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Cape Matapan (Greek:Κάβο Ματαπάς,Maniot dialect: Ματαπά), also calledCape Tainaron orTaenarum (Greek:Ακρωτήριον Ταίναρον), orCape Tenaro, is situated at the end of theMani Peninsula, in thePeloponnese inGreece. Cape Matapan is the southernmost point ofmainland Greece, and the second southernmost point in mainland Europe. It separates theMessenian Gulf in the west from theLaconian Gulf in the east. Cape Matapan the second-southernmost point of mainland Europe; it is on the migration route of birds headed to Africa.[citation needed]
Cape Taenarum inclassical antiquity was the site of the city ofTaenarum (Ancient Greek: Ταίναρον), now in ruins. In ancient Greek mythology the eponymous founder-hero of the city wasTaenarus (Ταίναρος), who was credited with establishing the city's importanttemple of Poseidon.
Greeks used the expression "Tainarian evil" (Ancient Greek:Ταινάριον κακόν), meaning a great and unlawful evil affecting suppliants, as theSpartans killed theHelots who had fled into Tainaron and were suppliants in the temple of Poseidon.[1][2][3]
Cape Matapan has been an important place for thousands of years. NearTaenarum is a cave thatGreek legends claimed was the home ofHades, the god of the dead. The ancientSpartans built severaltemples there, dedicated to various gods. On the hill situated above the cave lie the remnants of anancient temple dedicated to the sea godPoseidon (Νεκρομαντεῖον Ποσειδῶνος). Under theByzantine Empire, the temple was converted into aChristian church, and Christian rites are conducted there to this day. Cape Matapan was once the place wheremercenaries waited to be employed.
A naval battle occurred there on 19 July 1717, between theVenetian navy of theRepublic of Venice, supported by a mixed squadron of allied ships fromPortugal, thePapal States andMalta, and theOttoman fleet, underKapudan Pasha Eğribozlu İbrahim Pasha. It is known as theBattle of Matapan and its results were indecisive.
In 1892 alighthouse was constructed, but it is now in disuse.[citation needed]
At Cape Matapan, theTitanic's would-be rescue ship, theSSCalifornian, was torpedoed and sunk byGerman forces on 9 November 1915. In March 1941, a major naval battle, theBattle of Cape Matapan, occurred off the coast of Cape Matapan, between theRoyal Navy and the ItalianRegia Marina, in which the British emerged victorious in a one-sided encounter. The encounter's main result was to drastically reduce future Italian naval activity in the Eastern Mediterranean.
36°23′06″N22°28′58″E / 36.38500°N 22.48278°E /36.38500; 22.48278
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