Laconia
Laconia General Information
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, has its administrative capital in
Sparti. It is bounded by the Taygetus mountains to the west with
Messenia, Arcadia to the north and with the Parnon mountains to the
northeast, the Myrtoan Sea to the east and the Gulf of Laconia and the
Mediterranean Sea to the south.
The Evrotas is the longest river in the prefecture. The valley of the
Evrotas is predominantly an agricultural region that contains many
citrus groves, olive groves and pasture lands and most of all, oranges.
It is the location of the largest orange production in the Peloponnese
and probably all of Greece. The brand of orange juice named after this
prefecture Lakonia is based in Amyclae and sells fresh orange juice
entirely from this region.
Towns & Sights
Sparti,
the
capital of the prefecture, lies near the site of ancient Sparta.
Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the River
Eurotas. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power
in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the
combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars. Helots were the
majority inhabitants of Sparta (over 80% of the population according to
Herodotus). Between 431 and 404 BC Sparta was the principal enemy of
Athens during the Peloponnesian War. By 362 BC Sparta's role as the
dominant military power in Greece was over.
There is little to marvel at on the site of ancient Sparta, since from
the 6th century B.C. its citizens lived amidst such austerity. Their
way of life was said to be their only monument. Traces of the Acropolis and theatre
(2nd or 1st century B.C.) can be seen, but much of the marble that
formed the seats was removed to use of Mystra.
The Leonidaion is a replica of a temple (6th century B.C), this
monument to Leonidas contained the bones of the hero of Thermopylai: it
lies to the north of Sparta.
The sanctuary of Artemis Orthia was an Archaic temple (6th century B.C)
that lies about 1 kilometer from the Acropolis of Sparta. It was the
scene of some unusual rites, including the flogging of Spartan boys,
performed in honor of the goodness.
Amykles
is a village and an archaeological site located southwest of Sparta.
The Bronze Age settlement lay on the slopes above the modern village of
Amykles. It was conquered by the Spartans as the fifth of the
surrounding settlements whose subjection initiated the history of
Sparta, in the eighth century BC.
Gytheio
has long been known as the seaport of Sparta some 40 km away. Gytheio
used to be an important port for many centuries until it was destroyed
by an earthquake. Today it is the largest and most important town in
Mani.
Monemvasia,
known by the Franks as Malvasia, is a well-known medieval fortress with
an adjacent town, located on a small peninsula off the east coast of
the Peloponnese. The peninsula is linked to the mainland by a short
causeway 200m in length. The ruins include the defensive structures and
many Byzantine churches. The town's name derives from two Greek words,
mone and emvassia, meaning "single entrance". Many of the streets are
narrow and fit only for pedestrians.
Mystras
was a fortified town in Morea (the medieval Peloponnese), on Mt.
Taygetos, near ancient Sparta. In the 14th and 15th centuries, it
served as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea,
experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering. The site
remained inhabited throughout the Ottoman period, when it was mistaken
by Western travellers for ancient Sparta. It was abandoned in the
1830s, when the new town of Sparti was built, approximately eight
kilometres to the east. In 1989 the ruins, including the fortress,
palace, churches, and monasteries, were named a UNESCO World Heritage
Site.
Elafonisos
is a small Greek island between the Peloponnese and Kythira. It lies
off the coast of Cape Malea and Vatika. The area of the island is 19
km˛. It is by far the largest inhabited island in the Peloponnese
archipelago, and the only one that is a separate community. There are
also some archaeological discoveries to explore on the island and in
the surrounding waters. The main church of the community is Agios
Spyridon, which is built on a tiny separate piece of land which is
connected by a bridge over shallow waters to the rest of the island.
Laconia History
In ancient Greece this was the principal region of the Spartan state.
Throughout classical antiquity the Spartan sphere of influence expanded
to Messenia, whose inhabitants (the helots) were permanently enslaved.
Significant archaeological recovery exists at the Vaphio tomb site in
Laconia. Advanced Bronze Age art is found here, and evidence of
cultural associations with the co-temperaneous Minoan culture on Crete.
Laconia was at war with the Kingdom of Macedonia and saw several
battles; at the end of the Mycenean period population of Laconia
declined.
From the early-2nd century BC until 395 it became a part of the Roman
Empire. In the medieval period it formed part of the Byzantine Empire,
and following the Crusades it was the home of the Byzantine Despotate
of Morea, held by the penultimate Greek ruling dynasty, the
Palaiologoi.
Laconia was finally liberated after the Greek War of Independence of
1821, and after victory in battle, Sparta was selected capital of the
modern prefecture; its economy and agriculture expanded.
Flooding ruined olive and citrus crops along the Evrotas river, as well
as properties and villages there in early 2006.
In the summer of 2006, a terrible fire devastated a part of the Mani
Peninsula, ruining tens of its villages and crops, along with its
forests.
In recent memory, the fire lasted for several days, turning stone-built
houses into a rubble-like area, and occurred again a year later,
devastating some properties but was smaller than last year's fire.
Another one in the last days of July 2007, in the vicinity of Skourta,
once more, in the same peninsula, ruined some groves and forest; it was
a minor fire and lasted for a day only.
