Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and
administrative region
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of
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 wi ...
located on the southeastern part of the
Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...
. The word ''
laconic''—to speak in a blunt, concise way—is derived from the name of this region, a reference to the ancient
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...
ns who were renowned for their verbal austerity and blunt, often pithy remarks.
Geography
Laconia is bordered by
Messenia to the west and
Arcadia to the north and is surrounded by the
Myrtoan Sea to the east and by the
Laconian Gulf and the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
to the south. It encompasses
Cape Malea and
Cape Tainaron and a large part of the
Mani Peninsula. The Mani Peninsula is in the west region of Laconia. The islands of
Kythira
Kythira (, ; el, Κύθηρα, , also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands ...
and
Antikythera
Antikythera or Anticythera ( ) is a Greek island lying on the edge of the Aegean Sea, between Crete and Peloponnese. In antiquity the island was known as (). Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Kythira isla ...
lie to the south, but they administratively belong to the
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean ...
regional unit of
islands. The island,
Elafonisos
Elafonisos ( el, Ελαφόνησος) is a small Greek island between the Peloponnese and Kythira. It lies off the coast of Cape Malea and Vatika. The area of the island is .
Overview
The population is between 300 and 350 during the winter b ...
, situated between the Laconian mainland and Kythira, is part of Laconia.
The
Eurotas
In Greek mythology, Eurotas (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρώτας) was a king of Laconia. Family
Eurotas was the son of King Myles of Laconia and grandson of Lelex, eponymous ancestor of the Leleges. The '' Bibliotheca'' gave a slight variant of ...
is the longest river in the prefecture. The valley of the Eurotas is predominantly an agricultural region that contains many citrus groves, olive groves, and pasture lands. It is the location of the largest orange production in the Peloponnese and probably in all of Greece. ''Lakonia'', a brand of orange juice, is based in
Amykles
Amykles ( el, Αμύκλες) is a village in Laconia, southern Greece. It lies in the plain by the Eurotas river, 6 km south of Sparta, east of the Taygetus mountains, along the Greek National Road 39 from Sparta to Gytheio. It was named af ...
.
The main mountain ranges are the
Taygetus in the west and the
Parnon in the northeast. Taygetus, known as Pentadaktylos (''five-fingers'') throughout the Middle Ages, is west of Sparta and the Eurotas valley. It is the highest mountain in Laconia and the Peloponnese and is mostly covered with pine trees. Two roads join the Messenia and Laconia prefectures: one is a tortuous mountain pass through Taygetus and the other bypasses the mountain via the
Mani
Mani may refer to:
Geography
* Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia
* Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad
* Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece
* Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshina ...
district to the south.
The
stalactite
A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via
''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble ...
cave, Dirou, a major tourist attraction, is located south of
Areopolis in the southwest of Laconia.
Climate
Laconia has a Mediterranean climate with warm winters and hot summers. Snow is rare on the coast throughout the winter but is very common in the mountains.
History
Ancient history
Evidence of
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
settlement in southern Laconia has been found during excavations of the
Alepotrypa cave site. Significant archaeological recovery exists at the
Vaphio-tomb site in Laconia. Found there is advanced
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 ...
art as well as evidence of cultural associations with the contemporaneous
Minoan culture on
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
. At the end of the Mycenean period, the population of Laconia sharply declined. In
classical Greece
Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in Ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Marti ...
, Laconia was Spartan territory but from the 4th century BC onwards Sparta lost control of various ports, towns and areas.
From the mid-2nd century BC until 395 AD, Laconia was a part of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
.
Medieval history
In the medieval period, Laconia formed part of the
Byzantine Empire
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 ...
. Following 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 ...
, it was gradually conquered by the
Frankish Principality of Achaea. In the 1260s, however, the Byzantines recovered
Mystras and other fortresses in the region and managed to evict the Franks from Laconia, which became the nucleus of a new Byzantine province. By the mid-14th century, this evolved into the
Despotate of Morea
The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...
, held by the last
Greek ruling dynasty, the
Palaiologoi. With the fall of the Despotate to the
Ottomans in 1460, Laconia was conquered as well.
Modern history
With the exception of a
30-year interval of
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
rule, Laconia remained under Ottoman control until the outbreak of the
Greek War of Independence of 1821. Following independence, Sparta was selected as the capital of the modern prefecture, and its economy and agriculture expanded. With the incorporation of the British-ruled
Ionian Islands into Greece in 1864,
Elafonissos became part of the prefecture. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and the
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος �όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...
, its population began to somewhat decline, as people moved from the villages toward the larger cities of Greece and abroad.
In 1992, a devastating fire ruined the finest
olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...
crops in the northern part of the prefecture, and affected the area of
Sellasia along with
Oinountas
Oinountas ( el, Οινούντας) is a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sparti, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 301. ...
and its surrounding areas. Firefighters, helicopters and planes battled for days to put out the horrific fire.
The Mani portion along with Gytheio became famous in Greece for filming episodes of ''
Vendetta
Vendetta may refer to:
* Feud or vendetta, a long-running argument or fight
Film
* ''Vendetta'' (1919 film), a film featuring Harry Liedtke
* ''Vendetta'' (1950 film), an American drama produced by Howard Hughes
* ''Vendetta'' (1986 film), an ...
'', broadcast on
Mega Channel throughout Greece and abroad on
Mega Cosmos
Mega or MEGA may refer to:
Science
* mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106
* Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation
* "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is used in taxonomy
* Gravity assist, for ''Moon-Eart ...
.
In early 2006, flooding ruined olive and citrus crops as well as properties and villages along the Eurotas river. In the summer 2006, a terrible fire devastated a part of the Mani Peninsula, ruining forests, crops, and numerous villages.
Municipalities
The regional unit, Laconia, is subdivided into five municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox):
*
East Mani
East Mani ( el, Ανατολική Μάνη - ''Anatolikí Máni'') is a municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Its seat of administration is the town Gytheio (before 2011 the small town Kotronas). The municipality covers the southeastern p ...
(''Anatoliki Mani'', 2)
*
Elafonisos
Elafonisos ( el, Ελαφόνησος) is a small Greek island between the Peloponnese and Kythira. It lies off the coast of Cape Malea and Vatika. The area of the island is .
Overview
The population is between 300 and 350 during the winter b ...
(3)
*
Eurotas
In Greek mythology, Eurotas (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρώτας) was a king of Laconia. Family
Eurotas was the son of King Myles of Laconia and grandson of Lelex, eponymous ancestor of the Leleges. The '' Bibliotheca'' gave a slight variant of ...
(4)
*
Monemvasia (5)
*
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...
(1)
Prefecture
As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, regional unit Laconia was created out of the former
prefecture Laconia ( el, Νομός Λακωνίας). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.
[
]
Provinces
* Epidavros Limira Province – Molaoi
* Gytheio Province – Gytheio
* Lacedaemonia Province
Lacedaemon Province was one of the provinces of Greece, provinces of Laconia Prefecture, Greece. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality Sparta and the municipal units Geronthres, Krokees, Skala, Laconia, Skala and Sminos. ...
– Sparti
* Oitylo Province
Oitylo ( el, Οίτυλο, pronounced Ítilo), known as "Βίτσουλο", pronounced Vitsoulo, in the native Maniot dialect, is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese (region), Pelopo ...
– Areopoli
''Note:'' Provinces no longer hold any legal status 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 wi ...
.
Population
*1907: 87,106
*1991: 95,696
*2001: 94,918
*2011: 89,138
The main cities and towns of Laconia are (ranked by 2011 census population):
*Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...
17,408
* Gytheio 4,717
* Neapoli 3,130
*Skala
Skala may refer to:
Places Greece
* Skala, Patmos, the main port on the island of Patmos in Greece
* Skala, Laconia, a municipality in southern Greece
* Skala, Xanthi, a settlement in north-eastern Greece
* Skala, Cephalonia, a resort in the I ...
3,089
Transport
* Greek National Road 39, Tripoli – Sparti – Gytheio
* Greek National Road 82, Pylos – Kalamata – Sparti
* Greek National Road 86, Gytheio – Monemvasia
*Molaoi to Leonidi Road, E, NE
Communications
Radio
*FLY FM 89,7 FLY FM 89.7 is a Radio broadcasting, radio station based in Laconia, Greece. It launched in October 1991 with the motto ''It happens now - u hear it on FLY FM 89.7!'' FLY FM plays Greek and international pop music and conducts interviews with Greek ...
(Sparta).
*POLITIA 90,7 – ΠΟΛΙΤΕΙΑ 90.7 (Sparta)
* Radio Sparti – 92.7 FM (Sparta)
* Radiofonias Notias Lakonias (Southern Laconia Radio) – 93.5 (Gytheio)
* Star FM – 94.7
Television
*Ellada TV
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 wi ...
– UHF 43, Sparta
* TV Notias Lakonias – Molaoi
Newspapers
* Λακωνικός Τύπος
* Ελεύθερη Άποψη
Νέα Σπάρτη
*Παρατηρητής της Λακωνίας
See also
* List of settlements in Laconia
*List of traditional Greek place names
This is a list of Greek place names as they exist in the Greek language.
*Places involved in the history of Greek culture, including:
**Historic Greek regions, including:
***Ancient Greece, including colonies and contacted peoples
*** Hellenisti ...
* Laconic phrase
References
{{Authority control
Prefectures of Greece
1833 establishments in Greece
Regional units of Peloponnese (region)