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29-456: Pellana is now a village and a municipal unit of the municipality of Sparti , Greece. It was a municipality until the 2011 local government reform. The municipal unit has an area of 153.763 km. The seat of the municipality was in Kastoreio . It was called Καλύβια Γεωργίτσι Kalivia Georgitsi (lit. the huts of Georgitsi ) until it was renamed after a nearby ancient city in 1932. Though

58-470: A chapel; and the bank of the river, which is only separated from the mountain by a narrow meadow, is supported for the length of 200 yards by a Hellenic wall. Some copious sources issue from the foot of the rocks, and from a stream which joins the river at the southern end of the meadow, where the wall ends. There are still traces of an aqueduct, which appears to have carried the waters of these fountains to Sparta. The acropolis of Pellana may have occupied one of

87-431: A cognate of Pella, the capital of Macedonia but also of Pallene, a deme of Attica, Pelle of Ithaca, Pellene of Achaia, Palamedion, the acropolis of Nauplion, Pelion of Epirus, etc., all of them being "citadels on a cliff" or a hill, except for Pelion of Thessaly which is a mountain. According to modern oral folk tradition is that it received its name by a woman named “Pellania.” This woman was going to get some water; as she

116-445: A decree on the construction of the new city. Bavarian city planners, headed by Fr. Stauffert, designed a city of 100,000 inhabitants based on the neo-classical architectural model. Today Sparta maintains its good design, boasting large squares and wide streets lined with trees, while many of the older buildings remain in excellent condition. The city of Sparta is the economic, administrative and cultural center of Lakonia. A key factor in

145-609: A family tradition, he joined the British Royal Regiment of Artillery as an officer; he completed his training at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in 1794 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant . Having spent four years in the West Indies as lieutenant of marine artillery, he was promoted to captain, and was sent in 1799 by the government to Constantinople to train the forces of

174-912: A provincial city. The city's cathedral is at the southwest end. The ruins of ancient Sparta lie north of the city. Entering by the South Gate of the Acropolis, known as Lakedaemonia, there is the Rotunda, the Theatre and the Temple of Athena Chalkioikos to the West. Exiting the Acropolis by the North Gate there are the remains of the earliest ancient walls, the Heroon and the Altar of Lycourgos , whereas to

203-619: A town of a few thousand people who lived among the ruins, in the shadow of Mystras. The Palaiologos family (the last Byzantine Greek imperial dynasty) also lived in Mystras. The Despotate of the Morea was captured by the Ottomans under Mehmed II in 1460. In 1834, after the Greek War of Independence , King Otto of Greece decreed the town should be expanded into a city. Modern-day Sparta,

232-682: The Nile valley as far as the cataracts ; but having sailed with the ship engaged to convey the Elgin marbles from Athens to England, he lost all his maps and observations when the vessel foundered off Cerigo in Greece. For much of the first decade of the nineteenth century, Leake was employed by the Foreign Office to spy in Greece in the guise of a wandering tourist, with the intent of gathering topographical information which would be useful in

261-698: The Ottoman Empire in the use of artillery. The British Empire had decided to support the Ottoman in its defence against Napoleonic France. A journey through Asia Minor in 1800 to join the British fleet at Cyprus inspired him with an interest in antiquarian topography. In 1801, after travelling across the desert with the Turkish army to Egypt , he was, on the expulsion of the French , employed in surveying

290-625: The East there is the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia . To the North is the Monastic Church of Osios Nikonas (10th century). The "Tomb of Leonidas", or Leonidaion ( 37°04′36″N 22°25′31″E  /  37.0767°N 22.4254°E  / 37.0767; 22.4254 ), is a limestone structure of the late 5th century BC, likely a temple, but named for Leonidas I in the 19th century, being

319-632: The HNMS station in Sparta registered a record average maximum temperature of 38.6 °C (101.5 °F) while the NOA station registered a record of 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) In the center of the city is the Archaeological Museum . Built by architect G. Katsaros, in 1874–76 to house the collection of local archaeological finds by Panagiotis Stamatakis , it was the first Greek museum in

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348-662: The advancement of the city's development is the operation of two departments of the University of Peloponnese and a department of the Technological Educational Institute. The centrally located main square is dominated by the most imposing neo-classical building in Sparta, the City Hall. Built in 1909, City Hall bears the signature of the Greek architect G. Katsaros. During the monarchy (which

377-595: The capital of the prefecture of Lakonia, lies on the eastern foothills of Mount Taygetos in the Evrotas River valley. The city has been built upon the site of ancient Sparta, whose Acropolis lies north of the modern city. To the southwest stands Mt. Taygetos. To the east of the city stands the Parnonas mountain range, which is forested predominantly with Greek fir trees and other conifers. Modern Sparta's origins date back to October 20, 1834, when King Otto issued

406-612: The case of a French invasion. Shortly after his arrival in England, he was sent out to survey the coast of Albania and the Morea , with the view of assisting the Turks against attacks of the French from Italy, and of this he took advantage to form a valuable collection of coins and inscriptions and to explore ancient sites. In 1807, war having broken out between Turkey and England, he was made prisoner at Salonica ; but, obtaining his release

435-454: The city proper. Sparta records the highest summer average maximum temperatures in Greece. The highest temperature ever recorded in Sparta is 45.7 °C (114.3 °F) in August 2021. On average, Sparta records 6 days per year with temperatures of over 40.0 °C (104.0 °F). In June 2024, Sparta recorded an astonishing mean max temperature of 37.6 °C (99.7 °F). In July 2024

464-575: The law of Agis , was to separate the lots of the Spartans from those of the Perioeci . (Plut. l. c.) Pausanias says that Pellana was 100 stadia from Belemina; but he does not specify its distance from Sparta, nor on which bank of the river it stood. It was probably on the left bank of the river at Mt. Burliá , which is distant 55 stadia from Sparta, and 100 from Mt. Khelmós , the site of Belemina. Mt. Burliá has two peaked summits, on each of which stands

493-558: The local communities Sparta, Afisi, Amykles , Kalyvia Sochas and Kladas . Sparta is regarded as one of the most conservative cities in Greece; it has never had a left-wing mayor and it was one of the few cities that voted in 1974 to retain the monarchy . Υet in the 2015 bailout referendum conducted by the left-wing government , voted "no". The city of Sparta enjoys a sunny and warm Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa ). January highs are around 14 °C (57 °F) while July and August highs are around 36 °C (97 °F) in

522-400: The main palace said to have housed King Menelaus and his wife Helen (of Troy) . The highway from Tripoli to Sparta passes Pellana. There are two possibilities about the origin of the name Pellana . Pellana has its roots in the Greek word pella , which can mean "stone" or a "rocky hill". Indeed, the main waterway in the village is at the base of a rocky hill. Pellana, linguistically, is

551-662: The main road that connects Sparta with Tripoli. It is built on a hill that is an extension of the Taygetos mountains in the Peloponessus. Pellana has an area of 15 square kilometers, and is 355 meters above sea level. The population of the modern village peaked in the 1940s, and has steadily declined, to the current population of 250. The town suffered badly during the Second World War and the subsequent Greek Civil War . There are ancient tombs about 400 meters from

580-664: The only ancient monument indicated within the limits of the newly planned town in 1834. The Spartathlon has taken place every September since 1983. It is an ultramarathon starting in Athens and finishing in Sparta at the statue of Leonidas, with many international participants. The local football club of Sparta, Laconia was Sparta F.C. The club dissolved in 2019. Sparta is twinned with: William Martin Leake William Martin Leake FRS (14 January 1777 – 6 January 1860)

609-456: The other two being probably Carystus (or, alternatively, Aegys ) and Belemina . It had ceased to be a town in the time of Pausanias, but he noticed there a temple of Asclepius , and two fountains, named Pellanis and Lanceia . Below Pellana, was the Characoma (Greek: Χαράκωμα), a fortification or wall in the narrow part of the valley; and near the town was the ditch, which according to

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638-672: The remainder of his life to topographical and antiquarian studies. He joined the learned Society of Dilettanti and became vice-president of the Royal Society of Literature . He was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society on 13 April 1815. He died in Steyning , Sussex on 6 January 1860. The marbles collected by him in Greece were presented to the British Museum ; his bronzes, vases, gems and coins were purchased by

667-459: The same year, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Ali Pasha of Ioannina , whose confidence he completely won, and with whom he remained for more than a year as British representative. He was there in 1809 when Lord Byron visited Ali's court. In 1810 he was granted a yearly sum of £600 for his services in Turkey . In 1815 he retired from the army, in which he held the rank of colonel, devoting

696-523: The site of ancient Sparta within the Evrotas Valley . The municipality was merged with six nearby municipalities in 2011, for a total population (as of 2021) of 32,786, of whom 17,773 lived in the city. Beginning in the 13th century, the political and cultural center of Laconia shifted to Mystras , some 4 km to the west. The settlement at ancient Sparta, named Lacedaemonia, continued to exist, although greatly depopulated, until modern times as

725-499: The site of modern Pellana was clearly occupied in antiquity, it is probably not the site of the ancient Pellana mentioned by Pausanias and other ancient authors. The ancient Pellana was more likely near the modern Sellasia . According to archaeologist Theodore Spyropoulos , Pellana was the Mycenaean capital of Laconia . Today, Pellana is a small village in north Laconia, located 27 kilometers north of Sparta, 5 kilometers west of

754-514: The summits of the mountain, but there are no traces of antiquity in either of the chapels. ( Leake , Morea , vol. iii. p. 13, seq.; Boblaye, Récherches, &c. p. 76 ; Ross , Reisen im Peloponnes , p. 191; Curtius , Peloponnesos , vol. ii. p. 255.) Sparti (municipality) Sparta ( Greek : Σπάρτη , Spárti [ˈsparti] ) is a city and municipality in Laconia , Peloponnese , Greece . It lies at

783-422: Was abolished by referendum in 1973), the title of Duke of Sparta was used for the Greek crown prince , the διάδοχος ( diádokhos ). The municipality of Sparta was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following seven former municipalities, that became municipal units: The municipality has an area of 1,181.780 km , the municipal unit 84.453 km . The municipal unit consists of

812-643: Was an English soldier, spy, topographer , diplomat, antiquarian , writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society . He served in the British Army , spending much of his career in the Mediterranean seaports . He developed an interest in geography and culture of the regions visited, and authored a number of works, mainly about Greece . Leake was born in London to John Martin Leake and Mary Calvert Leake. Following

841-586: Was getting water, she slipped and fell into the waterway. So, the village was named “Pellana”, and the main waterway: “Pellania fountain.” It was said to have been the residence of Tyndareos , when he was expelled from Sparta, and was subsequently the frontier-fortress of Sparta on the Eurotas, as Sellasia was on the Oenus . Polybius describes it (iv. 81) as one of the cities of the Laconian Tripolis ,

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