ANCIENT COLONIES OF THE PELOPONNESE

Text and research by Nikos Aivalis, translation by Eva Trombetas 

Ancient Greek colonies, a huge chapter in Greeks history, as all the cities of Greece colonized various parts of the world. The Peloponnese could not be missing from this part of history, with very important metropolises such as Corinth, Sparta, Argos, Arcadia, Messinia, etc. In this tribute, we’ll try to take a look at the colonies of the Peloponnese outside the borders of modern Greece.

First, we are heading to neighboring Italy and specifically to its southern part, in the Region of Apulia. There lies the ancient city of Taranto. Taranto was founded by the Spartans and is the only colony of Sparta in Magna Graecia. The founder of the city was Falanthos Lacedaemonius, son of Arakos. After receiving an oracle of Delphi, in 706 BC. Falanthos with other Lacedaemonians colonized Taranto. The name of that city comes from the mythical Taranto, son of Poseidon and Satyria. When Taras was shipwrecked, Poseidon sent a dolphin to rescue him and traveled from Cape Tainaro to Apulia. It is noteworthy that in 500 BC it was the largest city in the then known world. Nowadays Taranto is an important port and commercial center.

Taranto, Poseidon's temple

Syracuse, a very important city in Sicily, at the southeastern tip of the island, west of the Ionian Sea, a colony of the Corinthians in 734 BC. A great city that was one of the most powerful naval forces in the Mediterranean, the birthplace of the mathematician and scientist Archimedes. A very important ally of Corinth, which was a metropolis, but also an ally of the Spartans. Even the Romans admired Syracuse, with Marco Tyllios of Cicero describing Syracuse as the leading and most beautiful Greek city that can only be compared to Athens in the 5th century BC. The founder of the city was Archias the Corinthian, a descendant of Hercules. According to Pausanias, he received an oracle from Delphi to go to Sicily. He took with him the Corinthians Myskilos and Hersikrates. In the process, Hersikratis colonized Corfu, Myskilos the Crotone and finally Archias the Syracuse. Nowadays Syracuse is a tourist destination as it has many attractions.

Syracuse, ancient theater

Crotone, east coast of Kalavria at the mouth of the river Aisaros, was founded around 710 BC from Corinthians. The settlement of Pythagoras at Crotone contributed greatly to its cultural and social progress. Nowadays Crotone is an industrial center of metallurgy.

Crotone, temple of Hera

Messina, not the one of Peloponnese, but that of Italy and specifically in northern Sicily. After the Second Messinian War, where the Messinians were defeated by the Spartans, many Messinians fled to Sicily, to the city of Zagli where Greeks coming from Chalkida had first colonized around the 8th century BC. Today, Messina is the third largest city in Sicily, while it is a tourist and commercial center.

Messina, ancient theater

Pisa, a city in northwestern Italy, famous for the famous leaning tower of Pisa. A city in which, in the 18th century AD Greek community flourished, many of whom became members of the Filiki Eteria (a secret organization founded in 1814, whose purpose was to overthrow the Ottoman rule of Greece and establish an independent Greek state) and supported the Greek War of Independence of 1821 in every way. There’s not just this relation the city has with Greece and the Peloponnese. Pisa was colonized by the city of Pisa of ancient Elis, which is very close to ancient Olympia. The name comes from the founder of the city, Piso who was the son of Periiros, king of Messina and Gorgofoni, daughter of Perseus, coming originally from Argos. Nowadays Pisa is a city with great economic and spiritual development.

the famous tower of Pisa

Paphos, an ancient city in the southwestern part of Cyprus, a center of worship of the goddess Aphrodite. Founder was the mythical king of Arcadia, Agapinoras. King of Tegea, son of Agaius, took part in the Trojan War with 60 ships. After the fall of Troy, as Agapinor was returning to Arcadia, he was carried away near the shores of Cyprus. There, according to Homer and Pausanias, he founded Paphos. Nowadays Paphos is one of the largest tourist centers in Cyprus.

Paphos, ancient monuments

Trapezounta (Trabzon), Black Sea, Pontus. It was colonized by Arcadians from the ancient city of Trapezounta in Arcadia. Trapezounta of Arcadia is located near the Alpheus river in Parrasia land, between the ancient and sacred centers of Arcadians, between mount Lykaion and Mainalo. Trapezounta of Pontus was a large urban and cultural center of the Greeks until 1922 and the burning of Smyrna.

Trapezounta (Trabzon)

Halicarnassus (Bodrum), an ancient Greek city on the coast of Asia Minor, known for the Mausoleum of Mausolos which was one of the seven wonders of the world, created by the architects Satyros and Pythios. Founders of Halicarnassus were Argeioi from the area of Troizina (an area near Argos) from where Ethra came from, mother of the mythical hero Theseus, later king of Athens. One of the most famous men who came from Halicarnassus, was the historian of the 5th century BC, Herodotus. Nowadays, the economy of the region is based on fishing, while it is a tourist attraction.

Halicarnassus, ancient theater

Our tribute to the Peloponnesian colonies does not end here, as we’ll get to see in another article other cities associated with Greece and the Peloponnese.

STYMFALIA LAKE

Text and research by Nikos Aivalis, translation by Eva Trombetas

Corinth, an ancient region surrounded by many myths. There we will find the mythical Stymfalia lake, a place with wonderful nature, of important ecological value, as well as history.

The lake got its name from the mythical hero Stymfalos, who was a descendant of Arkadas. However, the fact that made lake Stymfalia famous is the sixth feat of the demigod hero Hercules. The lake was inhabited by terrible birds, the so-called Stymfalides Ornithes. They are described as man-eating birds, with claws and wings made of copper, which instilled terror in humans. The great hero Hercules, causing noise, frightened the Ornithes, which came out of the dense vegetation of the lake, making it easier for Hercules to exterminate them. In Roman times, the emperor Hadrian built an aqueduct with which he supplied Corinth with water from the lake.

archaic amphora of 540 BC
with a representation of Hercules
fighting the Stymfalian birds
- British museum

The lake is located at an altitude of 600 meters, between the mountains Ziria and Oligyrtos. It is mainly a marshy lake, with a depth of 2 meters, but when the water level drops it reaches half a meter. It is the largest mountainous water basin of the Peloponnese. The vegetation of the surrounding area consists mainly of  Abies cephalonica, pines, plane trees, as well as bushes. The vegetation of the lake consists mainly of reeds and shrubs.

Stymfalia lake

Regarding its fauna one may find jackals, foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, lizards, amphibians, as well as hawks. It is also an important refuge and breeding ground for migratory and aquatic birds. The lake has two rare and endemic species of fish fauna: Pelasgus stymphalicus and the fish Phoxinellys Stymfalicious. The area of the lake, along with Mount Ziria, is a protected habitat of the Natura 2000 network.

the mythical Stymfalia lake

WALKING IN ANCIENT SPARTA

Text and research by Nikos Aivalis, photo report by Elpida Zografidou, technical support Alexandros Sparti, translation by Eva Trombetas

In the shadow of the legendary Taygetus is an ancient and one of the most historic cities in the world, Sparta. In this article we will be taking a walk in ancient Sparta, which is located just behind the modern city of Sparta, for which you can see our article: Sparta the City of Heroes.

entrance of ancient Sparta, circular building

To the left of the statue of King Leonidas, at the end of Paleologos street, there is a road that leads behind the Municipal Stadium of Sparta, which takes you also to ancient Sparta. As spring came, we wanted to wander around the streets where mythical heroes used to walk. The place is fenced but you do not pay an entrance fee.

the wonderful nature in the archeological site

What to mention first about the history of Sparta, with the countless heroes, heroines, great men and women who from the depths of antiquity who wrote golden pages in the history of this glorious city. So we will refer descriptively to what we saw in this beautiful archeological site, where its history can’t leave any visitor unmoved. Before starting our journey, let us emphasize two important pieces of information, because one can reasonably question how a city like Sparta has relatively few monuments within the archeological site. The first reason is the looting it experienced from Slavs and Goths, while the greatest destruction was done in 1730 by the French Michel Furmon, who literally left no stone unturned. The second reason is that neither the excavations are appropriate for the historicity of the place, nor the promotion of the site.

circular building

Starting our journey, one of the first monuments we encounter is the Circular Building. A magnificent building, in which there was a statue of Olympian Zeus and Olympian Aphrodite (600 BC), while there used to be held ceremonies, gatherings and nudity in honor of Apollo. Nearby there are scattered finds, columns, buildings and other impressive finds.

monuments

Of course the spring nature that surrounds the monuments, is of unique beauty. Beautiful flowers of all colors, as well as olives, create a table full of colors.

columns in the nature

A little higher, north of the Circular Building, we find the ancient Agora of Sparta, which dates back to about the 3rd to 4th century BC. At this point we want to add that, according to researchers, the most ancient city of Sparta is located in Pellana, where we will visit at another time.

ancient Agora of Sparta

A little higher we find a place full of monuments, where the Basilica of Nikonos is located, which dates back to the 7th century AD.

the great Basilica of Nikonos

Going uphill we now find ourselves at the Acropolis of ancient Sparta. There is one of the most important temples of the Spartans, that of Chalkioikos Athena, which was the patron saint of the city, while it is one of the longest-lived sanctuaries. The name Chalkioikos comes from the lining of the temple, which was made of copper sheets (chalkos = copper), where mythological representations were depicted, the work of the Spartan sculptor Gitiadas. A very important point for the Spartans, as it was a meeting place for soldiers. Also in the sanctuary were celebrated the victories and achievements of the Spartans. Many votive offerings were found there, dedicated to men and women. Also there was the famous marble body of a hoplite, known as "Leonidas", which is on display at the Museum of Sparta.

Sanctuary of Chalkioikos Athena

Of course there are other monuments too, such as the Archaic Stoa, the Roman wall, as well as the Dikogcho Building which is located next to Chalkioikos Athena.

Dikogcho Building

Just below the Acropolis is the ancient theater of Sparta, with a vast view of the haughty Taygetos, while in between you can see olive groves and a part of modern Sparta. Testimonies for the theater have existed since the 5th century BC while the piece we see is from Roman times, around 30 BC. with a capacity of 17,000 spectators.

ancient theater of Sparta, in the backround modern Sparta
under the shadow of Taygetus

Around the ancient theater there are many monuments, columns and buildings that complete the landscape. Somewhere here our hike comes to an end. The history but also the natural beauty of the place, completely filled us. We invite everyone to visit this beautiful and extremely historic corner of Laconia and we wish all of you, to be soon completely free to travel again to our beautiful country.

the flowery nature of ancient Sparta
Happy Spring