Gerenia (), or Gerena (τὰ Γέρηνα), or Gerenus or Gerenos (Γέρηνος), was a town of

ancient Messenia Messenia () was an ancient district of the southwestern Peloponnese, more or less overlapping the modern Messenia region of Greece. To the north it had a border with Elis along the Neda river. From there the border with Arcadia ran along the to ...

, where, according to

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Nestor was said to have been brought up after the destruction of

Pylos Pylos (, ; ), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of ...

, and whence he derived the surname Gerenian, which occurs so frequently in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' 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 ...

. There is, however, no town of this name mentioned in Homer, and many of the ancient critics identified the later Gerenia with the Homeric Enope. Under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, Gerenia was the most northerly of the

Eleuthero-Laconian The League of Free Laconians () was established in southern Greece in 21 BC by the Emperor Augustus,Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos. ''Deep into Mani: Journey to the southern tip of Greece'', 21 giving formal structure to a group of cities that had been ...

towns, and was situated on the eastern side of the

Messenian Gulf The Messenian Gulf (, ''Messiniakós Kólpos'') is a sea that is part of the Ionian Sea. The gulf is circumscribed by the southern coasts of Messenia and the southwestern coast of the Mani peninsula in Laconia. Its bounds are Venetiko Island ...

, upon a mountainous promontory. Pausanias says that in the district of Gerenia there was a mountain called Calathium, upon which there was a sanctuary of Claea (an

Oread In Greek mythology, Oreads (; ) or Orestiads (; ) are mountain nymphs. They are described as being companions of Artemis, or as being found alongside gods such as Pan (god), Pan or Dionysus. A 2nd-century AD epigram relates that, with the help ...

), and close to the latter a cavern, of which the entrance was narrow, though within there were many things worthy to be seen. Its site is located near

Zarnata Zarnata Castle () is a ruined Ottoman-era castle in the Mani Peninsula in southern Greece. History Zarnata is first mentioned in a Venetian document in 1278, and again in 1428, among the territories of Constantine Palaiologos. During the civil w ...

, аbove the modern village Kampos. Two very ancient inscriptions discovered at Gerenia are published by

August Böckh August Böckh or Boeckh (; ; 24 November 1785 – 3 August 1867) was a German classical scholar and antiquarian. Life He was born in Karlsruhe, and educated at the local gymnasium; in 1803 he left for the University of Halle, where he studied t ...

, ''Corp. Inscr.'' nos. 13, 42.

References

Populated places in ancient Messenia Populated places in ancient Laconia Former populated places in Greece Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece {{AncientLaconia-geo-stub