The Mani Peninsula (), also long known by its medieval name Maina or Maïna (), is a geographical and cultural region in the Peloponnese of Southern Greece and home to the Maniots (), who claim descent from the ancient

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

ns. The capital city of Mani is Areopoli. Mani is the central of three peninsulas which extend southwards from the Peloponnese. To the east is the Laconian Gulf, to the west the Messenian Gulf. The Mani peninsula forms a continuation of the Taygetos mountain range, the western spine of the Peloponnese.

Etymology

There are many theories regarding the etymology of the word Mani. The most accepted one is that it represents the natural evolution of the medieval name of the region, which was Maini, of uncertain origin. The name "Mani" may come from the name of the Frankish castle ''le Grand Magne''.

Geography

The terrain is mountainous and inaccessible. Until recent years many Mani villages could be reached only by sea. Today a narrow and winding road extends along the west coast from Kalamata to Areopoli, then south to Akrotainaro (the pointed cape, which is the southernmost point of continental Greece) before it turns north toward Gytheio. Another road, that is used by the public buses of the Piraeus–Mani line, which has existed for several decades, comes from Tripoli through

, Gytheio, Areopoli and ends in the Gerolimenas port near Cape Matapan. Mani has been traditionally divided into three regions: *''Exo Mani'' (Έξω Μάνη) or Outer Mani to the northwest, *''Kato Mani'' (Κάτω Μάνη) or Lower Mani to the east, *''Mesa Mani'' (Μέσα Μάνη) or Inner Mani to the southwest. A fourth region named Vardounia (Βαρδούνια) to the north is also sometimes included but was never historically part of Mani. Vardounia served as a buffer between the Ottoman-Turkish controlled Evrotas plains and Mani. A contingent of Muslim Albanian settlers were relocated to the region by the Ottomans. These settlers formed a large segment of the local population until the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

when they fled to the Turkish stronghold at Tripoli. Following the war Vardounia's Greek population was reinforced by settlers from Lower Mani and central Laconia. Administratively, Mani is now divided between the prefectures of Laconia (Kato Mani, Mesa Mani) and Messenia (Exo Mani), in the periphery of Peloponnesos, but in ancient times it lay entirely within Laconia, the district dominated by

. The Messenian Mani (also called ''aposkiaderi'', a local expression meaning "shady") receives somewhat more rainfall than the Laconian (called ''prosiliaki'', a local expression meaning "sunny"), and is consequently more productive in agriculture. Maniots from what is now Messenian Mani have surnames that uniformly end in ''-éas'', whereas Maniots from what is now Laconian Mani have surnames that end in ''-ákos''; additionally there is the ''-óggonas'' ending, a corruption of ''éggonos'', "grandson".

History

A skull of ''

Homo sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

'' dating to more than 210,000 years ago was found in the Apidima Cave on the western side of the peninsula. this was the oldest evidence of ''Homo sapiens'' in Europe.

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

remains have been found in many caves along the Mani coasts, including the Alepotrypa Cave.

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 ...

refers to a number of towns in the Mani region, and some artifacts from the Mycenaean period (1900–1100 BC) have been found. The area was occupied by the

Dorians The Dorians (; , , singular , ) were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Greeks, Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans (tribe), Achaeans, and Ionians). They are almost alw ...

in about 1200 BC, and became a dependency of

. After Spartan power was destroyed in the 3rd century BC, Mani remained self-governing. As the power of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

declined, the peninsula drifted out of the Empire's control. The fortress of Maini in the south became the area's centre. Over the subsequent centuries, the peninsula was fought over by the Byzantines, the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, and the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

. After 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 ...

in 1204 AD, Italian and French knights (known collectively by the Greeks as Franks) occupied the Peloponnese and created the Principality of Achaea. They built the fortresses of Mystras, Passavas, Leuktron (Beaufort), and Great Maina. The area fell under

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

rule after 1262, forming part of the Despotate of the Morea. In 1460, after the

fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

, the Despotate fell to the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

. According to local tradition, some members of noble Byzantine families—such as the Palaiologoi—fled to Mani. Mani was not subdued and retained its internal self-government in exchange for an annual tribute, although this was only paid once. Local

chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...

s or ''beys'' governed Mani on behalf of the Ottomans. The first of these was Limberakis Gerakaris in the 17th century. A former oarsman in the Venetian fleet turned pirate, he was captured by the Ottomans and condemned to death. The Grand Vizier pardoned him, on condition that he took over control of Mani as an Ottoman agent. Gerakaris accepted, using the opportunity to carry out his feud with the strong Maniot family of the Stephanopouloi: he besieged their seat at Oitylo, captured 35 of them, and had them executed. During his twenty-year reign, he shifted allegiance between the Venetians and the Turks. Following the failure of the Orlov Revolt, in 1776 Mani's autonomous status was recognized by the Porte, and for the next 45 years until the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, eight rulers (" beys") reigned over the peninsula on behalf of the Porte: * (1776–1779) * Michalbey Troupakis, known as Mourtzinos (1779–1782) * Tzanetos Kapetanakis Grigorakis or Tzanetbey (1782–1798) * Panagiotis Koumoundouros (1798–1803) * Antonbey Grigorakis (1803–1808) * Konstantinos Zervakos or Zervobey (1808–1810) * Theodorobey Tzanetakis (1811–1815) * Petrobey Mavromichalis (1815–1821) As Ottoman power declined, the mountains of the Mani became a stronghold of the '' klephts'', bandits who also fought against the Ottomans. There is also evidence of a sizeable Maniot emigration to

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

sometime during the Ottoman years. Petros Mavromichalis, the last '' bey'' of Mani, was among the leaders of the

. He proclaimed the revolution at Areopoli on March 17, 1821. The Maniots contributed greatly to the struggle, but once Greek independence was won, they wanted to retain local autonomy. During the reign of

Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (; February 1776 –27 September 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias, was a Greek statesman who was one of the most distinguished politicians and diplomats of 19th-century Europe. Kapodistrias's ...

, they violently resisted outside interference, to the extent of Mavromichalis' sons killing Kapodistrias. In 1878 the national government reduced the local autonomy of the Mani, and the area gradually became a backwater; inhabitants abandoned the land through emigration, with many going to major Greek cities, as well as to western Europe and the United States. It was not until the 1970s, when the construction of new roads supported the growth of the tourist industry, that the Mani began to regain population and become prosperous.

Economy

Despite the region's aridity, Mani is known for its unique culinary products such as ''glina'' or ''syglino'' (pork or pork sausage smoked with aromatic herbs such as

thyme Thyme () is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus ''Thymus (plant), Thymus'' of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Eurasia and north Africa. Thymes have culinary, medici ...

, oregano, mint, etc. and stored in lard along with orange peel). Mani is also known for honey and extra-virgin

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

, soft-pressed from partially ripened olives of the ''Koroneiki'' variety, which are grown on mountain terraces. Today the Mani's coastal villages are full of cafés and souvenir shops. The peninsula attracts visitors for its Byzantine churches, Frankish castles, sandy beaches and scenery. Some popular beaches during the summer are Kalogria and the beaches by Stoupa harbor, while Kardamyli and Agios Nikolaos have good pebble and sand beaches, too. The ancient tower houses of Mani (''pyrgospita'') are significant tourist attractions, and some offer accommodations for visitors. The Vlychada Caves at Pirgos Dirou, near Oitylo, are also a popular tourist destination. As they are partly underwater, visitors tour them in '' gondola''-like boats. Gytheio, Areopoli, Kardamyli, and Stoupa are filled with tourists during the summer months, but the region is generally quiet during the winter. Many inhabitants work as olive farmers, and devote the winter months to the olive harvest and processing. Some of the villages in the mountains are less tourist oriented and often have very few inhabitants.

Religion

The introduction of Christianity came late in Mani: the first Greek temples began to be converted into Christian churches during the 11th century AD. A Byzantine Greek monk called Nikon "the Metanoite" () was commissioned by the Church in the 10th century to spread Christianity to areas such as Mani and Tsakonia, which had remained pagan. St. Nikon was sent to Mani in the latter half of the 10th century to preach Christianity to the Maniots. Although the Maniots began to convert to Christianity due to Nikon's preaching, it took more than 200 years, i.e. until the 11th and 12th centuries to eliminate most of the pagan Greek religion and traditions and for the Maniots to fully accept Christianity. After his sanctification by the Greek Orthodox Church, St. Nikon became patron saint of Mani as well as Sparta. Patrick Leigh Fermor wrote of them:

Gallery

File:Mani 1 small.jpg, Tower houses in Skoutari File:GR-itylo-bucht.jpg, Oitylo village File:Diros-cave-greece 16890493012 o.jpg, Diros cave File:Mani 3 small.jpg, Landscape File:Limeni Mani.jpg, Limeni (port) of Areopoli Image:Kardamyli 02.jpg, The Church of St. Spyridon in Kardamyli File:Saint Theodoroi church in Kampos Avias.jpg, Byzantine Saints Theodoroi church in Kampos

References

External links

*
Paintings and drawings of Mani
by the German painter and inhabitant of Gerolimenas, {{Authority control Peninsulas of Greece Landforms of Peloponnese (region) Landforms of Laconia Landforms of Messenia Historical regions in Greece