Messina). Finally, after the fourth one, they scattered to Nafpaktos,
Kefallinia and to Messini
of Sicily, as the previous Messinians had done.
The Messinians remained enslaved to the Spartans and refugees away
from their homeland until 371 B.C. when the Theban general Epaminondas crushed
the military forces of the Spartans at Lefktra
in Boetia and realized with the Argae and the Arkades the rebuilding in 369 B.C
of the city of «Ithomi» which was in the south part of the feet of the mountain
bearing the same name. The fact that the refugee Messinians who returned, named
their new city «Ithomi» can be attributed to the fact that before the conquest
by the Spartans it bore the aforementioned name.
After 369 B.C., Messini, or «Messana» in the dialect of its Doric
inhabitants, started to prosper both financially and culturally and reached its
cultural peak in the period from 338 to 191 B.C. It was the capital of the federation
of the rest of the messinian cities, a fact that offered Messini financial prosperity
until 191 B.C. when the cities that participated in the federation detached from
it and joined the Achaic federation of Aegeo.
Finally, due to its interference into the affairs of Messini and those
of the Achaic federation, the Macedonians and the Romans, Messini surrendered
to the Romans in 146 B.C. having succeeded in Keeping the magnificent fortification
it had because of a temporary alliance with the Romans in 205 B.C. Its fortification
was the strongest in Greece and equal to those of Rhodes
and Byzantio.
About the modern history of Messinia see Messinia,
prefecture
This text is cited June 2003 from the Messenia Prefecture Tourism Promotion Commission URL below, which contains image.
NOUDION (Ancient city) TRIFYLIA
A town in the W. of the Peloponnese, founded by the Minyae.
ITHOMI (Acropolis) MESSINIA
Epiteles, the Argean general, found the famous sheet of metal of Aristomenes near Ithome, after having a vision of Kaukon, the mythical hero. This sheet of metal with a ritual of the gods and Epiteles, who acted under Epaminon’s order, revived Messenia that the Spartans had subjugated after the Third Messenian War.
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