Areopoli ( el, Αρεόπολη; before 1912 , )EETAA local government changes
/ref> is a town on the Mani Peninsula, Laconia,

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 ...

. The word ''Areopoli'', which means "city of Ares", the ancient

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

god In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, became the official name in 1912. It was the seat of

Oitylo Oitylo ( el, Οίτυλο, pronounced Ítilo), known as "Βίτσουλο", pronounced Vitsoulo, in the native Maniot dialect, is a village and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is pa ...

municipality. The Greek War of Independence was started at Areopoli on March 17, 1821 by Petros Pierrakos, also known as

Petros Mavromichalis Petros Mavromichalis (; 1765–1848), also known as Petrobey ( ), was a Greek general, politician and the leader of the Maniot people during the first half of the 19th century. His family had a long history of revolts against the Ottoman Emp ...

, the last bey of Mani. Now Areopoli has grown into a flourishing town. Its tower houses, constructed with field stones, are distinct from the traditional blue and white buildings that characterize many Greek villages. Street of Aeropolis v2

Stone houses of Areopolis, Greece - panoramio

Church of Areopoli (Tsimova) - panoramio

Areopoli is situated near the west coast of the Mani Peninsula, 1.5 km from its port ''Limeni''. It is 20 km southwest of

Gytheio Gytheio ( el, Γύθειο, ) or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion ( grc, Γύθειον), is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government ...

. There is lively open air market in the main square each Saturday, with a lot of local producers present.

Historical population

Notable people

* Koulis Alepis (1903-1986), poet *

Dimitrios Kalapothakis Dimitrios Kalapothakis (1865 – 27 May 1921) was a Greek reporter and founder of the newspaper '' Empros'' ("Forward"). Biography Kalapothakis was born in 1865 in Areopoli, Mani Peninsula. He abandoned his studies in the University of Athens, wh ...

, journalist * Stylianos Pierrakos ( Stylianos Mavromichalis) (1902–1981), former Prime Minister of Greece * Georgios Polymenakos, military officer * Gregorios Skalkeas (1926-2018), Chancellor of the University of Central Greece

Historical population

Notable people

References

See also