Messenia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Messenia Prefecture Νομός Μεσσηνίας

Periphery	Peloponnese
Capital	Kalamata
Population	180,264 (2005)Ranked 15th
Area	2,991 km² Ranked 15th
Population density	60.3/km²Ranked 19th
Number of provinces	4
Number of municipalities	29
Number of communities	2
Postal codes	24x xx
Area codes	272x0, 276x0
Licence plate code	ΚΜ
ISO 3166-2 code	GR-17

Messenia (Greek: Μεσσηνία, in Modern Greek Messinia; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a prefecture in the Peloponnese, a region of Greece. Messenia is bounded on the east by Mount Taygetus, on the north by the river Neda and the Arcadian Mountains, on the south and west by the sea.

1 History
2 Climate
3 Transportation
4 Population
5 Communications
- 5.1 Television
6 Municipalities and communities
7 Islands
- 7.1 Provinces
8 External links

[edit] History

Historically and economically the most important part of Messenia is the great plain, consisting of two distinct portions, watered by the river Pamisus (mod. Pirnatza) and its affluents. This is the most fertile tract in Greece, and at the present day produces oranges, citrons, almonds, figs, grapes and olives in great abundance and of excellent quality. The plain, is bounded on the north by the Nomian Mountains (modern Tetrási, around 1,570 m, 5210 ft.) and their westerly extension, on the west by the mountains of Cyparissia (around 1,300 m, 4000 ft.), a southern continuation of which forms the south-west peninsula of the Morea, attaining its greatest height in Mt Mathia (mod. Lykódimo about 950 m, 3160 ft.). Off the south coast of, this peninsula lie the three Oenussae islands and the islet of Theganussa (Venetikó).

The earliest inhabitants of Messenia are said to have been Pelasgians and Leleges, of whom the latter had their capital at Andania. Then came an Aeolo-Minyan immigration, which apparently extended to Messenia, though the Pylos of Nestor almost certainly lay in Triphylia, and not at the site which in historic times bore that name. In the Homeric poems eastern Messenia is represented as under the rule of Menelaus of Sparta, while the western coast is under the Neleids of Pylos, but after Menelaus’s death the Messenian frontier was pushed eastwards as far as Taygetus.

Excavations at Pylos and Nichoria have revealed for Messenia's late Bronze Age (1300s BC) a bureaucratic, agricultural kingdom ruled by the wanax at Pylos. The Messenians spoke Mycenaean Greek, and worshipped the Greek gods at local shrines like that at PA-KI-JA-NE (*Sphagianes).

Later Greeks agreed that a body of Dorians under Cresphontes invaded the country from Arcadia, and, taking as their capital Stenyclarus in the northern plain, extended, first their suzerainty, and then their rule over the whole district. However, given that the Arcadian language is a direct and conservative descendent of Mycenaean Greek, it is more likely that the Dorians pushed the native Messenians into Arcadia.

Map of ancient Messenia

The task apparently proved an easy one, and the Dorians blending with the previous inhabitants produced a single Messenian race with a strong national feeling. But the fertility of the soil, the warm and genial climate, the mingling of races and the absence of opposition, combined to render the Messenians no match for their hardy and warlike neighbours of Sparta. War broke out—in consequence, it was said, of the murder of the Spartan king Teleclus by the Messenians - which, in spite of the heroism of King Euphaes and his successor Aristodemus ended in the subjection of Messenia to Sparta (c. 720 BC). Two generations later the Messenians revolted and under the leadership of Aristomenes kept the Spartans at bay for some seventeen years (648 BC—631 BC, according to Grote): but the stronghold of Ira (Eira) fell after a siege of eleven years, and those Messenians who did not leave the country were reduced to the condition of helots. The next revolt broke out in 464 BC, when a severe earthquake destroyed Sparta and caused great loss of life; the insurgents defended themselves for some years on the rock-citadel of Ithome, as they had done in the first war; but eventually they had, to leave the Peloponnese and were settled by the Athenians at Naupactus in the territory of the Locri Ozolae. After the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC), Epaminondas invited the exiled Messenians scattered in Italy, Sicily, Africa and elsewhere to return to their country: the city of Messene was founded in 369 BC to be the capital of the country and, like Megalopolis in Arcadia, a powerful check on Sparta. Other towns too were founded or rebuilt at this time, though a great part of the land still remained very sparsely peopled. But though independent Messenia never became really powerful or able to stand without external support. After the fall of the Theban power, to which it had owed its foundation, it became an ally of Philip II of Macedon and took no part in the battle of Chaeronea (338 BC). Subsequently it joined the Achaean League, and we find Messenian troops fighting along with the Achaeans and Antigonus Doson at Sellasia in 222 BC. Philip V sent Demetrius of Pharos to seize Messene, but the attempt failed and cost the life of Demetrius: soon afterwards the Spartan tyrant Nabis succeeded in taking the city, but was forced to retire by the timely arrival of Philopoemen and the Megalopolitans. A war afterwards broke out with the Achaean League, during which Philopoemen was captured and put to death by the Messenians (183 BC), but Lycortas took the city in the following year, and it again joined the Achaean League, though much weakened by the loss of Abia, Thuria and Pherae, which broke loose from it and entered the League as independent members. In 146 BC the Messenians, together with the other states of Greece, were brought directly under Roman sway by L. Mummius. For centuries there had been a dispute between Messenia and Sparta about the possession of the Ager Dentheliales on the western slope of Taygetus: after various decisions by Philip of Macedon, Antigonus, Mummius, Caesar, Antony, Augustus and others, the question was settled in 25 by Tiberius and the Senate in favour of the Messenians (Tac. Ann. iv. 43).

In the middle ages Messenia shared the fortunes of the rest of the Peloponnese. Striking reminders of these conflicts are afforded by the extant ruins of the medieval strongholds of Kalamata, Coron (anc. Asine, mod. Korone), Modon (Methone) and Pylos. At the present day Messenia forms a department, now a prefecture with its capital at Kalamata.

About less than half of the population live within GR-7, in places from Allagi to S of Kalamata, along with the plain as the Kalamata-Messene metropolitan area, Peloponnese's third largest metropolitan city. Kalamata has an airport 5 km W of Kalamata. A harbor and port named from this city is not far from the downtown, originally connected with train tracks. It is one of the largest waterfronts in the peninsula.

[edit] Climate

Climate may vary, in the lowlands, temperatures are a bit warmer than Athens. Snow is not common during winter months except for the mountains especially the Taygetus. Rain and clouds are common inland.

For one day in July 2000, morning temperatures were at the 37°C point in many areas.

[edit] Transportation

There are four major highways in Messenia:

Greek National Road 7, N, Cen.
Greek National Road 9, NW, W, SW
Greek National Road 9A, NW, N
Greek National Road 82, SW, Cen., E

[edit] Population

Year	Population	Density
1991	167,292	- 56/km²
2001	172,875	57.7/km²

[edit] Communications

[edit] Television

Notioi Elliniki Teleorasi, lit. the Southern Greece Television

[edit] Municipalities and communities

Municipality	YPES code	Seat (if different)
Aetos	3802	Kopanaki
Aipeia	3803	Longa
Andania	3804	Diavolitsi
Androusa	3805
Arfara	3808
Aris	3806
Aristomenis	3807
Avia	3801	Kampos
Avlona	3809	Sidirokastro
Chiliochoria	3831	Chandrinos
Dorio	3812
Eira	3813	Neda
Filiatra	3830
Gargalianoi	3811
Ithomi	3815	Valyra
Kalamata	3816
Koroni	3817
Kyparissia	3818
Lefktro	3819	Kardamyli
Meligalas	3821
Messene	3822
Methoni	3820
Nestoras	3823	Chora
Oichalia	3824	Meropi
Papaflessas	3825	Vlachopoulo
Petalidi	3826
Pylos	3827
Thouria	3814
Voufrades	3810	Chatzis
Community	YPES code	Seat (if different)
Trikorfo	3828
Tripyla	3829	Raptopoulo

[edit] Islands

Venetiko, southeast
Sapientza
Schiza, southwest. In April 19, 1991, an AB205 crashed on the island, no deaths were reported
Sphagia/Sfagia

[edit] Provinces

Province of Kalamata - Kalamata
Province of Messene - Messene
Province of Pylia - Pylos
Province of Tryfilia - Kyparissia

[edit] External links

The external links in this article may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies.
Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. Please remove this tag when this is done. This article has been tagged since October 2006. (talk)