Pontikokastro ( el, Ποντικόκαστρο), known in French as ''Beauvoir'' and Italian as ''Belveder'' during the late

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 a ...

, is a

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 ...

castle in

Agios Andreas, Katakolo Agios Andreas is a small settlement near the town of Katakolo, in Elis, Greece. It is situated on the site of ancient Pheia, at a bay opposite the islet of Ichthys or Tiganonisi and the island of Zakynthos. Agios Andreas is located 13 kilomete ...

, in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

peninsula of Greece.

History

The fortress of Pontikon—Pontikokastro, "castle of Pontikon", is a relatively recent name—is one of the oldest Byzantine

castles in Greece A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. It is located in the northern part of Ichthys Bay, 100 meters from the coast, and is built on the ruins of the

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

of ancient Pheia, dating from 700 BC. Different views have been expressed about the name, with some claiming that Pontikon derives from the ancient Greek word '' pontos'', "sea", because of its view over the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

. Others claim it is due to the similarity of the shape of a mouse (''pontikos''). The most probable view is considered to be that of the folklorist Dinos Psychogios, that the name came from a corruption of the Latin "''fonticum''", meaning warehouse, because the castle was used as storage for crop wheat and other products. After the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

, the castle was conquered by the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

Crusaders who established 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 o ...

in ca. 1205. They called it ''Beauvoir'' in French, ''Belveder'' in Italian and ''Bellovidere'' or ''Pulchrumvidere'' in Latin. It originally formed part of the princely domain of Achaea, and along with the fortress and princely mint of

Glarentza Glarentza ( el, Γλαρέντζα), also known as or Clarenia, Clarence, or Chiarenza, was a medieval town located near the site of modern Kyllini in Elis, at the westernmost point of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. Founded in th ...

it was one of the two major sites from which Elis was governed. Beauvoir was granted in 1289 to

Hugh, Count of Brienne Hugh, Count of Brienne and Lecce ( 1240 – 9 August 1296) was the second surviving son of Count Walter IV of Brienne and Marie de Lusignan of Cyprus. Life His father, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon in Palestine, was murdered in 1244 in Cairo, and ...

, in exchange for his half of the

Barony of Karytaina The Barony of Karytaina or of Skorta was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, located in the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, centred on the town of Karytaina ( el, Καρύταινα; french: Caraintaine; it, Caritena) in th ...

, but Hugh soon exchanged it with John Chauderon for lands in

Conversano Conversano ( Barese: ) is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is southeast of Bari and from the Adriatic coast, at above sea level. The counts of Conversano owned a stud that they us ...

. By 1303, however, it had returned to direct princely control. During

Ferdinand of Majorca Ferdinand of Majorca ( ca, Ferran de Mallorca; 1278 – 5 July 1316) was an ''infant'' of the Kingdom of Majorca; he was born at Perpignan, the third son of King James II. He was Viscount of Aumelas and Lord of Frontignan from 1311 and c ...

's attempt to seize the Principality in 1315–16, Beauvoir was captured and held by his forces until after his defeat and death in the

Battle of Manolada The Battle of Manolada was fought on July 5, 1316, at Manolada, on the plains of Elis in the Peloponnese. The two leaders were Louis of Burgundy and the ''infante'' Ferdinand of Majorca, both of whom claimed the Principality of Achaea in right of ...

. Beauvoir ceased to play an important role thereafter, and is scarcely mentioned in the subsequent periods of Ottoman and Venetian rule. In 1391 it was taken over by the

Navarrese Company The Navarrese Company ( es, Compañía navarra; eu, Nafarroako konpainia) was a company of mercenaries, mostly from Navarre and Gascony, which fought in Greece during the late 14th century and early 15th century, in the twilight of Frankish power ...

, in 1427 by

Constantine Palaiologos Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last Roman (Byzantine) e ...

, and after that by

Thomas Palaiologos Thomas Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Θωμᾶς Παλαιολόγος; 1409 – 12 May 1465) was Despot of the Morea from 1428 until the fall of the despotate in 1460, although he continued to claim the title until his death five years late ...

. It was burned down by the Turks in 1470. The castle walls form an elongated rectangle, mostly of Byzantine construction with traces of Frankish interventions. It encloses an area of about , in length and wide. At the northwest corner there is a tower high and wide, with seventeen courses of circular and seven courses of rectangular masonry. The first two of the courses clearly date back to ancient Greek times. In the middle of the castle there is an oblong calculated

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

, measuring from north to south, divided into two unequal parts by a partition wall, and four pairs of square holes from which the water came out sideways.

References

Sources

* {{La Morée franque Buildings and structures in Elis Byzantine castles in the Peloponnese Principality of Achaea