Ermioni (

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: ;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Hermione ) is a small port town and a former municipality in

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese penin ...

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

on the

Argolid Peninsula The Argolid Peninsula is a peninsula situated in Greece in the Peloponnese, much of which is contained in the modern region of Argolis. One of the first major Greek settlements, Mycenae, is situated on this peninsula. During the Classical Gree ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ermionida, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 168.180 km². It is a popular tourist resort.

Geography

The port town Ermioni is situated in the southeastern part of

, on the coast of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

. It faces the islands of Hydra and Dokos. The municipal unit Ermioni also contains the communities Iliokastro (7 km north of Ermioni) and Thermisia (7 km east of Ermioni). It is 10 km east of Kranidi,17,27 km southwest of Porto Cheli 22 km southwest of Galatas and 44 km southeast of

Nafplio Nafplio or Nauplio () is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important tourist destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the Middle Ages du ...

. Ermioni is connected to

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

by ferry.

History

The place has been continuously inhabited, at least since the times of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

. Long before classical times ancient Hermione was settled by Dryopians. During the classic era it was well known for its shipbuilders and also for the production of porphyra, a very important red dye. This dye was used for the colouring of the uniforms of many armies including that of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

. It controlled a wider region named Hermionis. Pausanias described the major temples and buildings, various festivities and sport games of the town. According to Pausanias, Ermioni was also the home of a temple of the goddess

Hestia In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hestia (; ) is the virgin goddess of the hearth and the home. In myth, she is the firstborn child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and one of the Twelve Olympians. In Greek mythology, newborn Hestia, alo ...

: :" t Hermione in Argolis :Passing into the sanctuary of Hestia, we see no image, but only an altar, and they sacrifice to Hestia upon it."Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 35. 1 This was exceptional, as Hestia normally did not have temples but was worshipped in the prytaneum of each city, and a sanctuary of the goddess was therefore something highly unusual—Pausanias himself mentions only two (the other one in Sparta). During the Ottoman Era it was still known for ship building and its naval abilities, which played a significant role in the Greek revolution of 1821.

Historical population

People

* Lasus of Hermione, a Greek poet from the 6th century BC * Xenon of Hermione, a tyrant before 229 BC * Spyridon Merkouris, former mayor of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

References

External links