Therapnes ( el, Θεράπνες) is a municipal unit (''dimotiki enotita'') of the

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 ...

(''dimos'') 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 ...

within the regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') of

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 ...

in the region (''perifereia'') of

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 ...

, one of 13 regions into which

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 with ...

has been divided. The municipal unit has an area of 261.711 km². Before 2011 Therapnes was a Demos of Lakonia according to Law 2539 of 1997, the Kapodistria Plan. Its seat was Gkoritsa, which now has no such status. Within its borders lies the ancient town of

Therapne Therapne ( grc, Θεράπνη) was a town in ancient Laconia, within the territory of Sparta. According to Greek mythology, its name comes from a daughter of Lelex. The place was distinguished for housing the Menelaion, a temple to Menelaus, w ...

. Both before the Kallikratis law and after it, Therapnes was composed of the same eight Local Communities (''topiki koinotita''), the lowest level of the hierarchy: Agioi Anargyroi (formerly Zouraina), Agrianoi, Gkoritsa, Kalloni, Kefalas, Platana, Skoura and Chrysafa. The population of Therapnes in the 2011 census, conducted by the Ministry of the Interior, was 2,304.

Villages

*Goritsa or Gortsoupolis, as it is called by the Athenian residents of Goritsa *Hrysafa *Zoupena *Perepni *Skoura *Platana *Zagana *Tsintzina *Agrianoi

Geography

Therapnes covers the hill country on the east bank of the Eurotas River northeast to the slopes of Mt. Parnon. The Local Communities are each centered around a village. Each village has a history of its own, but the basis making Therapnes a distinct unit is the presence of the ruins of ancient Therapne, a Bronze Age city that stood on a ridge on the left bank of the

Eurotas 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 ...

, overlooking the Eurotas Valley and the site of Dorian Sparta, today's city of

. The villages of Therapnes are in essence on or near the old road that led from Therapne or Dorian Sparta over Platanaki Pass just south of the main peak of

Parnon Parnon or Parnonas ( el, Πάρνων/Πάρνωνας) or Malevos (Μαλεβός) is a mountain range, or massif, on the east of the Laconian plain and the Evrotas valley. It is visible from Athens above the top of the Argive mountains. The wes ...

to what is now

South Kynouria South Kynouria ( el, Νότια Κυνουρία – ''Notia Kynouria'') is a municipality in the Arcadia regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town of Leonidio. The municipality has an area of 592.439 km2. It co ...

in the eastern foreland of Parnonas and the Argolic and Myrtoan Gulfs. The pass connected Bronze Age Mycenae with its sister kingdom, Lacedaemon. The ridge has an elevation of about . Its eminence over the river is about . From the top of the ridge the valley below appears as a sunken bowl between Mount Taygetus and Therapne, hence the Homeric epithet "Hollow Lacedaemon." There is no standard modern name of the ridge. Some refer to it as Mount Menelaus after the Menelaion, a temple that stood on the ridge, or the Menelaus Ridge, and others Mount Therapne.

Bronze Age Therapne

Mycenaean town

Therapne was among the most ancient communities of Greece. During the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

there was a large settlement at Therapne, with shrines to

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

and

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

Therapne in legend

In mythological terms, it was said to derive its name from a nymph Therapne, daughter of

Lelex In Greek mythology, Lelex (; Ancient Greek: Λέλεξ, ''gen.'' Λέλεγος) was one of the original inhabitants of Laconia which was called after him, its first king, Lelegia. Mythology Lelex was said to be autochthonous or his father w ...

, 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 ...

were thought to have been born there. While

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 ...

writes that Therapne has "a Temple of

Menelaos In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean (pre-Dorians, Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the ...

" (3.19.9),

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

(6.61) calls the same building the temple of Helen.Jennifer Lynn Larson, ''Greek Heroine Cults'' (Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1995: ), p. 81.

References

External links

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{{Sparti div Cities in ancient Peloponnese Populated places in Laconia