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... REGION: Peloponnese ... Prefecture: Laconia ... / Ancient Sparta \ ... / Byzantine State of Mystras \ ... / Castle of Monemvasia \ ... Historic region in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese, southern Greece. The present department of Laconia corresponds closely to the ancient province, which was bounded by Arcadia and Argolis on the north and Messenia in the west. Sparta, capital of the modern department, was once the capital of the ancient province. Laconia has three distinctive topographic zones, running north-south and incorporating two of the three peninsulas of the southern Peloponnese: (1) the Taíyetos (ancient Taygetus) Mountains in the west, including Mount Ilías 2,404 m, the highest mountain of the Peloponnese, running south to the promontory of Cape Taínaron at the tip of the isolated Máni peninsula; (2) the central valley of the Evrótas River; and (3) the dissected eastern hills, which rise in the north to 1,935 m in Mount Párnon, terminate at the end of the Maléa peninsula, and reappear in the hills of the offshore islands of Elafónisos and Cythera (Kithira). Laconia's only large rivers are the Evrótas River and its tributary, the Oinoús River. The coast, especially in the east, is rugged, with few good harbours. Neolithic sites (before 2500 BC) are found in the Evrótas valley, the Maléa peninsula, and elsewhere; Yeráki, a quiet village southeast of Sparta, has been occupied continuously since Neolithic times and has remains from several periods of its history. In the Late Mycenaean period (1400-1100 BC) numerous settlements were founded; Laconia was a strong kingdom ruled by Menelaus, according to Homer. The Dorian Invasion (about 1100 BC) brought widespread destruction to the Peloponnese, and several centuries passed before Laconia began to reemerge. Throughout the classical period, the history of Laconia is that of its capital, Sparta, which at that time was called Lacedaemon. In 195 BC towns on the coast were freed by Rome and became members of the Achaean League, which eventually included all of Laconia. In AD 267 and again in 395, Visigoths devastated Laconia, and in about 587 Slavic incursions brought on two centuries of barbarism. In 805 Laconia became part of the Byzantine Empire, and throughout the Middle Ages it was the scene of struggles between Slavs, Byzantines, Franks, Turks, and Venetians. Tradition holds that the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine Palaeologus, was crowned in the church of Hagios Demetrios, which still stands at Mistrás, just southwest of Sparta. In the Greek War of Independence (1821-29), inhabitants of the Máni peninsula played a prominent part. The most important archaeological work--apart from that in Sparta, Gythium, and Vapheio--has been the systematic survey of Laconia begun in 1904 by the British School of Athens and continued intermittently. In antiquity the Taygetus range yielded iron and marble, while green porphyry (lapis lacedaemonius) was quarried at Croceae (modern Krokeaí).Hard stones, naked hillsides. Bays and coves torn by the sea and the wind. Men harder than the stones around them. Proud beings, these Maniots. Every so often at the edge of the sea a small hamlet sprouts up. A series of mountain villages higher up. The towers of the Mani are well-known. Made of stone and fearless souls. You see one tower, then another and another. Later heavy silence falls and you see Itillo before you. Deserted beaches for solitary roaming. Opposite stand the ruins of the fortress of Keleta. Fur- ther on beneath a steep cliff lies the little harbour of 28 Limeni. High above looms Taigetos, its peaks forbidding and inaccessible. The haunt of the goddess Artemis. Areopolis. Sharp rocks and white stones. A harsh and remote landscape. It takes its name from Ares (Mars), god of war. Honour and bravery. The courage of the Maniots is le- gendary. Ancestral glory. It echoes through the cobbled alleys of the city and in the corridors of the Kapetanaki Tower (a GNTO guest-house). Pirgos Dirou. Towers everywhere. The most famous of aII is the one belonging to the Sklavounakos family. The Diros caves. Many-splendoured colours. Stalactites and stalagmites form figures in a tight embraceAwe and wonder. Then comes the tiny bay Mezapos, dotted with ruined towers. One looms above them aII from its perch on a hich cliff, the ruined Castle of the Mani, Maina, which gave its name to the peninsula. Nothing here but stones, prickly pears and a few gnaried olive trees. Gerolimenas. Some houses and a pier chockablock with caiques. Rest and relaxation in a friendly tavernaki. Calm and tranquillity. To the north lie the towers of Kita and Nomia. To the south the village of Alika among the prickiy pears. Further on the steep cape of Kiparissos. There was a temple to Poseidon here. The oracle and sanctuary of the Laconians and the temples of Demeter and Aphro- dite. Still further the little road to Marmari and the cave of Hades. Where the descent to the Underworld began. This is the cavern Orpheus braved in his search for the lost Eurydice. Beyond it lies Cape Tenaro or Matapas with its huge lighthouse followed by Porto Kagio, a refuge for quail and storks. (You have to prowl about ceaselessly with the map to find these places or else take the more usual route, a ride around the peninsula by caique). You come to wheat fields and olive trees. Knolls crested with towers.

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