Gytheio ( el, Γύθειο, ) or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion ( grc, Γύθειον), is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality East Mani, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 197.313 km². It was the

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

, some north. Gytheio is the site of ancient

Cranae Cranae or Kranai ( el, Κρανάη ) (also Marathonisi) is an island off the coast of Gytheio (ancient Gythium) connected to the land by a causeway built in 1898. Etymology Some believe that the etymology for the name Cranae (Kranai) comes from ...

, a tiny island where according to legend Paris of Troy and Helen from

spent their first night together before departing for

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

, thus igniting the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...

. Gytheio used to be an important port until it was destroyed in 4th century AD, possibly by an earthquake. Even thereafter its strategic location gave Gytheio a significant role in Maniot history. Today it is the largest and most important town in Mani. It is also the seat of the municipality of East Mani.

Historical population

Geography

Gytheio is located in the northeastern corner of the Mani Peninsula and lies on the northwestern end of the

Laconian Gulf The Laconian Gulf ( el, Λακωνικός Κόλπος, translit=Lakonikos Kolpos), is a gulf in the south-eastern Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the southernmost gulf in Greece and the largest in the Peloponnese. In the shape of an inverted "U ...

. Gytheio was built on a hill called Koumaros or Laryssio in one of the most fertile areas in Mani, near the mouth of the Gythium River, which is usually dry and has been nicknamed ''Xerias'' "dry river"; today, most of the Xerias is covered by Ermou Avenue. Directly north and visible from the harbor is Profitis Ilias, the

ultra-prominent An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500. The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or fr ...

peak of

Taygetus The Taygetus, Taugetus, Taygetos or Taÿgetus ( el, Ταΰγετος, Taygetos) is a mountain range on the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. The highest mountain of the range is Mount Taygetus, also known as "Profitis Ilias", or "Prophet ...

, the mountain range whose spine juts southward into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

and forms the Mani Peninsula. On the ridgeline running south from Profitis Ilias sits the Monastery of Panayia Yiatrissa overlooking the valley toward Gytheio; the E4 hiking path connects the three, running south from Profitis Ilias, passing by the monastery, and leading to Gytheio. Northeast of Gytheio is the delta of the

Evrotas River The Eurotas ( grc, Εὐρώτας) or Evrotas (modern Greek: ) is the main river of Laconia and one of the major rivers of the Peloponnese, in Greece. The river's springs are located just northwest of the border between Laconia and Arcadia, at ...

. Offshore are several small islands; the most important of these islands is

, on which sits the Tzannetakis Tower (now the Historical and Cultural museum of Mani) and a lighthouse built of solid marble. Today Cranae is connected to the mainland by a causeway. Approximately 5 km (3 mi) southwest is a passageway to the deeper Mani, historically guarded b
Castle Passavas
(now in ruins), which towers over the site of ancient Las. Further west is the historic city of

Areopoli Areopoli ( el, Αρεόπολη; before 1912 , ) is a town on the Mani Peninsula, Laconia, Greece. The word ''Areopoli'', which means "city of Ares", the ancient Greek god of war, became the official name in 1912. It was the seat of Oitylo ...

and the Caves of Diros, which are important tourist attractions. Gytheio is only southeast of

Sparti Sparta ( el, Σπάρτη ) is a city and municipality in Laconia, Greece. It lies at the site of ancient Sparta. The municipality was merged with six nearby municipalities in 2011, for a total population (as of 2011) of 35,259, of whom 17,408 li ...

, connected by

Greek National Road 39 Greek National Road 39 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 39, EO39) is a national highway of Greece. It connects Tripoli with Gytheio via Sparti. It is connected with the Greek National Road 7 (Corinth - Kalamata) in Tripoli, with the Moreas Motorway (Co ...

. The town center is situated around the port. Pine trees are situated in the west and rocky mountains in the north.

Nearest Places

* South: Mavrovouni * Southwest: Castle Passava * West: Rachi * North: Stefania * East:

History

Port of Gytheio as seen from the promenade on October 23, 2012

The reputed founders of ancient Gythium were

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

and

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

, who frequently appear on its coins or in other legends, and

Castor and Pollux Castor; grc, Κάστωρ, Kástōr, beaver. and Pollux. (or Polydeukes). are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.; grc, Διόσκουροι, Dióskouroi, sons of Zeus, links=no, from ''Dîos'' ('Z ...

:Fermor. ''Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponesse.'', 302-303 the former of these names may point to the influence of

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n traders from Tyre, who, we know, visited the Laconian shores at a very early period. It is thought that Gytheio may have been the center of their purple dye trade because the Laconian Gulf had a plentiful source of

murex ''Murex'' is a genus of medium to large sized predatory tropical sea snails. These are carnivorous marine gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae, commonly called "murexes" or "rock snails".Houart, R.; Gofas, S. (2010). Murex Linnaeus, 175 ...

. In classical times it was a community of ''

Perioeci The Perioeci or Perioikoi (, ) were the second-tier citizens of the '' polis'' of Sparta until 200 BC. They lived in several dozen cities within Spartan territories (mostly Laconia and Messenia), which were dependent on Sparta. The ''perioeci' ...

'', politically dependent on Sparta, though doubtless with a municipal life of its own. In 455 BC, during the

First Peloponnesian War The First Peloponnesian War (460–445 BC) was fought between Sparta as the leaders of the Peloponnesian League and Sparta's other allies, most notably Thebes, Greece, Thebes, and the Delian League led by Athens with support from Ancient Argos, ...

, it was burned by the Athenian admiral Tolmides who besieged the city with 50 ships and 4,000

hoplites Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The f ...

. It was rebuilt and was most probably, the building ground for the Spartan fleet in the Peloponnesian War. In 407 BC during the Peloponnesian War, Alcibiades landed there and saw the thirty triremes the Spartans were building there. In 370 BC, the

Thebans Thebes (; ell, Θήβα, ''Thíva'' ; grc, Θῆβαι, ''Thêbai'' .) is a city in Boeotia, Central Greece. It played an important role in Greek myths, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus, Heracles and others. Archaeolo ...

under the command of

Epaminondas Epaminondas (; grc-gre, Ἐπαμεινώνδας; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greek general of Thebes and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre-eminent posit ...

besieged the city successfully for three days after ravaging Laconia. However it was recaptured by the Spartans three days later. In 219 BC,

Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...

tried to capture the city but without success. Under

Nabis Nabis ( grc-gre, Νάβις) was the last king of independent Sparta. He was probably a member of the Heracleidae, and he ruled from 207 BC to 192 BC, during the years of the First and Second Macedonian Wars and the eponymous " War against Nab ...

, Gythium became a major naval arsenal and port. During the Roman-Spartan War, Gythium was captured after a lengthy siege. After the war finished, Gythium was made part of the Union of Free Laconians under Achean protection.Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos. ''Deep into Mani:Journey to the southern tip of Greece.'', 21 Nabis recaptured Gythium three years and the Spartan fleet defeated the Achean fleet outside of Gythium. Gythium was liberated by a Roman fleet under the command of

Aulus Atilius Serranus Aulus Atilius Serranus was a Roman consul, consul in the year 170 BC, together with Aulus Hostilius Mancinus. Serranus first held office as praetor in 192 BC; during his year he was dispatched east with a fleet, first to intervene against ...

. Subsequently, Gythium formed the most important of the Union of Free Laconians, a group of twenty-four, later eighteen, communities leagued together to maintain their autonomy against Sparta and declared free by Caesar Augustus.

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

br>3.21.7
/ref> The highest officer of the confederacy was the general, who was assisted by a treasurer (''rauias''), while the chief magistrates of the several communities bore the title of ephors. In Roman times Gythium remained a major port and it prospered as a member of the Union. As purple dye was popular in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Gythium exported that as well as porphyry and rose antique marble. Evidence of the ancient Gythium prosperity can be found by the fact that the Romans built an ancient theatre which is well preserved today and is still used occasionally. The ancient theatre, as well as the city's Acropolis (west to the location of the theatre) discovered by the archeologist Dimitris Skias in 1891. Some time in the 4th century AD, Gythium was destroyed. What happened to Gythium is not recorded but it is thought to have been either sacked by Alaric and

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

, pillaged by the Slavs or destroyed by the massive earthquake that struck the area in 375 AD. After the earthquake Gythium was abandoned. It remained a small village throughout the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and Ottoman times. Its importance grew when Tzannetos Grigorakis built his tower at

and more people came and settled at Gytheio. But during the Greek War of Independence, refugees flooded into Mani and made Gytheio a major town.Saïtis. ''Mani.'', 46-47. The modern Gytheio opened a port in the 1960s. Ferries sail from Gytheio to

Kythira Kythira (, ; el, Κύθηρα, , also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands ...

almost daily and also to

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

twice a week. It is the See of the

Diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of Gytheion and

Oitylo Oitylo ( el, Οίτυλο, pronounced Ítilo), known as "Βίτσουλο", pronounced Vitsoulo, in the native Maniot dialect, is a village and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is pa ...

, headed by a

Metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the ...

of the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Church of Greece. Gytheio is the largest and most important town in Mani. Most of the ruins of ancient Gythium are now submerged in the Laconian Gulf. Some walls' remains can be seen today on the sandy beach of Valtaki and in the shallow waters, where the well known Dimitrios shipwreck lies stranded. It is also the capital of the municipality of Gytheio.

Province

The province of Gytheio ( el, Επαρχία Γυθείου) was one of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the Laconia Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipal units Gytheio and East Mani. It was abolished in 2006.

Persons

Alexandros Othonaios Alexandros Othonaios ( el, Αλέξανδρος Οθωναίος, Gytheio, 1879 – Athens, 20 September 1970) was a distinguished Greek general, who became briefly the acting Prime Minister of Greece, heading an emergency government during an a ...

(1879–1970), general and former Prime Minister of Greece *

Tzannis Tzannetakis Tzannis Tzannetakis ( el, Τζαννής Τζαννετάκης) (13 September 1927 – 1 April 2010) was a Greek politician who was briefly Prime Minister of Greece during the political crisis of 1989. Biography Tzannetakis was born in Gythe ...

(1927–2010), politician and former Prime Minister of Greece

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Gytheio is twinned with: *

Villeneuve-lès-Avignon Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (; Provençal: ''Vilanòva d’Avinhon'') is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It can also be spelled ''Villeneuve-lez-Avignon''. History In the 6th century the Benedictine abbey of St André was foun ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Notes

Inline Citations

References

Primary Sources

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, translated by Henry Bettison, (1976). Rome and the Mediterranean. London: Penguin Classics. . *

, translated by W.H.S Jones, (1918). Pausanias Description of Greece. London: Harvard University Press. . * Polybius, translated by Frank W. Walbank, (1979). The Rise of the Roman Empire. New York: Penguin Classics. .

Secondary Sources

* Collitz-Bechtel, Sammlung d. griech. Dialekt-Inschriften, iii. Nos. 4562-4573; British School Annual, x. 179 foll. *

Paul Cartledge Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek C ...

and Antony Spawforth, (2002). Hellenistic and Roman Sparta: A tale of two cities. London: Routledge. * E. Curtius, Peloponnesos, ii. 267 foll. Inscriptions: Le Bas-Foucart, Voyage archéologique, ii. Nos. 238-248 f. *

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greates ...

, (1984). '' Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese''. London: Penguin. * Peter Greenhalgh and Edward Eliopoulos, (1985). Deep into Mani:Journey to the southern tip of Greece. London: Trinity Press * Peter Green, (1990). Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age, (2nd edition). Los Angeles: University of California Press. . * Rosemary Hall, Paul Hellander, Corinne Simcock and David Willet. Lonely Planet: Greece. Singapore: SNP Printing Pte Ltd. * Kyriakos Kassis, (1979). Mani's History. Athens: Presoft * William Leake, Travels in the Morea, i. 244 foll. * Maria Mavromataki, (2001). 8,500 Years of Civilization: Greece: Between Legend and History. Athens: Haïtalis. * * G. Weber, De Gytheo et Lacedaemoniorum rebus navalibus (Heidelberg, 1833) {{Authority control Cities in ancient Peloponnese Populated places in Laconia Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Populated places in the Mani Peninsula Provinces of Greece East Mani