Methoni Μεθώνη | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Location within the regional unit | |
  Methoni | |
| Coordinates:36°49′18″N21°42′25″E / 36.82167°N 21.70694°E /36.82167; 21.70694 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Peloponnese |
| Regional unit | Messenia |
| Municipality | Pylos-Nestor |
| Area | |
| • Municipal unit | 97.202 km2 (37.530 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
| • Municipal unit | 2,157 |
| • Municipal unit density | 22.19/km2 (57.47/sq mi) |
| • Community | 1,029 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Methoni (Greek:Μεθώνη), formerlyMethone orModon (Venetian:Modon), is a village and a formermunicipality inMessenia,Peloponnese,Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality ofPylos-Nestor, of which it is a municipal unit.[2] The municipal unit has an area of 97.202 km2.[3] Its name may be derived from Mothona, a mythical rock. It is located 11 km south ofPylos and 11 km west ofFoinikounta. The municipal unit of Methoni includes the nearby villages of Grizokampos, Foinikounta, Foiniki, Lachanada, Varakes, Kainourgio Chorio, Kamaria, Evangelismos, and the Oinnoussai Islands. The islands are Sapientza, Schiza, and Santa Marina; they form a natural protection for Methoni harbour.
Its economy is dominated by tourism, attracted by its beaches (including Tapia, Kokkinia and Kritika) and itshistorical castle.
The municipal unit of Methoni is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):
| Year | Town population | Municipality population |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1,173 | 2,666 |
| 2001 | 1,169 | 2,638 |
| 2011 | 1,209 | 2,598 |
| 2021 | 1,029 | 2,157 |
Methoni has been identified as the city of Pedasus, whichHomer mentions under the name "ampeloessa" (of vine leaves), as the last of the sevenεὐναιόμενα πτολίεθρα (eunaiomena ptoliethra) (well-peopled cities) thatAgamemnon offersAchilles in order to subdue his rage.Pausanias knew the city asMothone, named either after the daughter ofOeneus or after the rock Mothon, which protects the harbour, and mentioned a temple toAthena Anemotis there.[4] The Oinoussai complex of islands protected the port of Methoni from the turbulent sea. Along with the rest ofMessenia, the town gained its independence from the Spartans in 369 BC.
Like other Mediterranean coastal settlements, Methoni was probably heavily affected by the tsunami that followed theearthquake in AD 365. Roman historianAmmianus Marcellinus wrote that as a result of the earthquake some ships had been "hurled nearly two miles from the shore", giving as an example aLaconian vessel that was stranded "near the town of Methone".[5]
During the Byzantine years Methoni retained its remarkable harbor and remained one of the most important cities of the Peloponnese, seat of a bishopric.
TheRepublic of Venice had its eye on Methoni (Modon) since the 12th century, due to its location on the route fromVenice to the Eastern markets. In 1125, they launched an attack against pirates based at Methoni, who had captured some Venetian traders on their way home from the east.
In the mid-12th century, the Muslim traveller and geographeral-Idrisi mentioned Methoni as a fortified town with a citadel.[6]
At the time of thefall of Constantinople to theFourth Crusade, one of the Crusaders,Geoffrey of Villehardouin, was shipwrecked near Methoni, and he spent the winter of 1204/5 there. He came into contact with a local Greek magnate—identified by some scholars with a certain John Kantakouzenos—and aided him in subduing much of the region. Villehardouin's sojourn there was brief, however, since the Greek magnate died, and his son and successor turned against Villehardouin, who was forced to flee Messenia, and made for theArgolid, where a Crusader army underBoniface of Montferrat had arrived.[7] From there, Villehardouin and another Crusader,William of Champlitte, led the conquest of the Peloponnese from the local Greeks and the establishment of a Crusader principality, thePrincipality of Achaea.[8] In the treaty of partition of the Byzantine Empire by the Crusaders, thePartitio Romaniae, most of the peninsula had been assigned to the Republic of Venice in the treaty of partition, but the Venetians did not take action to pre-empt or hinder Champlitte and Villehardouin. It was not until 1206 or 1207 that a Venetian fleet under Premarini and the son of the DogeEnrico Dandolo arrived in the Peloponnese, and captured Methoni, along withKoroni. Venice and the Principality of Achaea quickly came to terms, recognizing each other's possessions in theTreaty of Sapienza (1209).[9][10]
Koroni was fortified, but Methoni was, for the time being, left without walls.[11]Roman Catholic bishops were installed in the two local dioceses, who were bothsuffragans of theLatin Archbishopric of Patras; and in 1212 the Pope placed theLatin Bishopric of Modon under his personal protection.[12] Under Venetian rule, the town experienced its zenith, becoming an important center for trade with Egypt and theLevant, enjoying great prosperity. Methoni became an important staging point on the route between Venice and theHoly Lands, and many descriptions of it survive in pilgrims' accounts. By the second half of the 14th century, the towns population was a mixture of Greeks, Jews, Albanians and Latins.[6][13]
With theOttoman conquest of theDespotate of the Morea, the town came under threat; Christian and Jewish refugees from the rest of the Peloponnese flocked to its walls, while the Turks raided its environs. In 1499–1500,Ottoman ships raided the town from the sea, while SultanBayezid II in person arrived to supervise its siege. After 28 days, on 9 August 1500, Methoni fell. The populace was either massacred or sold off as slaves.[6] In 1532, theKnights Hospitaller briefly recaptured the fortress and left with reportedly 1,600 Muslim prisoners.[6]
The Venetians returned underFrancesco Morosini in 1686 during theMorean War. A Venetian census shortly afterwards lists Methoni with only 236 inhabitants, indicative of the general depopulation of the region during that time.[6] Thesecond period of Venetian rule lasted until 1715, when theGrand VizierDamad Ali Pashainvaded the Peloponnese. Although strengthened by the garrisons ofNavarino and Koroni, who fled their fortresses, Methoni surrendered quickly once the Ottoman army arrived and began to besiege it. Nevertheless, the Grand Vizier ordered his troops to kill all Christians in the town, and as a result many chose to convert on the spot to Islam to save themselves.[6]
Following the Ottoman recapture of the town, the pre-1684 owners were allowed to claim their former property. A period of recovery followed, particularly after 1725, when the town once more became a hub of trade with the Ottoman provinces ofNorth Africa.[6] In 1770, during the Russian-sponsoredOrlov Revolt, the castle was besieged for a long time by the Russians under PrinceYuri Vladimirovich Dolgorukov. Unable to storm the castle, the siege was dominated by artillery duels until Turks and Albanians from the interior of the Peloponnese came to the aid of the garrison and drove away the Russians after a fierce battle in May 1770. The Russians suffered heavy casualties, and were forced to abandon most of their guns. They fled to their base in Navarino, which they also abandoned soon afterwards.[6]
By the time of the outbreak of theGreek War of Independence in 1821, the town was inhabited by Turks, some 400 to 500 fighting men, who also owned most of the land in the area. Outside the walls, the region was populated almost exclusively by Greeks.[6] When the Greek revolution broke out, Methoni was put under siege, along with Koroni and Navarino. In July 1821, theOttoman fleet succeeded in reprovisioning the town, but not Navarino, which on 8 August capitulated to the Greeks. The garrison of Methoni had set out to aid them, but were stopped by the Greek rebels en route. Thereafter, the Greek pressure on Methoni slackened, and the town remained in Ottoman hands throughout the conflict, albeit only thanks to frequent reprovisioning by the fleet.[6] Consequently, the town was one of the main bases forIbrahim Pasha of Egypt's expedition against the Greeks in 1825–28. The fortress surrendered to the FrenchMorea Expedition on 8 October 1828, and in 1833 the departing French turned over its control to the newly establishedKingdom of Greece.[6]
One of the possible interpretations ofVittore Carpaccio'sYoung Knight in a Landscape identifies the knight as the Venetian patricianMarco Gabriel, who was rector (governor) of Methoni during the Ottoman siege of 1500. His family would have commissioned the painting as a tribute to his memory. Being the only Venetian survivor of the siege, he had been accused of cowardice; taken by the Ottomans toConstantinople, he was beheaded there on 4 November 1501.[14]
About seventy years later, after theBattle of Lepanto (7 October 1571),Miguel de Cervantes was taken to Methoni as a prisoner and spent some time in the Turkish tower. He might have conceived a few pages of theDon Quixote while there.[15]
On 10 August 1806,François-René de Chateaubriand disembarked at Methoni and started hisGrand Tour across Greece and the Middle East, an account of which he published in 1811 as theItinéraire de Paris à Jérusalem (Itinerary from Paris to Jerusalem).[15]
Methoni has a hot-summermediterranean climate (KöppenCsa). Precipitations falls mainly in the winter, with relatively little rain in the summer. Methoni experiences mild winters and hot, dry summers. The average annual temperature is 19.0 °C or 66.2 °F. About 681 mm or 26.8 inches of precipitation falls annually.[16]
Methoni is the southern terminus of theGreek National Road 9 (Patras - Kyparissia - Methoni). Another road links Methoni withKoroni to its east.
Places adjacent to Methoni, Messenia | ||||||||||||||||
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