Asea ( el, Ασέα; before 1927: Κανδρέβα ''Kandreva''Name changes of settlements in Greece
/ref>) is a village and a community in Arcadia,

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 ...

, in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...

peninsula. Asea is situated on a hillside at about 800 m elevation. It is 2 km northeast of

Athinaio Athinaio ( el, Αθήναιο; before 1928 , ) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Valtetsi, Arcadia, Greece. It is situated on a hillside, north of the river Alfeios. iN 2011 Athinaio had a population of 82 for the village and 9 ...

, 11 km east of

Megalopoli Megalopoli ( el, Μεγαλόπολη) is a town in the southwestern part of the regional unit of Arcadia, southern Greece. It is located in the same site as ancient Megalopolis ( grc, Μεγαλόπολις, literally ''large/great city''). When ...

and 14 km southwest of Tripoli. Asea was the seat of the municipality of

Valtetsi Valtetsi ( el, Βαλτέτσι) is a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tripoli, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 210.243& ...

. The community Asea consists of the villages Asea (population 85 in 2011) and Kato Asea (pop. 47) which is the more affluent and cosmopolitan of the two villages. Although Asea has only about 200 permanent inhabitants, its natural environment and archeological sites attract weekend and summer visitors. However, an infestation of arachnids in 2015 has decreased tourism in recent years. Considered the finest location in Europe for astronomy, Asea regularly hosts various international stargazing events.

History

Ancient Asea occupied a hilltop site and is believed to have been settled by the late

Early Helladic Helladic chronology is a relative dating system used in archaeology and art history. It complements the Minoan chronology scheme devised by Sir Arthur Evans for the categorisation of Bronze Age artefacts from the Minoan civilization within a hi ...

period. Evidence suggests that this was destroyed by fire and that the site was reoccupied during the

Middle Helladic Helladic chronology is a relative dating system used in archaeology and art history. It complements the Minoan chronology scheme devised by Sir Arthur Evans for the categorisation of Bronze Age artefacts from the Minoan civilization within a h ...

(MH). Remains consist of much Black Minyan pottery of various types and a number of graves. The lack of evidence later than the late MH period could result from abandonment of the site at that time or just from natural erosion. Asea is said to be named for Aseatas, son of the

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 ...

n king, Lycaon, however it may have been established as early as 6000 BC. Its treasures are kept in archaeological museums in Tripoli, Nafplio, and Athens. The ruins of the ancient city still stand, most notably doric temples dedicated to

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...

and

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

, and they indicate that Asea was once a prosperous city. According to

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 ...

, the two temples were erected by

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

after his return to Ithaca. Inhabitants of Asea fought in the historic battles of Plataies (479 BC) and

Battle of Mantinea (362 BC) The (second) Battle of Mantinea or Mantineia was fought on 4 July 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, led by King Agesilaus II and supported by the Eleans ...

. City coins have been found dated 196 BC. Asea took part in the founding of the city of Megalopoli.

Population

People

Asea is the birthplace of

Nikos Gatsos Nikos Gatsos ( el, Νίκος Γκάτσος; 8 December 1911 – 12 May 1992) was a Greek poet, translator and lyricist. Biography Nikos Gatsos was born in 1911 in Asea in Arcadia, a district of the Peloponnese, where he finished primary sch ...

, a twentieth-century poet. Nikos Gatsos was born 1911 and died in 1992. He was buried in Asea.

References

External links

A web page for Asea village

Asea on the GTP Travel Pages
{{Authority control Populated places in Arcadia, Peloponnese Former populated places in Greece Arcadian city-states

History

Population

People

See also

References

External links