Peloponnese
Peloponnese is a large, predominantly mountainous peninsula located in southern Greece, separated from the mainland by the isthmus of Corinth. Its name is thought to derive from the mythological figure Pelops, associated with the Pelopid dynasty, including notable figures like Agamemnon. The region holds significant historical and cultural importance, having been referenced in ancient texts, including the works of Homer. The peninsula is divided into several regions: Achaea, Elis, Arcadia, Argolid, Messenia, and Laconia, with Sparta, the capital of Laconia, known for its military prowess. The Peloponnesian War, a major conflict between Sparta and Athens, is a notable historical event that underscores the area's strategic importance. In the later Middle Ages, the Peloponnese was known as the Morea, a term that reflects its agricultural history. Today, Peloponnese remains a vital part of Greece's heritage, attracting those interested in its rich history and diverse landscapes.
Peloponnese
Peloponnesos
The extensive and largely mountainous peninsula of southern Greece, separated from the rest of the mainland by the isthmus of Corinth. The Greeks interpreted its name as Pelopos nesos, the island of the mythological Pelops, whose family, the Pelopids (including Agamemnon), were believed to have been kings of Mycenae or Argos. Homer sometimes appears to use the name `Argos’ to signify the whole peninsula, whereas the word `Peloponnesos’ appears in the Cypria, a poem of the later Epic Cycle, and in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo.
The principal divisions of the territory were Achaea, Elis, Arcadia, the Argolid, Messenia, and Laconia; the capital of Laconia, Sparta, was the strongest town in the peninsula, so that its historic war against Athens, narrated by Thucydides, was known as the Peloponnesian War. (In the later Middle Ages the Peloponnese was called the Morea, the Greek word for mulberry, originally applied to mulberry-growing Elis).