Neapoli Voion or Neapolis Voion ( el, Νεάπολη Βοιών) also named Vatika ( el, Βάτικα) is a small town in
Laconia
Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...
regional unit, southern Greece. It is built near the south end of
Malea peninsula, close to the
Cape Maleas
Cape Maleas (also ''Cape Malea''; el, Ακρωτήριον Μαλέας, colloquially Καβομαλιάς, ''Cavomaliás''), anciently Malea ( grc, Μαλέα) and Maleae or Maleai (Μαλέαι), is a peninsula and cape in the southeast of the ...
. It is 335 km southeast of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and 115 km south of
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 ...
. Its port is the gateway for the island of south Peloponnese such as
Kythera
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, ...
,
Antikythera
Antikythera or Anticythera ( ) is a Greek island lying on the edge of the Aegean Sea, between Crete and Peloponnese. In antiquity the island was known as (). Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Kythira islan ...
and
Elafonisos
Elafonisos ( el, Ελαφόνησος) is a small Greek island between the Peloponnese and Kythira. It lies off the coast of Cape Malea and Vatika. The area of the island is .
Overview
The population is between 300 and 350 during the winter bu ...
. Neapoli is the part of
Monemvasia
Monemvasia ( el, Μονεμβασιά, Μονεμβασία, or ) is a town and municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a small island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea. The island is connected t ...
municipality and
Voies
Voies ( el, Βοιές , feminine plural) is a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Monemvasia, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of ...
municipal unit. Its population is 3090 residents according to 2011 census.
History
Neapoli is built on the same site as the ancient
Laconia
Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...
n city of
Boeae Boeae or Boiai ( grc, Βοιαί), also known as Boea or Boia (Βοία), was a town in the south of ancient Laconia, situated between the promontories Malea and Onugnathos, in the bay called after it Boeatic Gulf (Βοιατικὸς κόλπος ...
, built in the 10th or 9th century BCE by the
Heracleid Boeus
Boios (Βοῖος), Latinized Boeus, was a Greek grammarian and mythographer, remembered chiefly as the author of a lost work on the transformations of mythic figures into birds, his ''Ornithogonia'', which was translated into Latin by Aemilius ...
.
The city later became part of the city-state of
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 ...
. During the early
Roman era
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
the city belonged to the
Koinon of Free Laconians
The League of Free Laconians () was established in southern Greece in 21 BC by the Emperor Augustus,Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos. ''Deep into Mani: Journey to the southern tip of Greece'', 21 giving formal structure to a group of cities that had been ...
and flourished. The city later declined and was completely destroyed in 375 AD by an earthquake.
In the Middle Ages, the name was corrupted to Vatika, which is still used for the local citadel. In modern times in this place there was a village after the name Pezoula. In 1837 the Bavarian architect Birbach designed the street plan of a new town that was named Neapoli ("New Town").[
An earthquake occurred on 18 November 2019 between Neapoli Voion and the island of ]Elafonisos
Elafonisos ( el, Ελαφόνησος) is a small Greek island between the Peloponnese and Kythira. It lies off the coast of Cape Malea and Vatika. The area of the island is .
Overview
The population is between 300 and 350 during the winter bu ...
at 03:25 local time, and reached an estimated magnitude of 3,6.
Historical population
Tourism
Offshore from Neapoli is the small island Elafonisos
Elafonisos ( el, Ελαφόνησος) is a small Greek island between the Peloponnese and Kythira. It lies off the coast of Cape Malea and Vatika. The area of the island is .
Overview
The population is between 300 and 350 during the winter bu ...
that is known for its big sandy beaches. There are other beaches also around Neapoli. These include the beaches at Neratzionas and Maganos. Near Neapoli, at the village of Kastania, is located the Kastania Cave
Kastania Cave at Vatika region, prefecture of Lakonia. About 11 kilometers from Neapoli Voion
Neapoli Voion or Neapolis Voion ( el, Νεάπολη Βοιών) also named Vatika ( el, Βάτικα) is a small town in Laconia regional unit, southe ...
known also as Cave of Agios Andreas. A village close to Neapolis is Faraklo. It was built by the Venetians and was the most important village of the area during Venetian rule and later Ottoman rule
Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to:
Governments and dynasties
* Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924
* Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
.
Notes
* Maybe the references are mentioned to the 365 Crete earthquake
The 365 Crete earthquake occurred at about sunrise on 21 July 365 in the Eastern Mediterranean, with an assumed epicentre near Crete. Geologists today estimate the undersea earthquake to have been a moment magnitude 8.5 or higher. It caused wides ...
, writing wrongly 375.
References
{{Monemvasia div
Monemvasia
Populated places established in 1837
Populated places in Laconia