Kyparissia ( el, Κυπαρισσία) is a town and a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in northwestern

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

, 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

Trifylia Trifylia ( el, Τριφυλία) is a municipality in the Messenia regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Kyparissia. The municipality has an area of 616.019 km2. It was named after the ancient Triphylia regi ...

, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 101.018 km². The town proper has around 5,100 inhabitants.

Geography

The town is situated on the

Gulf of Kyparissia The Gulf of Kyparissia ( el, Κυπαρισσιακός Κόλπος, ''Kyparissiakos Kolpos'') is a long, curving indentation along the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, Greece. It lies between Cape Katakolo at the north end and Cape Kon ...

, a bay of the Ionian Sea, one of the main breeding grounds of the endangered

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

. Kyparissia is 38 km north of Pylos, 46 km northwest of

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

and 51 km southeast of Pyrgos. The

Greek National Road 9 Greek National Road 9 ( el, Εθνική Οδός 9, abbreviated as EO9) is a single carriageway with at-grade intersections in the West Greece and Peloponnese regions. It runs along the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, from Patras to ...

(Pyrgos - Methoni) passes through the town. Kyparissia is the terminus of a now disused railway line from

Kalo Nero Kalo Nero or Kalonero ( el, Καλό Νερό or Καλόνερο meaning "good water") is a village and a community of the Trifylia municipality, Messenia, southern Greece. The population of the entire community is 686 (2011 census), the main vi ...

, on the line from Pyrgos to Kalamata. The town has a port, which is mainly used for cargo purposes. On a hill east of the town centre lies a fortress built during the Frankish period.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Kyparissia is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages and 2011 population in brackets): * Armenioi (pop: 314) * Faraklada (pop: 334) *Kyparissia (Kyparissia, Memi, Blemenianoi, Myloi, Rouzaki, Terpsithea, total pop: 5,784) * Mouriatada (Mouriatada, Karvouni, total pop: 54) * Myro (Myro, Alimaki, total pop: 9) * Perdikoneri (pop: 212) *

Raches Raches ( el, Ράχες) is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality on the island of Ikaria, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ikaria, of which it is ...

(pop: 182) * Spilia (pop: 511) * Stasio (pop: 160) * Vryses (pop: 115) * Xirokampos (pop: 53)

History

The

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

town Cyparissia ( grc, Κυπαρισσία) was already mentioned by

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

in his ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

''. Ancient writers took note of Cyparissia's beautiful situation upon the sides of one of the offshoots of the range of mountains, which run along this part of the Messenian coast. Upon the narrow summit of the rocks later occupied by a castle built in the Middle Ages, stood the ancient acropolis. There is no harbour upon the Messenian coast north of Pylos; but Leake remarks that the roadstead at Cyparissia seems to be the best on this part of the coast; and in ancient times the town probably possessed an artificial harbour, since traces of a mole may still be seen upon the sea-shore. This was probably constructed on the restoration of

Messene Messene (Greek: Μεσσήνη 𐀕𐀼𐀙 ''Messini''), officially Ancient Messene, is a local community within the regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') of Messenia in the region (''perifereia'') of Peloponnese. It is best known for the ...

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 ...

; for it was necessary to provide the capital of the new state with a port, and no spot was so suitable for this object as Cyparissia. Hence we find Messene and the harbour Cyparissia mentioned together by Scylax

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 ...

found in the town a temple of

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 ...

, and one of Athena Cyparissia. The town continued to coin money down to the time of

Severus Severus is the name of various historical and fictional figures, including: ;Emperors of the Roman empire *Septimius Severus (145–211), Roman emperor from 193 to 211 (rarely known as ''Severus I.'') *Severus Caracalla (188–217), Roman emperor f ...

. Stephanus calls Cyparissia a city of

Triphylia Triphylia ( el, Τριφυλία, ''Trifylia'', "the country of the three tribes") was an area of the ancient Peloponnese. Strabo and Pausanias both describe Triphylia as part of Elis, and it fell at times under the domination of the city of El ...

, and Strabo also distinguishes between the Triphylian and Messenian Cyparissia, but on what authority we do not know. At a relatively late stage Cyparissia was a

bishopric 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 associate ...

that today, no longer being residential, is listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

it was called Arkadía, a name which was transferred from the interior of the peninsula to this place upon the coast. Under the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

, Kyparissia/Arkadia was the seat of the

Barony of Arcadia The Barony of Arcadia was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located on the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, and centred on the town of Arcadia ( el, Ὰρκαδία; french: l'Arcadie; it, Arc dia), ...

, which was the last Frankish territory (except for the Venetian possessions) to fall to the

Despotate of the Morea The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...

, in 1432. In 1460 Kyparissia came under Ottoman control, and remained so, with the exception of thirty years of Venetian rule, until the Greek War of Independence which began in 1821. Kyparissia continued to bear the name Arkadia till its destruction by Ibrahim Pasha in 1825, during the Greek War of Independence and when rebuilt it resumed its ancient name Cyparissia, by which it is now called. Some remains of ancient walls may be traced around the modern castle; and below the castle on the slope of the hill, near the church of Saint George, are some fragments of columns. On the south side of the town, close to the sea-shore, a fine stream rushes out of the rock and flows into the sea; and a little above is a basin with a spring of water, near which are some stones belonging to an ancient structure. This is the ancient fountain sacred to

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

, which Pausanias perceived near the entrance of the city, on the road from Pylus.

Bishopric

''Ciparissia'' once was a (late Byzantine?) bishopric, apparently a suffragan of the Metropolis of Patras, in the sway of the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

, but it was suppressed without a single historically documented incumbent. It was nominally restored in 1933 as a

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. It is vacant since decades, having had the following incumbents of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank:http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t0512.htm GCatholic - Ciparissia * Arthur-Alfred Lepailleur, Holy Cross Fathers (C.S.C.) (1951.03.08 – death 1952.04.12) as emeritate *

Bishop-elect In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy Orders, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of Holy orders in the Catholic Church, holy orders and is responsible ...

Joseph Oliver Bowers,

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Ri ...

(S.V.D.) (1952.11.27 – 1953.01.08) as Auxiliary Bishop of Accra (

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

) * Paul Etoga (1955.07.03 – 1961.06.24) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

(

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

) * Gregorio Garavito Jiménez, Montfort Missionaries (S.M.M.) (1961.12.04 – 1969.04.26) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Villavicencio Villavicencio () is a city and municipality in Colombia. Capital of Meta Department, it was founded on April 6, 1840. The city had an urban population of approximately 531,275 inhabitants in 2018.https://www.dane.gov.co/files/varios/informacio ...

( Colombia)

Historical population

Famous residents

* Dimitrios Pitsinis (1925–2003), Doctor/General Surgeon * Konstantinos Lamprinopoulos (1893-1965), politician, Mayor of Patras * Theodoros Roussopoulos (1963-), journalist, politician *

Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) was a Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofounders of the so-called Ne ...

(1859-1943), poet

References

External links

Official town website

kyparissia. City's guide

Σύλλογος Πολυτέκνων Τριφυλίας
{{Authority control Castles in Greece Catholic titular sees in Europe Populated places in Messenia