The Heraion of Argos ( Greek : Ἡραῖον Ἄργους ) is an ancient sanctuary in the Argolid , Greece , dedicated to Hera , whose epithet "Argive Hera" (Ἥρη Ἀργείη Here Argeie ) appears in Homer 's works. Hera herself claims to be the protector of Argos in Iliad IV, 50–52): "The three towns I love best are Argos, Sparta and Mycenae of the broad streets". The memory was preserved at Argos of an archaic, aniconic pillar representation of the Great Goddess . The site, which might mark the introduction of the cult of Hera in mainland Greece, lies northeast of Argos between the sites of Mycenae and Midea , two important Mycenaean cities. The traveller Pausanias , visiting the site in the 2nd century CE, referred to the area as Prosymna (Προσύμνη).
136-678: Located within the fertile Argive Plain in the Northeastern part of the Peloponnesian peninsula , the Heraion at Argos stands on the lower hills leading up to Mount Euboea. Around five miles from the city of Argos , three miles from Mycenae , and six miles from Tiryns , the Heraion remained accessible to inhabitants of the plain through a variety of walking trails and roads that brought surrounding enclaves, like Mycenae and Argos, together for worship and sacred games. The chosen area where
272-505: A brief time by a Catalan corsair. When the population drove him out, they obtained the consent of Thomas to submit to the Pope's protection before the end of 1460. The Mani Peninsula at the south end of the Morea resisted under a loose coalition of the local clans, and that area then came under Venice 's rule. The last holdout was Salmeniko , in the Morea's northwest. Graitzas Palaiologos was
408-543: A commission at Andravida consisted of Latin bishops, two bannerets and five Greek magnates and chaired by himself, to assess the land and divide it, according to Latin practice, in fiefs . The result was divide the country into twelve baronies , mostly centred around a newly constructed castle—a testament to the fact that the Franks were a military elite amidst a potentially hostile Greek population. The twelve temporal barons were joined by seven ecclesiastic lords, headed by
544-528: A modern empire is impossible without a strong navy. He states that this is the result of the development of piracy and coastal settlements in earlier Greece. Important in this regard was the development, at the beginning of the classical period (c. 500 BC), of the trireme , the supreme naval ship for the next several hundred years. In his emphasis on sea power, Thucydides is echoed by the modern naval theorist Alfred Thayer Mahan , whose influential work The Influence of Sea Power upon History helped set in motion
680-411: A patron of the wellbeing of the family, and she also appears to have been worshipped in relation to the military and state, too, since these protected the household. Because of her encompassing role in everyday life, men and women both worshipped Hera. The Heraion accommodated a number of yearly festivals that included Argos and other nearby communities. Specifically, there were annual events to celebrate
816-581: A personal fief of the Villehardouins. The barons retained considerable powers and privileges, so that the Prince was not an absolute sovereign but rather a "first among equals" among them. Thus they had the right to construct a castle without the Prince's permission, or to decree capital punishment . Since Salic Law was not adopted in Achaea, women could also inherit the fiefs. Frankish supremacy in
952-407: A priestess, Khrysis, had inadvertently left a torch too close to some garlands which started the fire (4.133). A new temple was built on a different terrace in between 420 B.C.E and 410 B.C.E. Amandry suggests that the construction of this new temple was not just solely because it was acting as a replacement; there is evidence that adding this temple, commonly called the classical temple, was planned in
1088-684: A prisoner of the Ottomans and his younger brother Thomas fled. By the end of the summer the Ottomans had achieved the submission of virtually all cities possessed by the Greeks . Ottoman incursions into the Morea resumed under Turahan Bey after 1423. Despite the reconstruction of the Hexamilion wall at the Isthmus of Corinth, the Ottomans under Murad II breached it in 1446, forcing the Despots of
1224-642: A protector and patron of the state. Because family served as a foundation for the army and the army would in turn protects the interests of the home, Hera's role as a patron goddess encompassed society within the Argive Plain in a very multidimensional way. General Gordon found the Argive Heraion in 1831. Excavations of the Second Temple Terrace occurred, led by Gordon in 1836 and by Bursian and Rangabé in 1854. Schliemann investigated
1360-435: A protector concerned with the family. There are many small figurines of children and women as well as amulets for protection that support this hypothesis. Further, there have also been terracotta votives that depict household activities like making food, clothing, and weaving. These also confirm Hera's association with preserving the home. Finally, warrior figurines and shields found at the Argive Heraion indicate Hera's status as
1496-537: A significant degree of empathy with those who suffer from the exigencies of the war. For the most part, the History does not discuss topics such as the art and architecture of Greece. The History emphasizes the development of military technologies. In several passages (1.14.3, 2.75–76, 7.36.2–3), Thucydides describes in detail various innovations in the conduct of siegeworks or naval warfare. The History places great importance upon naval supremacy, arguing that
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#17327807451431632-701: A staircase leading up to the Old temple Terrace. There was also new construction to the east of the Heraion's site in the form of the establishment of the rectangular East Building. Argos also built another stoa on the southern side of the sanctuary, commonly referred to as the South Stoa. In The History of the Peloponnesian War , Thucydides reveals that the Old Temple at the Heraion burned down in 423 B.C. (4.133). According to this account of Thucydides,
1768-516: A turning point. Rivalries among the insurgents eventually erupted into civil war in 1824, which enabled the Ottoman Egyptian vassal Ibrahim Pasha to land in the peninsula in 1825. The Peloponnese peninsula was the scene of fierce fighting and extensive devastation following the arrival of Ibrahim's Egyptian troops. Partly as a result of the atrocities committed by Ibrahim, the UK, France, and
1904-607: A way for Argos to legitimize their growing state by linking it to Mycenaean heroic success and prestige. Before Argos built the earliest structures of the Heraion and held influence over the area, groups were using the land in the Neolithic period into the Late Helladic period. P. Alin found evidence in the form of Protogeometric pottery pieces to support that groups had settled near the Old Temple Terrace and
2040-604: A white wine made from Moschofilero , the Nemea wine region makes renowned red wines from the Agiorgitiko grape, and fortified red wine is made in the region around the city of Patras from Mavrodafni grapes. 37°20′59″N 22°21′08″E / 37.34972°N 22.35222°E / 37.34972; 22.35222 History of the Peloponnesian War The History of the Peloponnesian War
2176-757: 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 bridge which separates the Gulf of Corinth from the Saronic Gulf . From the late Middle Ages until the 19th century, the peninsula was known as the Morea , a name still in colloquial use in its demotic form. The peninsula
2312-630: Is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta ) and the Delian League (led by Athens ). It was written by Thucydides , an Athenian historian who also served as an Athenian general during the war. His account of the conflict is widely considered to be a classic and regarded as one of the earliest scholarly works of history. The History
2448-449: Is a possibility that translation mistakes influenced the deductions of realists with regards to the work of Thucydides . The History is preoccupied with the interplay of justice and power in political and military decision-making. Thucydides' presentation is decidedly ambivalent on this theme. While the History seems to suggest that considerations of justice are artificial and necessarily capitulate to power, it sometimes also shows
2584-532: Is clear Argos built this part of the Heraion far after the Mycenaeans. First, Tilton points out that the terrace is too long and is not segmented in the way Mycenaeans typically built their walls and terraces. Additionally, the stones employed by the Argives in the construction of the Old Temple Terrace are bigger than those installed by Mycenaeans. From these observations done in 1903, Tilton concluded that Argos
2720-403: Is commonly thought that Thucydides died while still working on the History , since it ends in mid-sentence and only goes up to 411 BC, leaving six years of war uncovered. Furthermore, there is a great deal of uncertainty whether he intended to revise the sections he had already written. Since there appear to be some contradictions between certain passages in the History , it has been proposed that
2856-505: Is considered to be one of the key figures in the development of Western history, thus making his methodology the subject of much analysis in the area of historiography . Thucydides is one of the first western historians to employ a strict standard of chronology, recording events by year, with each year consisting of the summer campaign season and a less active winter season. This method contrasts sharply with Herodotus . Thucydides also makes extensive use of speeches in order to elaborate on
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#17327807451432992-545: Is divided among three administrative regions : most belongs to the Peloponnese region, with smaller parts belonging to the West Greece and Attica regions. The Peloponnese is a peninsula located at the southern tip of the mainland, 21,549.6 square kilometres (8,320.3 sq mi) in area, and constitutes the southernmost part of mainland Greece. It is connected to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth , where
3128-444: Is divided into eight books. Analyses of the History generally occur in one of two camps. On the one hand, some scholars such as J. B. Bury view the work as an objective and scientific piece of history. The judgment of Bury reflects this traditional interpretation of the History as "severe in its detachment, written from a purely intellectual point of view, unencumbered with platitudes and moral judgments, cold and critical." On
3264-642: Is explored in several passages, notably in the speech at 1.73–78, where an anonymous Athenian legation defends the empire on the grounds that it was freely given to the Athenians and not taken by force. The subsequent expansion of the empire is defended by these Athenians, "...the nature of the case first compelled us to advance our empire to its present height; fear being our principal motive, though honor and interest came afterward." (1.75.3) The Athenians also argue that, "We have done nothing extraordinary, nothing contrary to human nature in accepting an empire when it
3400-511: Is headed by a city. The largest city is Patras (pop. 170,000) in Achaia, followed by Kalamata (pop. 55,000) in Messenia. Peloponnese for the most part enjoys a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ), while the Gulf of Corinth has a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification : BSh ). Rainfall is higher in the west coasts, while the east of
3536-402: Is today.” Historian H. D. Kitto feels that Thucydides wrote about the Peloponnesian War not because it was the most significant war in antiquity but because it caused the most suffering. Indeed, several passages of Thucydides' book are written "with an intensity of feeling hardly exceeded by Sappho herself." In his Open Society and Its Enemies , Karl R. Popper writes that Thucydides
3672-634: The Chronicle of Monemvasia , in 805 the Byzantine governor of Corinth went to war with the Slavs, exterminated them, and allowed the original inhabitants to claim their lands. They regained control of the city of Patras and the region was re-settled with Greeks. Many Slavs were transported to Asia Minor , and many Asian, Sicilian and Calabrian Greeks were resettled in the Peloponnese. By the turn of
3808-414: The 426 BC Malian Gulf tsunami , for the first time in the recorded history of natural science , quakes and waves in terms of cause and effect. Thucydides' History is extraordinarily dense and complex. His particular ancient Greek prose is also very challenging, grammatically, syntactically, and semantically. This has resulted in much scholarly disagreement on a cluster of issues of interpretation. It
3944-521: The Corinth Canal was constructed in 1893. However, it is also connected to the mainland by several bridges across the canal, including two submersible bridges at the north and the south end. Near the northern tip of the peninsula, there is another bridge, the Rio–Antirrio bridge (completed 2004). The peninsula has a mountainous interior, although extensive lowlands are also found in the west, in
4080-782: The Evrotas Valley in the south, and in the Argolid Peninsula in the northeast. The Peloponnese possesses four south-pointing peninsulas, the Messenian , the Mani , the Cape Malea (also known as Epidaurus Limera), and the Argolid in the far northeast of the Peloponnese. Mount Taygetus in the south is the highest mountain in the Peloponnese, at 2,407 metres (7,897 ft). Οther important mountains include Cyllene in
4216-520: The Hieros Gamos of Hera and Zeus. According to Pausanias, the people of Argos believed that the spring of Kanathos by nearby Nauplion was sacred, and Hera bathed there to gain back her virginity before the Hieros Gamos. As a result, the Argives bathed her statue before the ceremonies surrounding this festival. Beyond this occasion, there is evidence that rituals for betrothed women occurred at
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4352-613: The History on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference . In the 17th century, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (who himself translated the work) wrote about Thucydides as follows: It hath been noted by divers, that Homer in poesy, Aristotle in philosophy, Demosthenes in eloquence, and others of the ancients in other knowledge, do still maintain their primacy: none of them exceeded, some not approached, by any in these later ages. And in
4488-487: The Isthmus of Corinth . His attack opened the peninsula to invasion, though Murad died before he could exploit this. His successor Mehmed II "the Conqueror" captured the Byzantine capital Constantinople in 1453. The despots, Demetrios Palaiologos and Thomas Palaiologos , brothers of the last emperor, failed to send him any aid, as Morea was recovering from a recent Ottoman attack. Their own incompetence resulted in
4624-650: The Latin Archbishop of Patras . Each of the latter was granted a number of estates as knightly fiefs, with the Archbishop receiving eight, the other bishops four each, and likewise four granted to each of the military orders : the Templars , Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights . Shortly after 1260, a thirteenth barony, that of Arcadia (modern Kyparissia ) was established, which was also
4760-642: The Morea revolt of 1453–1454 led by Manuel Kantakouzenos against them, during which they invited in Ottoman troops to help them put down the revolt. At this time, the Greek archons made peace with Mehmed. After more years of incompetent rule by the despots, their failure to pay their annual tribute to the Sultan, and finally their own revolt against Ottoman rule, Mehmed came into the Morea in May 1460. Demetrios ended up
4896-616: The Ottoman Turks on 31 May 1460, Mystras was the residence of a Despot who ruled over the Byzantine Morea, known as the " Despotate of the Morea ". For the larger portion of his reign, Manuel maintained peaceful relations with his Latin neighbors and secured a long period of prosperity for the area. Greco-Latin cooperation included an alliance to contain the raids of the Ottoman Sultan Murad I into Morea in
5032-648: The Roman period , the peninsula remained prosperous but became a provincial backwater, relatively cut off from the affairs of the wider Roman world . After the partition of the Empire in 395, the Peloponnese became a part of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire . The devastation of Alaric 's raid in 396–397 led to the construction of the Hexamilion wall across the Isthmus of Corinth. Through most of late antiquity ,
5168-522: The klephts ' activities. With the outbreak of the " Great Turkish War " in 1683, the Venetians under Francesco Morosini occupied the entire peninsula by 1687, and received recognition by the Ottomans in the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699). The Venetians established their province as the " Kingdom of the Morea " (It. Regno di Morea ), but their rule proved unpopular, and when the Ottomans invaded
5304-510: The 1360s. The rival Palaiologos dynasty seized the Morea after Manuel's death in 1380, with Theodore I Palaiologos becoming despot in 1383. Theodore I ruled until 1407, consolidating Byzantine rule and coming to terms with his more powerful neighbours—particularly the expansionist Ottoman Empire , whose suzerainty he recognised. Subsequent despots were the sons of the Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos , brother of
5440-400: The 5th century, even before the fire. To accommodate the growing Argive state during this time, expansion at the Argive Heraion was necessary, and further, these changes "fit well into a general pattern of post conquest revision, clarifying social status and rights in light of the new social order, integrating cult activity, and reinforcing Argos' dominant position on the plain" (Morgan 86). If
5576-529: The 9th century, the entire Peloponnese was formed into the new thema of Peloponnesos , with its capital at Corinth. The imposition of Byzantine rule over the Slavic enclaves may have largely been a process of Christianization and accommodation of Slavic chieftains into the Imperial fold, as literary, epigraphic and sigillographic evidence testify to Slavic archontes participating in Imperial affairs. By
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5712-590: The Argive Heraion. Coulton dated the long stoa of the Heraion to be from the late 7th to 6th century B.C.E. in 1976. The long stoa, also called the North Stoa, measures 62.10 x 9.20 m. Additionally, Coulton dated a smaller stoa, the North-East Building, to be from around the middle of the 6th century B.C.E. The North-East Building, measuring 20.60 x 6.90 m, is to the east of the larger North Stoa. Billot suggests in his 1997 work that Argos also built
5848-547: The Argive Heraion. As a young woman left the status of a child and became a married woman, there were numerous practices at the site of the Heraion, like bathing in the water from the river Eleutherion, that would serve to get her ready for marriage. Additionally, there is evidence for a procession up to the Argive Heraion from Argos. Called the Procession of the Hera Argeia, the march left the city of Argos and headed up
5984-659: The Hellenization campaign also shows that the Slavs had settled among many Greeks, in contrast to areas further north in what is now Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia, as those areas could not be Hellenized when they were recovered by the Byzantines in the early 11th century. A human genetics study in 2017 showed that the Peloponnesians have little admixture with populations of the Slavic homeland and are much closer to Sicilians and southern Italians. Apart from
6120-484: The Heraion stands today is not completely flat, and the Argives constructed a massive retaining wall and terrace for a better space at the time of construction. The river Eleutherion runs close to the sacred site, providing water for cleansing rituals and sacrifices. Also nearby the Heraion are tombs from the plain's predecessors, the Mycenaeans ; the establishment of the Heraion nearby this already sacred area served as
6256-492: The Heraion's establishment in the 8th century B.C.E., and the sanctuary functioned as a shared place of worship and meeting space for various communities in the Argive Plain until 460 B.C.E. Measuring 55.80 m x 34.40 m, the rectangular Old Temple Terrace was the first structure built at the Argive Heraion. The Argives built the terrace in the late eighth or early seventh century by piling large stones of various shapes onto each other. These stones are found naturally around 50 m from
6392-510: The Morea to re-acknowledge Ottoman suzerainty, and again under Turahan in 1452 and 1456. Following the occupation of the Duchy of Athens in 1456, the Ottomans occupied a third of the Peloponnese in 1458, and Sultan Mehmed II extinguished the remnants of the Despotate in 1460. A few holdouts remained for a time. The rocky peninsula of Monemvasia refused to surrender, and it was first ruled for
6528-443: The Old Temple Terrace twenty years later. More comprehensive excavations began at the end of the 19th century. In 1892, Waldstein carried out four campaigns that surveyed the entire sanctuary, its surviving buildings, and votives. Blegen turned away from the sanctuary and did work on the surrounding area of the Argive Heraion, finding evidence for cemeteries and occupation nearby the site. Caskey and Amandry carried out an excavation upon
6664-527: The Peloponnese rose against the Ottomans with Russian aid during the so-called " Orlov Revolt " of 1770, but it was swiftly and brutally suppressed by bands of Muslim Albanian mercenaries hired by the Ottomans. Referred to by the local Greek populace as " Turk-Albanians ", those forces had also destroyed many cities and towns in Epirus during the 1769–70 revolt there. The Peloponnese suffered more than any other Greek inhabited area by irregular Albanian gangs during
6800-662: The Peloponnese to continue their military service under the Republic of Venice or the Kingdom of Naples . At the end of the Ottoman–Venetian wars, a large number of Albanians had fled from the Peloponnese to Sicily. A demographic census by Alfred Philippson , based on fieldwork between 1887 and 1889, found that out of the approximately 730,000 inhabitants of the Peloponnese, and the three neighboring islands of Poros , Hydra and Spetses , Arvanites numbered 90,253, or 12.3% of
6936-467: The Peloponnese was at the heart of the affairs of ancient Greece , possessed some of its most powerful city-states, and was the location of some of its bloodiest battles. The major cities of Sparta , Corinth , Argos and Megalopolis were all located on the Peloponnese, and it was the homeland of the Peloponnesian League . Soldiers from the peninsula fought in the Persian Wars , and it was also
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#17327807451437072-561: The Peloponnesian Greek population. This is especially true in Mani and Tsakonia , where Slavic incursions were minimal, or non-existent. Being agriculturalists, the Slavs probably traded with the Greeks, who remained in the towns, while Greek villages continued to exist in the interior, governing themselves, possibly paying tribute to the Slavs. The first attempt by the Byzantine imperial government to re-assert its control over
7208-455: The Peloponnesian War broke out when it did and what its causes were. Except for a few short excursuses (notably 6.54–58 on the Tyrant Slayers ), the remainder of the History (books 2 through 8) rigidly maintains its focus on the Peloponnesian War to the exclusion of other topics. While the History concentrates on the military aspects of the Peloponnesian War, it uses these events as a medium to suggest several other themes closely related to
7344-405: The Principality of Achaea were beaten back in the battles of Prinitsa and Makryplagi , but the Byzantines were firmly ensconced in Laconia. Warfare became endemic, and the Byzantines slowly pushed the Franks back. The insecurity engendered by the raids and counter-raids caused the inhabitants of Lacedaemon to abandon their exposed city and settle at Mystras, in a new town built under the shadow of
7480-405: The Russian Empire decided to intervene in favor of the Greeks. The decisive naval Battle of Navarino was fought in 1827 off Pylos on the west coast of the Peloponnese, where a combined British, French and Russian fleet decisively defeated the Turko-Egyptian fleet. Subsequently, a French expeditionary corps cleared the last Turko-Egyptian forces from the peninsula in 1828. The city of Nafplion, on
7616-399: The Second Temple, and he also found a tholos and plot of Mycenaean chamber tombs nearby. There is not enough evidence to confirm whether the site was continually used from the time of the Bronze Age to the Dark Age. At the end of the Dark Age, the Argive Plain underwent dramatic shifts and changes as populations grew and city states began to emerge. Among these emerging powers in the plain
7752-431: The West Building, a gathering space, during this century. However, Miller's work in 1973 puts this building's construction in the last half of the fifth century or later, according to a hypothesized order of construction. The West Building still retains a main peristyle with two rows of columns to the east, south, and west. To the North of the building, there are three rooms with a shared hallway that connects other rooms from
7888-491: The absence of the gods from Thucydides' work, he still draws heavily from the Greek mythos , especially from Homer , whose works are prominent in Greek mythology. Thucydides references Homer frequently as a source of information, but always adds a distancing clause, such as "Homer shows this, if that is sufficient evidence," and "assuming we should trust Homer's poetry in this case too." However, despite Thucydides' skepticism in secondhand information such as Homer's, he does use
8024-408: The arrival of Slavs to southern Greece to the late 6th century, according to Florin Curta there is no evidence for a Slavic presence in the Peloponnese until after c. 700 AD , when Slavs may have been allowed to settle in specific areas that had been depopulated. Relations between the Slavs and Greeks were probably peaceful apart from intermittent uprisings. There was also a continuity of
8160-417: The centuries-earlier poems of Homer . Instead, Thucydides regards history as being caused by the choices and actions of human beings. Despite the absence of actions of the gods, religion and piety play critical roles in the actions of the Spartans, and to a lesser degree, the Athenians. Thus natural occurrences such as earthquakes and eclipses were viewed as religiously significant (1.23.3; 7.50.4) Despite
8296-420: The coast such as Navarino and Coron , which they retained into the 15th century. The Franks popularized the name Morea for the peninsula, which first appears as the name of a small bishopric in Elis during the 10th century. Its etymology is disputed, but it is most commonly held to be derived from the mulberry tree ( morea ), whose leaves are similar in shape to the peninsula. In 1208, William I founded
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#17327807451438432-447: The conflicting passages were written at different times and that Thucydides' opinion on the conflicting matter had changed. Those who argue that the History can be divided into various levels of composition are usually called "analysts" and those who argue that the passages must be made to reconcile with one another are called "unitarians". This conflict is called the "strata of composition" debate. The lack of progress in this debate over
8568-430: The course of the twentieth century has caused many Thucydidean scholars to declare the debate insoluble and to side-step the issue in their work. The History is notoriously reticent about its sources. Thucydides almost never names his informants and alludes to competing versions of events only a handful of times. This is in marked contrast to Herodotus , who frequently mentions multiple versions of his stories and allows
8704-402: The crux of the argument presented. Some of the speeches are probably fabricated according to his expectations of, as he puts it, "what was called for in each situation" (1.22.1). Despite being an Athenian and a participant in the conflict, Thucydides is often regarded as having written a generally unbiased account of the conflict with respect to the sides involved in it. In the introduction to
8840-589: The decades following. In Patras nearly no one was left alive after the Turkish-Albanian invasion. The city of Mystras was left in ruins and the metropolitan bishop Ananias was executed despite having saved the life of several Turks during the uprising. A great number of local Greeks were killed by the Albanian groups, while children were sold to slavery. It is estimated that 20,000 local Greeks were captured during those nine years of devastation by those Albanian mercenaries and sold to slave markets. Also an additional of 50,000 Greeks left Peloponesse: around one-sixth of
8976-406: The design of the sanctuary, rituals, and festivals held there. At the Argive Heraion, Hera was worshipped for a number of purposes that served the individual, family, and polis : "Hera appears as multifunctional goddess, whose Panhellenic status as a wife of Zeus and 'queen' of the gods stands behind her functions as protectress of childbirth, growing up, and marriage" (Baumbach 6). Hera appears to be
9112-416: The despot Theodore: Theodore II, Constantine, Demetrios, and Thomas. As Latin power in the Peloponnese waned during the 15th century, the Despotate of the Morea expanded to incorporate the entire peninsula in 1430 with territory being acquired by dowry settlements, and the conquest of Patras by Constantine. However, in 1446 the Ottoman Sultan Murad II destroyed the Byzantine defences—the Hexamilion wall at
9248-441: The destruction of the Byzantine Empire by the forces of the Fourth Crusade , the Crusaders under William of Champlitte and Geoffrey of Villehardouin marched south through mainland Greece and conquered the Peloponnese against sporadic local Greek resistance . The Franks then founded the Principality of Achaea , nominally a vassal of the Latin Empire , while the Venetians occupied several strategically important ports around
9384-649: The discovery of a large collection of votives underneath the East Building. Research has also been done by Kalpaxis, Strom, Billot, Pfaff, Coulton, and Miller in the late 20th century. Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( / ˌ p ɛ l ə p ə ˈ n iː z , - ˈ n iː s / PEL -ə-pə- NEEZ , - NEESS ), Peloponnesus ( / ˌ p ɛ l ə p ə ˈ n iː s ə s / PEL -ə-pə- NEE -səs ; Greek : Πελοπόννησος , romanized : Pelopónnēsos , IPA: [peloˈponisos] ) or Morea ( Medieval Greek : Μωρέας , romanized : Mōrèas ; Greek: Μωριάς , romanized: Mōriàs )
9520-406: The east coast of the peninsula, became the first capital of the independent Greek state . By the conclusion of the war, the entire Muslim population of the newly independent Greek state, including the Peloponnese, had been exterminated or had fled. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the region became relatively poor and economically isolated. A significant part of its population emigrated to
9656-580: The east, and the Ionian to the west. The island of Kythira , off the Epidaurus Limeira peninsula to the south of the Peloponnese, is considered to be part of the Ionian Islands. The island of Elafonisos used to be part of the peninsula but was separated following the major quake of 365 AD . Since antiquity, and continuing to the present day, the Peloponnese has been divided into seven major regions: Achaea (north), Corinthia (northeast), Argolis (east), Arcadia (center), Laconia (southeast), Messenia (southwest), and Elis (west). Each of these regions
9792-512: The end of the 2nd millennium BC. Archeological research has found that many of its cities and palaces show signs of destruction. The subsequent period, known as the Greek Dark Ages , is marked by an absence of written records. In 776 BC, the first Olympic Games were held at Olympia , in the western Peloponnese and this date is sometimes used to denote the beginning of the classical period of Greek antiquity. During classical antiquity ,
9928-537: The end of the 9th century, the Peloponnese was culturally and administratively Greek again, except for a few small Slavic tribes in the mountains such as the Melingoi and Ezeritai . Although they were to remain relatively autonomous until Ottoman times, such tribes were the exception rather than the rule. Even the Melingoi and Ezeritai, however, could speak Greek and appear to have been Christian. The success of
10064-471: The energetic Evrenos Bey took control. Exploiting the quarrels between Byzantines and Franks, he plundered across the peninsula and forced both the Byzantine despots and the remaining Frankish rulers to acknowledge Ottoman suzerainty and pay tribute. This situation lasted until the Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, after which Ottoman power was for a time checked. From 1349 until its surrender to
10200-399: The event in question. While the inclusion of long first-person speeches is somewhat alien to modern historical method , in the context of ancient Greek oral culture , speeches are expected. These include addresses given to troops by their generals before battles and numerous political speeches, both by Athenian and Spartan leaders, as well as debates between various parties. Of the speeches,
10336-551: The extreme wing of the Athenian oligarchic clubs who conspired throughout the war with the enemy, he was certainly a member of the oligarchic party, and a friend neither of the Athenian people, the demos, who had exiled him, nor of its imperialist policy." Thucydides' History has been enormously influential in both ancient and modern historiography . It was embraced by many of the author's contemporaries and immediate successors with enthusiasm; indeed, many authors sought to complete
10472-474: The fertile lands, Muslims remained a distinct minority. Christian communities retained a large measure of self-government, but the entire Ottoman period was marked by a flight of the Christian population from the plains to the mountains. This occasioned the rise of the klepht s, armed brigands and rebels, in the mountains, as well as the corresponding institution of the government-funded armatoloi to check
10608-453: The form of games. There is evidence that people of the Argive Plain held sacred games at the Argive Heraion, and archaeologists have found multiple bronze hydriai with inscriptions that indicate they were prizes. Visits to the Argive Heraion often involved the dedication of votives to Hera, and since votives were traditionally left in place after dedication, these offerings provided a substantial amount of evidence for archaeologists studying
10744-535: The fortress. While Mystras served as the provincial capital from this time, it became a royal capital in 1349, when the first despot was appointed to rule over the Morea. The Byzantine Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos , reorganized the territory in 1349 to establish it as an appanage for his son, the Despot Manuel Kantakouzenos . Around that time, the Ottoman Turks began raiding the Peloponnese, but their raids intensified only after 1387 when
10880-518: The fortresses. The Greek insurgents made rapid progress and the entire peninsula was under Greek control within a few months, except for a few coastal forts and the main Turkish garrison at Tripolitsa . The fighting was fierce and marked by atrocities on both sides; eventually the entire Muslim population was either massacred or fled to the forts. The capture of Tripolitsa in September 1821 marked
11016-477: The groundwork for the Greek War of Independence . The Peloponnesians played a major role in the Greek War of Independence – the war began in the Peloponnese, when rebels took control of Kalamata on March 23, 1821. After the arrival of Ypsilantis's emissaries, local people rose under the leadership of Mavromichalis . Greek and Albanian insurgents organised in units of armed civilians took control of most of
11152-402: The highest blessing to be bestowed upon them. Kleobis and Biton go into the temple of Hera, fall asleep, and never awaken. Despite this description of the Procession of the Hera Argeia, it is still unclear when these processions began. These festivals additionally enabled time for socialization, and they also allowed for competition between individual families and amongst different communities in
11288-479: The independent Slavic tribes of the Peloponnese occurred in 783, with the logothete Staurakios ' overland campaign from Constantinople into Greece and the Peloponnese, which according to Theophanes the Confessor made many prisoners and forced the Slavs to pay tribute. From the mid-9th century, following a Slavic revolt and attack on Patras , a determined Hellenization process was carried out. According to
11424-483: The invasion by those mercenary groups the local population had to found refuge in the mountains of Peloponnese to avoid persecution. The total population decreased during this time, while the Muslim element in it increased. As such Greek resistance in the peninsula was reinforced and powerful groups of klephts were formed under the clans of Zacharias, Melios, Petmezas and Kolokotronis. Klephtic songs of that era describe
11560-648: The larger cities of Greece, especially Athens , and other countries such as the United States and Australia. It was badly affected by the Second World War and Greek Civil War , experiencing some of the worst atrocities committed in Greece during those conflicts. Living standards improved dramatically throughout Greece after the country accedes to the European Union in 1981. The Corinth Canal
11696-580: The larger groups of Albanian settlers, amounting to 10,000, settled the Peloponnese during the reign of Theodore I Palaiologos , first in Arcadia and subsequently in other regions around Messenia , Argolis , Elis and Achaia . Around 1418, a second large group arrived, possibly fleeing Aetolia , Acarnania and Arta , where Albanian political power had been defeated. The settling Albanians lived in tribes spread out into small villages, practicing nomadic lifestyles based on pastoralism and animal husbandry. By
11832-623: The last Venetian possessions on the Greek mainland were lost. Following the Ottoman conquest, the peninsula was made into a province ( sanjak ), with 109 ziamets and 342 timars . During the first period of Ottoman rule (1460–1687), the capital was first in Corinth (Turk. Gördes ), later in Leontari ( Londari ), Mystras ( Misistire ) and finally in Nauplion (Tr. Anaboli ). Sometime in
11968-495: The legend of the hero Pelops , who was said to have conquered the entire region. The name Peloponnesos means Island or Peninsula (archaic meaning of the word nesos ) of Pelops. The Mycenaean civilization , mainland Greece's (and Europe's) first major civilization, dominated the Peloponnese in the Bronze Age from the palaces of Mycenae , Pylos and Tiryns ; among others. The Mycenaean civilization collapsed suddenly at
12104-499: The mid-15th century, they formed a substantial part of the population of the Peloponnesus. Military sources of the era (1425) report about 30,000 Albanian men who could carry arms in the Peloponnese. The Greeks tended to live in large villages and cities, while Albanians in small villages. Following Ottoman conquest, many Albanians fled to Italy, settling primarily in nowadays Arbereshe villages of Calabria and Sicily . On
12240-571: The mid-17th century, the Morea became the centre of a separate eyalet , with Patras ( Ballibadra ) as its capital. Until the death of Suleiman the Magnificent in 1570, the Christian population (counted at some 42,000 families c. 1550 ) managed to retain some privileges and Islamization was slow, mostly among the Albanians or the estate owners who were integrated into the Ottoman feudal system. Although they quickly came to control most of
12376-399: The middle of this century altered the structure of the Heraion. Argos conquered the nearby states of Mycenae, Tiryns, and Midea in 460 B.C.E., and the considerable renovations and additions to the Argive Heraion site certainly reflect the changing sociopolitical state. Argos seemed to concentrate its changes to the lower terrace. First, Argos connected the two stoas built in the 6th century with
12512-540: The migration and settlement of Christian Albanians to parts of Central Greece and the Peloponnese, a group that eventually became known as the Arvanites The Albanians settled in successive waves, often invited by the local rulers. They start appearing more frequently in the historical record from during the second part of the 14th century, when they were being offered arable land, pasture and favorable taxation in exchange for military service. One of
12648-461: The military commander there, stationed at Salmeniko Castle . While the town eventually surrendered, Graitzas and his garrison and some town residents held out in the castle until July 1461, when they escaped and reached Venetian territory. Only the Venetian fortresses of Modon , Coron , Navarino , Monemvasia , Argos and Nauplion escaped Ottoman control. The same period was also marked by
12784-455: The most famous is the funeral oration of Pericles , which is found in Book Two. Being an Athenian general in the war, Thucydides heard some of these speeches himself. For the other speeches, he relied on eyewitness accounts. These speeches are suspect in the eyes of classicists, however, inasmuch as it is not clear to what degree Thucydides altered these speeches in order to elucidate better
12920-510: The naval arms race prior to World War I. The History explains that the primary cause of the Peloponnesian War was the "growth in power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Sparta" (1.23.6). Thucydides traces the development of Athenian power through the growth of the Athenian empire in the years 479 BC to 432 BC in book one of the History (1.89–118). The legitimacy of the empire
13056-412: The northeast (2,376 m or 7,795 ft), Aroania in the north (2,355 m or 7,726 ft), Erymanthos (2,224 m or 7,297 ft) and Panachaikon in the northwest (1,926 m or 6,319 ft), Mainalon in the center (1,981 m or 6,499 ft), and Parnon in the southeast (1,935 m or 6,348 ft). The entire peninsula is earthquake-prone and has been the site of many earthquakes in
13192-513: The number of these is justly ranked also our Thucydides; a workman no less perfect in his work, than any of the former; and in whom (I believe with many others) the faculty of writing history is at the highest. The most important manuscripts include: Codex Parisinus suppl. Gr. 255, Codex Vaticanus 126, Codex Laurentianus LXIX.2, Codex Palatinus 252, Codex Monacensis 430, Codex Monacensis 228, and Codex Britannicus II, 727. Grenfell and Hunt discovered about 20 papyrus fragments copied some time between
13328-602: The other hand, in an effort to control the remaining Albanians, during the second half of the 15th century, the Ottomans adopted favorable tax policies towards them, likely in continuation of similar Byzantine practices. This policy had been discontinued by the early 16th century. Throughout the Ottoman–Venetian wars , many Albanians died or were captured in service to the Venetians; at Nafpaktos , Nafplio , Argos , Methoni , Koroni and Pylos . Furthermore, 8,000 Albanian stratioti , most of them along with their families, left
13464-443: The other hand, in keeping with more recent interpretations that are associated with reader-response criticism , the History can be read as a piece of literature rather than an objective record of the historical events. This view is embodied in the words of W. R. Connor, who describes Thucydides as "an artist who responds to, selects and skillfully arranges his material, and develops its symbolic and emotional potential." Thucydides
13600-469: The past such as the works of Homer , and that this led him to create a nonobjective dualism favoring the Athenians. The work does display a clear bias against certain people involved in the conflict, such as Cleon . The gods play no active role in Thucydides' work. This is very different from Herodotus, who frequently mentions the role of the gods, as well as a nearly ubiquitous divine presence in
13736-722: The past. The longest river is the Alfeios in the west (110 km or 68 mi), followed by the Evrotas in the south (82 km or 51 mi), and also the Pineios , also in the west (70 km or 43 mi). The Peloponnese, with its indented coasts, is home to numerous spectacular beaches, which are a major tourist draw. Two groups of islands lie off the Peloponnesian coast: the Argo-Saronic Islands to
13872-528: The peninsula in 1715, most local Greeks welcomed them. The Ottoman reconquest was easy and swift, and was recognized by Venice in the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718. The Peloponnese now became the core of the Morea Eyalet , headed by the Mora valesi , who until 1780 was a pasha of the first rank (with three horsetails ) and held the title of vizier . After 1780 and until the Greek War of Independence ,
14008-582: The peninsula is significantly drier. Average annual temperatures can reach up to 20.3 °C (68.5 °F) while summer highs reach over 36.0 °C (96.8 °F) in Sparta , within the Evrotas Valley . On 27 June 2007, Monemvasia registered a staggering minimum temperature of 35.9°C, which is the highest minimum temperature ever recorded in mainland Greece and Continental Europe . The peninsula has been inhabited since prehistoric times . Its modern name derives from ancient Greek mythology , specifically
14144-513: The peninsula retained its urbanized character: in the 6th century, Hierocles counted 26 cities in his Synecdemus . By the latter part of that century, however, building activity seems to have stopped virtually everywhere except in Constantinople, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Athens. This has traditionally been attributed to calamities such as plague, earthquakes and Slavic invasions. However, more recent analysis suggests that urban decline
14280-506: The peninsula, as evidenced by the abundance of Slavic toponyms , but these toponyms accumulated over centuries rather than as a result of an initial "flood" of Slavic invasions, and many appear to have been mediated by speakers of Greek, or in mixed Slavic-Greek compounds. Fewer Slavic toponyms appear on the eastern coast, which remained in Byzantine hands and was included in the thema of Hellas , established by Justinian II c. 690 . While traditional historiography has dated
14416-461: The peninsula, however, received a critical blow after the Battle of Pelagonia , when William II of Villehardouin was forced to cede the newly constructed fortress and palace at Mystras near ancient Sparta to a resurgent Byzantium. At this point, the emperor concluded an agreement with the captive prince: William and his men would be set free in exchange for an oath of fealty, and for the cession of Monemvasia, Grand Magne, and Mystras. The handover
14552-451: The piece he states, "my work is not a piece of writing designed to meet the taste of an immediate public, but was done to last for ever" (1.22.4). There are scholars, however, who doubt this. Ernst Badian , for example, has argued that Thucydides has a strong pro-Athenian bias. In keeping with this sort of doubt, other scholars claim that Thucydides had an ulterior motive in his Histories, specifically to create an epic comparable to those of
14688-632: The poet's epics to infer facts about the Trojan War . For instance, while Thucydides considered the number of over 1,000 Greek ships sent to Troy to be a poetic exaggeration, he uses Homer's Catalogue of Ships to determine the approximate number of Greek soldiers who were present. Later, Thucydides claims that since Homer never makes reference to a united Greek state, the pre- Hellenic nations must have been so disjointed that they could not organize properly to launch an effective campaign. In fact, Thucydides claims that Troy could have been conquered in half
14824-407: The population. Nevertheless, attacks by Muslim Albanian mercenaries in the region continued not only against the Greek population but also against Turks. The extensive destruction and lack of control in the Peloponnese forced the central Ottoman government to send a regular Turkish military force to suppress those Albanian troops in 1779, and eventually drive them out from Peloponnese. As a result of
14960-556: The pre-1770 population. The Ottoman government was unable to pay the wages the Albanian mercenaries demanded for their service, causing the latter to ravage the region even after revolt had been put down. 1770-1779 was a prolonged period of devastation and atrocities committed by Albanian irregulars in the Peloponnese. In 1774 the Russo-Turkish War ended with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca which granted general amnesty to
15096-406: The province was headed by a muhassil . The pasha of the Morea was aided by several subordinate officials, including a Christian translator ( dragoman ), who was the senior Christian official of the province. As during the first Ottoman period, the Morea was divided into 22 districts or beyliks . The capital was first at Nauplion, but after 1786 at Tripolitza (Tr. Trabliçe ). The Greeks of
15232-516: The reader to decide which is true. Instead, Thucydides strives to create the impression of a seamless and irrefutable narrative. Nevertheless, scholars have sought to detect the sources behind the various sections of the History . For example, the narrative after Thucydides' exile (4.108 ff. ) seems to focus on Peloponnesian events more than the first four books, leading to the conclusion that he had greater access to Peloponnesian sources at that time. Frequently, Thucydides appears to assert knowledge of
15368-632: The region are still unknown. It is thought to be one of the largest environmental disasters in modern Greek history. The principal modern cities of the Peloponnese are (2011 census): The Peloponnese possesses many important archaeological sites dating from the Bronze Age through to the Middle Ages. Among the most notable are: ‡ UNESCO World Heritage Site Specialities of the region: Several notable Peloponnese wines have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. The Mantineia region makes
15504-587: The resistance activities. Nevertheless, through the privileges granted with the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji , especially the right for the Christians to trade under the Russian flag, led to a considerable economic flowering of the local Greeks, which, coupled with the increased cultural contacts with Western Europe ( Modern Greek Enlightenment ) and the inspiring ideals of the French Revolution , laid
15640-483: The sacred way with groups of young women, cows, and armed young men in the parade. In the Histories , Herodotus tells of a specific event that occurred during one of these processions, the story of Kleobis and Biton (1.31). The sons of a priestess at the Heraion, Kleobis and Biton assist their mother in traversing up to the sanctuary by pulling her cart by hand. Upon a successful arrival, their mother prays to Hera for
15776-558: The scene of the Peloponnesian War of 431–404 BC. The entire Peloponnese with the notable exception of Sparta joined Alexander's expedition against the Persian Empire. Along with the rest of Greece, the Peloponnese fell to the expanding Roman Republic in 146 BC, when the Romans razed the city of Corinth and massacred its inhabitants. The Romans created the province of Achaea comprising the Peloponnese and central Greece. During
15912-410: The site. Worshippers at the Heraion said a prayer before leaving things like figurines, seals, amulets, and jewelry in specific areas at the site. By studying these votives, archaeologists have been better able to learn about the daily concerns, values, and lives of those in the Argive Plain. Findings of images that have symbols for childcare and womanhood further confirm Hera's status at this sanctuary of
16048-431: The speeches, Thucydides is looser than previously thought in inferring the thoughts, feelings, and motives of principal characters in his History from their actions, as well as his own sense of what would be appropriate or likely in such a situation. The historian J. B. Bury writes that the work of Thucydides "marks the longest and most decisive step that has ever been taken by a single man towards making history what it
16184-505: The storytelling practices of Homer, Thucydides makes it clear that while he does consider mythology and epics to be evidence, these works cannot be given much credibility, and that it takes an impartial and empirically minded historian, such as himself, to accurately portray the events of the past. The first book of the History, after a brief review of early Greek history and some programmatic historiographical commentary, seeks to explain why
16320-465: The stylobate's style is reflective of structures dated to the 7th century. Strom and Billot suggest that the temple had columns, though Billot contends that the inside design and layout cannot be discovered due to lack of evidence. There is a paved section to the west and south of where the Old Temple Terrace and on the Old Temple. Due to their high visibility from afar, these spaces could have served to showcase impressive dedications from wealthy visitors of
16456-547: The temple was still in use by the 4th-century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire , when laws against non-Christian religions and their sanctuaries were enacted by the Christian emperors. The Ancient Greeks worshipped Hera as the queen of the gods, amongst many other roles. At these sacred sites, like the Heraion at Argos, the Ancient Greeks usually emphasized specific certain qualities or roles that manifested themselves in
16592-542: The terrace surface, and on the southern side of this structure, and the Argives dispersed them intermittently with smaller blocks in between. Based on the remaining structure, it is clear that Argos was emulating the Mycenaean stonework style, Cyclopean masonry . Such a choice in design was purposeful; the people of developing Argos sought to forge links with the preceding Mycenaeans, who were especially revered and worshipped in this time period. As explained by E.L. Tilton, it
16728-473: The thoughts of individuals at key moments in the narrative. Scholars have asserted that these moments are evidence that he interviewed these individuals after the fact. However, the evidence of the Sicilian Expedition argues against this, since Thucydides discusses the thoughts of the generals who died there and whom he would have had no chance to interview. Instead it seems likely that, as with
16864-405: The time had the Greek leaders allocated resources properly and not sent a large portion of the army on raids for supplies. Thucydides makes sure to inform his reader that he, unlike Homer, is not a poet prone to exaggeration, but instead a historian, whose stories may not give "momentary pleasure," but "whose intended meaning will be challenged by the truth of the facts." By distancing himself from
17000-493: The total population. The Venetian fortresses were conquered in a series of Ottoman-Venetian Wars : the first war , lasting from 1463 to 1479, saw much fighting in the Peloponnese, resulting in the loss of Argos , while Modon and Coron fell in 1500 during the second war . Coron and Patras were captured in a crusading expedition in 1532, led by the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria , but this provoked another war in which
17136-467: The troubled relations with the Slavs, the coastal regions of the Peloponnese suffered greatly from repeated Arab raids following the Arab capture of Crete in the 820s and the establishment of a corsair emirate there. After the island was recovered by Byzantium in 961 however, the region entered a period of renewed prosperity, where agriculture, commerce, and urban industry flourished. In 1205, following
17272-449: The unfinished history. For example, Xenophon wrote his Hellenica as a continuation of Thucydides' work, beginning at the exact moment that Thucydides' History leaves off. In later antiquity, Thucydides' reputation suffered somewhat, with critics such as Dionysius of Halicarnassus rejecting the History as turgid and excessively austere. Lucian also parodies it (among others) in his satire The True Histories . Woodrow Wilson read
17408-496: The war. It specifically discusses in several passages the socially and culturally degenerative effects of war on humanity itself. The History is especially concerned with the lawlessness and atrocities committed by Greek citizens to each other in the name of one side or another in the war. Some events depicted in the History , such as the Melian dialogue , describe early instances of realpolitik or power politics . Noteworthy, there
17544-475: The west and main part of the building. There are cuttings for couch space, suggesting that these three rooms functioned as a space for dining and socializing. The middle of the 5th century B.C.E. yielded many changes for Argos and its territory. While the Heraion at Argos functioned primarily as a shared worship and meeting space for communities nearby in the Argive Plain, the Argive quest for expansion and power in
17680-455: Was Argos, previously a small group of towns in the Dark Age. As Argos grew in both population and wealth, it had the resources to take on projects that would serve and promote its growing community. The building of this large sacred space, the Heraion at Argos, reflected a new shared identity for the people within this area of the developing plain. Use of the sanctuary extended beyond Argos from
17816-517: Was closely linked with the collapse of long-distance and regional commercial networks that underpinned and supported late antique urbanism in Greece, as well as with the generalized withdrawal of imperial troops and administration from the Balkans. The scale of the Slavic invasion and settlement in the 7th and 8th centuries remains a matter of dispute, although it is nowadays considered much smaller than previously thought. The Slavs did occupy most of
17952-646: Was completed in the late 19th century, linking the Aegean Sea with the Gulf of Corinth and the Ionian. In 2001, the Rio-Antirio Bridge was completed, linking the western Peloponnese to western Greece. In late August 2007, large parts of Peloponnese suffered from wildfires , which caused severe damage in villages and forests and the death of 77 people. The impact of the fires to the environment and economy of
18088-496: Was consciously trying to recreate and imitate structures from the time of the Mycenaeans. The Old Temple Terrace at the Heraion stands above the central terrace, and the structure serves as a retaining wall ; the hard surface constructed on the top of the wall acts could have acted a foundation for a large structure. The Old Temple stands on the upper terrace of the Heraion nearby. With only the southern stylobate intact, archaeologists have not been able to date it with certainty, but
18224-440: Was effected in 1262, and henceforth Mystras was the seat of the governor of the Byzantine territories in the Morea. Initially this governor ( kephale ) was changed every year, but after 1308 they started being appointed for longer terms. Almost immediately on his return to the Morea, William of Villehardouin renounced his oath to the emperor, and warfare broke out between Byzantines and Franks. The first Byzantine attempts to subdue
18360-485: Was offered to us and then in refusing to give it up." (1.76) They claim that anyone in their position would act in the same fashion. The Spartans represent a more traditional, circumspect, and less expansive power. Indeed, the Athenians are nearly destroyed by their greatest act of imperial overreach, the Sicilian expedition, described in books six and seven of the History . Thucydides correlates, in his description of
18496-437: Was the "greatest historian, perhaps, who ever lived." Thucydides' work, however, Popper goes on to say, represents "an interpretation, a point of view; and in this we need not agree with him." In the war between Athenian democracy and the "arrested oligarchic tribalism of Sparta," we must never forget Thucydides' "involuntary bias," and that "his heart was not with Athens, his native city:" "Although he apparently did not belong to
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