Listed 5 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "PYLOS Municipality MESSINIA" .
Pylos is built on the south part of Messinia by the bay of Navarino
combining mainland architecture with the beauty of an island and constitutes a
commercial and administrative centre for Southwest Messinia. It is an important
centre for the refuelling of ship as it is on the course of the ship which join
the markets of the West to those of the East. It is an archaeological, historical
and touristic place. Its port is one of the best and the safest natural ports
of the Mediterranean and it has become famous for the naval battle that took place
there on the 20th October 1827 between the fleet of Ibrahem Pasha and the Turks
against the Allied forces of England-France-Russia. The Allied forces won, which
brought about the victory of the Greek fighters during the Revolution against
the Turkish invaders.
Ancient Pylos (Koryfasio) is thought to have been in the area of cape
Koryfasio in the north of the contemporary city. The homeric Pylos was initially
settled by the mythological Pylo with the Leleges from Megara. Nileas from Ioklos
of Thessaly forced Pylo to leave and established his own kingdom which became
famous because of the wise King, Nestoras, who built his royal palace on the hill
of Eglianos. In 1831, the rock of the subsequent Navarino is invaded by the Navarrei(Vaski)
of Jacob De Bo, who built the castle Castle of Navarrei.
In 1573, the Turks become the lords of the city and construct another
castle at the mouth of the port which is named «Niokastro». After the battle at
Sfaktiria, in May 1825, Ibrahem Pasha obtains the castle again and drives out
its Greek revolutionary defenders. The historical Naval battle of Navarino seals
the struggle of Greeks for freedom, establishing Pylos as a place for friendship
and co-operation among the nations.
Today, Pylos is an administrative and commercial centre for the Southwest
Messinia, 52 Km away from Kalamata, with excellent touristic infrastucture like
hotels, restaurants and marinas for boats and yachts.
This text is cited March 2003 from the Messenia Prefecture Tourism Promotion Commission URL below, which contains image.
SFAKTIRIA (Small island) PYLOS
It is located in the west part of the bay of Navarino and blocks it from the Ionian Sea. It is a historic place and has been connected with the great victory of Athenians over the Staptans during the Peloponnesean War in 425 B.C. under the guidance of general Demosthenes who forced the garrison of the island to surrender after being besieged by the navy for 72 days. In memory of this victory the sculptor Paeonios created the magnificent statue of the «Victory of Paeonios». Greeks and Philhellenes, during the Revolution of 1821, met a tragic death fighting against Ibrahem Pasha in May 1825 when he came from Egypt to help Turks suppress the Greek Revolution.
This extract is cited March 2003 from the Messenia Prefecture Tourism Promotion Commission URL below, which contains image.
An island off shore from the Bay of Navarino. It belonged to Sparta after the second Messenian war. In 425 B.C. during the Peloponnesian war it was the site of the famous battle that ended with the Athenian capture of 400 Spartans who had landed on the island. The remains of the ancient fort in which the Spartans sought refuge (Thuc. 4.31.2), on the mountain of Haghios Elias in the N section of the island, which have been visited and described by many scholars, are no longer easily recognizable. They were destroyed by military installations during WW II.
M. G. Picozzi, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 7 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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