The
ruins of
ancient
MESSENE
(Ithómi)
lie 25km
northwest
of
Kalamáta
and 20km
northwest
of
modern
Messíni.
The
ancient
city was
the
fortified
capital
of the
Messenians,
and
achieved
some
fame in
the
ancient
world as
a
showcase
of
military
architecture.
The
highlights
of the
widely
dispersed
site are
the
outcrops
of its
giant
walls,
towers
and
gates.
The
ruins
share
the
lower
slopes
of Mount
Ithómi
(800m)
with the
pretty
village
of
MAVROMÁTI
. A
climb to
the
summit
is
rewarded
with
spectacular
views of
the
region
of
Messinía
and the
southern
Peloponnese.
If you
wish to
stay and
see the
sunset
from the
site of
the
temple
of Zeus
which
crowns
this
peak,
there
are
rooms
at the
Pension
Zeus
(tel
07240/51
025;
¬34-42),
as well
as other
establishments
in the
village.
The
site is
a tricky
place to
get to,
unless
you're
driving.
Buses
run only
twice a
day from
Kalamáta
(very
early
morning
and
early
afternoon).
With a
car it's
a fairly
easy
detour
en route
to
either
Kyparissía,
Pylos or
Petalídhi/Koróni
The
site
Messene's
fortifications
were
designed
as the
southernmost
link in
a
defensive
chain of
walled
cities
(others
included
Megalópolis
and
Árgos)
masterminded
by the
Theban
leader
Epaminondas
to keep
the
Spartans
at bay.
Having
managed
to halt
them at
the
battle
of
Leuctra
(near
Stoúpa)
in 371
BC, he
set
about
building
an
astonishing
nine-kilometre
circuit
of ten-metre-high
walls (which
lasted
almost
undamaged
for 750
years)
and
restoring
the
Messenians
to their
native
acropolis.
The
Messenians,
who had
resisted
Spartan
oppression
from the
eighth
century
BC
onwards,
wasted
no time
in re-establishing
their
capital;
the city,
so
chronicles
say, was
built in
85 days.
The
most
interesting
of the
remains
is the
Arcadia
gate
at the
north
end of
the site,
through
which
the side
road to
Meligalás
still
runs. It
consisted
of an
outer
and
inner
portal
separated
by a
circular
courtyard
made up
of
massive
chunks
of stone
precisely
cut to
fit
together
without
mortar.
The
outer
gate,
the
foundations
of which
are
fairly
evident,
was
flanked
by two
square
towers
from
where
volleys
of
javelins
and
arrows
would
rain
down on
attackers.
The
inner
gate, a
similarly
impregnable
barrier,
comprised
a huge
monolithic
doorpost,
half of
which
still
stands.
You can
still
trace
the ruts
of
chariot
wheels
in paved
stretches
of
ancient
road
within
the
gateway.
Further
south,
and
signposted
"Ithomi:
Archeological
site" on
the road
running
northwest
from
Mavromáti,
is a
recently
excavated
sanctuary
of
Asclepius
. This
site,
which
was
first
mistakenly
marked
out as
the
agora,
consisted
of a
temple
surrounded
by a
porticoed
courtyard.
The
bases of
some of
the
colonnades
have
been
unearthed
along
with
traces
of
benches.
Next to
it you
can make
out the
site of
a
theatre
or
meeting
place.
Excavations
continue
in the
summer
with
archeologists
digging
in the
shade of
semi-permanent
canopies.
Other
remains
are to
be seen
up Mount
Ithómi,
an
hour's
hike
along a
steep
path
forking
north
from the
track at
the
Laconia
gate,
which is
to the
southeast
of the
site.
Along
the way
you pass
remains
of an
Ionic
temple
of
Artemis
. At the
top, on
the site
of a
temple
of Zeus,
are the
ruins of
the
small
monastery
of
Voulkanós
,
founded
in the
eighth
century
but
dating
in its
present
form
from the
sixteenth.
Spread
below
are the
lush and
fertile
valleys
of
Messinía.
