Liodora (Greek: Λιοδώρα) is a small village in Arcadia, the central region of the

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 ...

area of

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 ...

. Liodora is part of the Municipal Unit of

Iraia Iraia () is a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it became a municipal unit of the municipality of Gortynia. The municipal unit has an area of 144.002 km2. Its population is 960, accord ...

, which belongs to the Municipality of Gortynia. It is situated on a low hill near the left bank of the river Ladon, 5 km northeast of

Tripotamia Tripotamia (Greek: Τριποταμιά meaning "three rivers", before 1927: Μπέλεσι - ''Belesi'') is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Tropaia in the westernmost part of Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. It is situated on a hi ...

, 8 km west of

Paloumpa Paloumpa (, also ''Palouba'') is a town in Arcadia, southern Greece. It is situated on a mountain slope overlooking the valley of the river Alfeios. It was the seat of the former municipality of Iraia. The town is in a remote area, but contains a ...

and 17 km northwest of

Dimitsana Dimitsana () is a mountain village and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality Gortynia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...

, the capital of the Municipality.

Geography

Liodora is situated in a hilly plateau and features several hills. The view to the south are blocked by a mountain slope. Kryonero has several valleys around the area, which also contains forests, grasslands, farmlands and bushes.

Information

Its main production are

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

, fruits, vegetables and other crops, as well as life stock products. The village can be seen as far as to the north and east.

History

The name Liodora was probably derived from Heliodorus (Greek: Ηλιόδωρος) or Leodorus (Greek: Λεόδωρος), an ancient ruler or nobleman of the area, or it is a derivative of the word "Herodora" (Greek: Ηροδώρα), denoting

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

, the wife of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

, giving gifts. About 5 km to the south of the contemporary village was Ancient Irea, a city built next to the

Alfeios River The Alpheios (, , Latin Alpheus), sometimes spelled Alfeiós, is the main stream of the Alpheios Valley drainage system, a dendritic type, originating on the north slopes of Mount Taygetus, located in the center of the Peloponnesus of Greece, and ...

, close to

Ancient Olympia Olympia ( ; ), officially Archaia Olympia ( ), is a small town in Elis on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, famous for the nearby archaeological site of the same name. The site was a major Panhellenic religious sanctuary of ancient Greece, ...

. In the Middle Ages, the village was the capital of the entire region, which also bared its name. The location of the lost ancient city of Melaneai (Greek: Μελανεαί) is believed to be in the vicinity of contemporary Liodora. Outside the village there is also an ancient cheese factory.

Population

References

External links