Palaiopyrgos (Greek: Παλαιόπυργος, "Old Tower", before 1957: Μποντιά - Bontia or Bodia[1]) is a village in the municipal unit Levidi, Arcadia in Greece. Its mediaeval name was Bodia or Bodea. It is best known as the source of the syrtos botiakos, a popular variety of the syrtos dance.
The village's mediaeval name Bodia is thought to be derived from the Slavic word boda,[2] meaning "winter quarters" (usually for sheep).[3] (The Peloponnese was invaded by Slavic nomads who ruled some areas from the seventh to ninth centuries CE; even after the restoration of Byzantine rule, some of these tribes retained their Slavic identity into Byzantine times). Even today, the neighbourhood of Palaiopyrgos contains Slavic toponyms.[2]
The first written reference to the village appears in a Venetian chronicle dated 1704, in which it is called "Bodea". An earlier reference in a Frankish chronicle dated 1205 refers to a "Pyrgos, on Mount Trachy," which may be Palaiopyrgos. The village, protected by its eponymous tower and local militia, fell to the Turks in 1715, during the last Turkish-Venetian War.[2] The first reference to the village in the Greek language is a document concerning the governor of the area, Rigas Palamides, and his rights vis-à-vis Bodia.[2]
The names of numerous villagers are recorded as having fought, many with distinction, in the Greek War of Independence, the Balkan Wars, World War II and the Greek Civil War.[2]
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