Voidokilia Beach ( el, Παραλία Βοϊδοκοιλιά, ) is a popular beach in

Messinia 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 ...

in the Mediterranean area. In the shape of the Greek letter omega (Ω), its sand forms a semicircular strip of dunes. On the land-facing side of the strip of dunes is

Gialova Lagoon Gialova Lagoon ( el, Γιάλοβα, ) – also known as Divari, from the Latin word ''vivarium'', meaning "fishery" – is a brackish body of water in the municipality of Pylos-Nestor, Greece, about north of Pylos. The lagoon, together with Vo ...

, an important bird habitat. The beach has been named "A Place of Particular Natural Beauty". It is part of a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

protected area.

Location

A hiking route begins from Voidokoilia. The climb towards Nestor's Cave begins at the south-west end of the beach, while after the cave the route continues towards Paliokastro. Voidokilia is next to Petrohori in

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 ...

. Though the ruins are not fenced off, the castle ruins are sign-posted as closed and tourists walk through the castle or around the walls at their own risk. Gialova's aquatic habitat, being an important stop for a variety of migratory birds, has been declared the southernmost Habitat of National Importance in the Balkans. It is considered a protected area hosting 258 species of birds out of which the 79 are included in the "Red Book" (species under threat of extinction). Parking for the beach is reached by sand tracks either from the Gialova Lagoon parking area (also used by bird-watchers) or by following the Northside route from Petrochori. The beach is considered friendly for

naturists Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

and gay tourists.

History and myth

Above the beach is Nestor's Cave and above this are the ruins of thirteenth-century

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 ...

castle ( Old Navarino or ''Palaiokastro''). Overlooking the beach at the north eastern end is the tomb of Nestor's son,

Thrasymedes Thrasymedes of Paros ( el, Θρασυμήδης ο Παριανός) was an ancient Greek sculptor. Formerly he was regarded as a pupil of Phidias because he set up in the temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus a seated statue of that deity made of iv ...

of the Mycenaean period (1680–1060 BC) with Neolithic finds at the same site showing occupation as early as 4000 BC.Ministry of Culture on-site notice. The beach is presumed to be Homer's "sandy Pylos" where

Telemachus Telemachus ( ; grc, Τηλέμαχος, Tēlemakhos, lit=far-fighter), in Greek mythology, is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who is a central character in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in se ...

was welcomed by King Nestor when searching for his father, Odysseus. According to myth, Nestor's Cave is where Hermes hid the cattle stolen from Apollo.

Archaeology

To the south of the beach stretches cape Koryphasion, where stood the classical city of Pylos. Nowadays very few remains of the city are still extant, as in the 13th century Nicholas de Saint'Omer built a castle on the top of the cape using the extant building material consisting of the ancient stones. Beneath the castle a triangular opening on the rock, visible from Voidokoilia, marks the Cave of Nestor, where, according to mythology

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...

had hidden the stolen oxen of Helios, whereas according to Pausanias (36.2) it was the place where were kept the cattle of the king Neleus. The cave has been archaeologically investigated in various periods, starting from H Schliemann in 1874 and continuing with the research by Laucent and Kourouniotis in the beginning of the 20th century, C. Blegen and W Mc Donald, Sp. Marinatos in the 1950s and finally G. Korres and A. Samson in the 1980s. It has yielded finds dating from the Final Neolithic period down to the Late Helladic period as well as some later, classical and early Hellenistic traces. The dimensions of the cave are 20x16 with a heigh which reaches 30 meters. The tomb of Thrasymedes, on the other hand, has been excavated by Sp. Marinatos in the 1950s and by G.S. Korres in the 1970s, since the latter noticed a pithos burial which had not been recorded by his predecessor. The tholos is 5 meters wide and its floor is covered with pebbles. It contained about seven burials. Among the movable finds of the (otherwise looted in the past) tomb count arrow heads, necklaces made of carnelian and amethyst, two Mycenaean pottery vessels, etc. The first use of the

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

(pithos burials' phase) dates to the Middle Helladic Period whereas the prime time of the

beehive tomb A beehive tomb, also known as a tholos tomb (plural tholoi; from Greek θολωτός τάφος, θολωτοί τάφοι, "domed tombs"), is a burial structure characterized by its false dome created by corbelling, the superposition of suc ...

was the Mycenaean period. Around the tomb were found Late Classical and Hellenistic votive tablets as well as a small model of an altar, which points to some kind of hero or ancestors' cult.

Gallery

Footnotes

External links

Voidokilia website information

Information on Yialova birds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voidokilia Beach Beaches of Greece Tourist attractions in Peloponnese (region) Landforms of Messenia Landforms of Peloponnese (region) Natura 2000 in Greece