Messenia (ancient world)
Messenia is an ancient region located in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese in Greece, bordered by Elis and Arcadia to the north and Mount Taygetus to the east. The area is rich in historical significance, particularly during the Mycenaean period, exemplified by the archaeological remains of Pylos, which some associate with the legendary palace of Nestor from Homer's "Odyssey." Following the Dorian conquest, Messenia came under the rule of local kings, but it faced significant challenges from the expansionist Spartans. The region experienced two major conflicts: the First Messenian War (circa 740–720 BCE), which resulted in Spartan annexation of parts of Messenia, and the Second Messenian War (circa 650–620 BCE), which further solidified Spartan control. Many Messenian inhabitants were subsequently reduced to helot status. The territory eventually saw a resurgence under Theban leader Epaminondas, who liberated Messenia around 469 or 464 BCE and founded the city of Messene around 369 BCE, establishing it as a counterbalance to Spartan power. The area also included notable towns like Cardamyle and Thalamai, with rich cultural and religious sites.
Subject Terms
Messenia (ancient world)
The southwestern region of the Peloponnese (southern Greece), bordered to the north by Elis and Arcadia and to the east by Mount Taygetus and Laconia, which was dominated by Sparta
Extensive development in the Mycenaean (Bronze) Age is reflected by the remains of Pylos, believed by some to be the palace of the Homeric Nestor, who, according to the Odyssey, received a visit from Telemachus, searching for his father Odysseus.
After the Dorian conquest, according to Greek legendary tradition, Messenia passed under the control of Kings Cresphontes and Aepytus, whose territory was centered on the upper Pamisus valley near Mount Ithome. About 740–720(?), however, came the First War against the land-hungry Spartans, who annexed at least the central plain, allegedly causing the Messenian leader Aristodemus—who had offered his daughter to the underworld gods in response to a Delphic oracle—to kill himself on her grave. In the Second War (c 650–620?) the Messenian Aristomenes, after a victory and a subsequent defeat, was believed to have fled after the fall of his stronghold Eira (though his dating is problematical), and the whole territory became Spartan; most of its inhabitants were reduced to the status of helots or serfs. After further revolts in c 490 and c 469 or 464 the country was liberated by Epaminondas the Theban, who founded Messene in c 369 as its new capital, designed to keep a check on Sparta. Messenia also possessed towns at Cardamyle (Kardamili) and Thalamai (Koutophari), of which the latter adjoined a well-known sanctuary of Ino-Pasiphae (at Svina). For the subsequent history of the territory seeMessene; and see alsoMothone, Pylos.