Mitato ( el, μιτάτο, archaic form: , from la, metor, "to measure off/to pitch camp") is a term meaning "shelter" or "lodging" in Greek. Appearing in the 6th century, during 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 ...

period it referred to an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

or trading house for foreign merchants, akin to a

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...

. By extension, it could also refer to the legal obligation of a private citizen to billet state officials or soldiers. Alternatively, in the 10th century, Constantine Porphyrogenitus uses the term to refer to state-run ranches in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. In modern Greece, and especially on the mountains of

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, and ...

, a ''mitato'' (in the plural ''mitata'') is a hut built from locally gathered stones to provide shelter to

shepherds A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

, and is used also for cheese-making.

Mount Ida In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which was also known as the '' Phrygian Ida'' ...

(also called Mount Psiloritis) in central Crete is particularly rich in flat stones suitable for dry stone construction.Sabine Ivanovas, ''Where Zeus Became a Man (with Cretan Shepherds)'', Efsthiadis Group Editions, 2000, 183 p. (Life in the corbelled dry stone huts of central Crete).

References

External links

*
Cabanes d'estive (''mitata'') des environs d'Anogia en Crète centrale (Grèce)
(Summer shepherding huts (mitata) in the vicinity of Anogia in central Crete, Greece) {{Huts Byzantine secular architecture Byzantine law Crete Mountain huts Vernacular architecture

See also

References

External links