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300px]A map showing Mani

The Maniots (or Maniates; Greek: Μανιάτες) are the Greek inhabitants of the Mani Peninsula (the middle leg of the Peloponnese) located in the southern Peloponnese in the Greek prefecture of Laconia and prefecture of Messinia. They were also formerly known as Mainotes in English and the peninsula as Maina. Etymologically, the name "Maniot" means "one who comes from Mani". Geographically, the peninsula itself is an extension of the Taygetus mountain range. The Maniots are deemed an ancient Greek people who descend from the Lacedaemonians (Spartans).[dubious – discuss] Throughout history, the Maniots were known by their neighbors and their enemies as fearless warriors who practiced blood feuds.

As early as Byzantine times, the Maniots were also known to have conducted acts of piracy. This being a result of the people of Mani lacking raw materials and resources, as well as not possessing sufficient capital for overseas trade. For the most part, the Maniots lived in fortified villages (and "house-towers") where they defended their lands against the Ottomans and even against the armies of William II Villehardouin.


Ancient Mani

A map showing Classical Mani and Laconia.

Mycenaean Mani

Homer's "Catalogue of ships" in the Iliad mentions the cities of Mani: Messi (Mezapos), Oetylus (Oitylo), Kardamili (or Skardamoula), Gerenia, Teuthone (Kotronas) and Las (Passavas).[1] Under the Mycenaeans, Mani flourished.[2] At Cape Tenaro, there was a temple to Apollo which was described as important as Delphi.[2] The temple is recorded to have been give by Apollo to Poseidon in exchange for Delphi.[2] Tenaro was also thought to be the entrance to Hades. It is also claimed that Helen of Troy and Paris spent their first night together at Cranae.

In the 12th century BC, the Dorians invaded Laconia.[3] The Dorians originally settled at Sparta, but they soon started to expand their territory and by around 800 BC they had taken over Mani and the rest of the Laconia.[3] Mani's inhabitants were given the social caste of Perioeci.[3] During that time, the Phoenicians came to Mani and were thought to have established a colony at Gythium.[4] The Phoenicians built the colony at Gythium in order to collect murex, a sea shell that was used to make purple dye and was plentiful in the Laconian Gulf.[4]

Classical Mani

During the Spartan domination of Mani, Tenaro became an important gathering place for mercenaries who wanted to be hired.[5] Gythium became a major port under the Spartans as it was only 27 kilometres away from Sparta. In 455 BC, during the First Peloponnesian War, it was besieged and captured by the Athenian admiral, Tolmides along with 50 triremes and 4,000 hoplites.[4] The city and the dock yards were rebuilt and by the late Peloponnesian War, Gythium was the main building place for the new Spartan fleet.[6] The Spartan leadership of the Peloponnese lasted until [71 BC, when the Thebans under Epaminondas defeated them at Leuctra. The Thebans launched a campaign against Laconia and managed to capture Gythium after a three day siege.[5] The Thebans only briefly managed to hold Gythium, which was captured by 100 elite warriors posing as athletes.[5]

Hellenistic Mani

During the Hellenistic period of Greece, Mani remained under Spartan control. The Macedonians under the command of Philip V of Macedon invaded Mani and Laconia in 219 BC-218 BC, but unsuccessfully besieged the cities of Gythium, Las and Asine.[5] When Nabis, took over the Spartan throne in 207 BC, he began some reforms. Amongst them was to make Gythium into a major port and naval arsenal.[7] In 195 BC, during the Roman-Spartan War, the Roman Republic and the Achean League with assistance from a combined Pergamese and Rhodian captured Gythium after a lengthy siege.[8]

The allies went on to besiege Sparta and force Nabis to surrender. As part of the terms of the peace treaty, the coastal cities of Mani were liberated.[5] The cities formed the Koinon of Free Laconians with Gythium as the capitol under Achean protection.[5] Nabis not content with losing his land in Mani, built a fleet and strengthened his army and advanced upon Gythium in 192 BC.[9] The Achean League's army and navy under Philopoemen, tried to relieve the city but the Achean navy was defeated off Gythium and the army was forced to retreat to Tegea.[10] A Roman fleet under Atilius managed to re-capture Gythium later that year. Nabis was murdered later that year and Sparta was made part of the Achean League.[11] However, the Spartans looking for a port attacked Las and captured it.[12] The Acheans responded by seizing Sparta and forcing their laws on it.[12]

Roman Mani

The Maniots lived in peace until 146 BC. That year the Battle of Corinth resulted in the destruction of Corinth by the forces of Lucius Mummius Achaicus and the annexation of the Achaean League by the Roman Republic. The Romans conquered the Peloponnese, but the Koinon was allowed to retain its independence.

The Maniots suffered from pirate raids by Cretan and Cilicians who plundered Mani and pillaged the temple of Poseidon.[13] The Maniots were delivered from the pirates when Pompey the Great defeated them. Most probably in gratitude, the Maniots supplied Pompey with archers in his battles against Julius Caesar during Caesar's civil war (49 BC - 45 BC).[13]

During the Civil war between Antony and Octavian (32 BC - 30 BC), the Maniots and Laconians assisted Augustus by sending him men to join his navy. Augustus defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt at the Battle of Actium (September 2, 31 BC) and in gratitude, he officially recognized the Koinon and visited Psamathous and it became a semi-independent state.[14][13] This signified the beginning of the Golden Age of the Koinon.[14]

Mani flourished under the Romans. The Koinon consisted of 24 cities (later 18), of which Gythium remained the prominent. However, some parts of Mani remained under the also semi-independent Sparta, the most notable being Asine and Karymili.[13] The Mani became the center of the purple dye, which was popular in Rome as well as being well known for it's rose antique marble and porphyry.[4] Las is recorded to have been a comfortable city with Roman baths and a gymnasium.[15]

Pausanias the geographer left us a description of the town as it existed during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161 - 180). The agora, the Acropolis, the island of Cranae (Marathonisi) where Paris celebrated his nuptials with Helen of Troy, the Migonium or precinct of Aphrodite Migonitis (occupied by the modern town), and the hill Larysium (Koumaro) rising above it. Nowadays, the most noteworthy remains of the theatre and the buildings partially submerged by the sea all belong to the Roman period.[16]

The Koinon remained semi-independent until the provincial reforms of Roman Emperor Diocletian in 297 AD.[14] With the barbarian invasion affecting the Roman Empire, Mani became a haven for refugees.[15] In 375 AD, the massive earthquake in the area took its toll on Gythium which was severely devastated.[14]

Medieval Mani

A map of the Byzantine Empire showing Mani and the eastern Peloponnese as part of the Empire (the rest of the Peloponnese was occupied by Avars), c. 717

From Theodosius I to the Avar invasion

On January 17, 395, Theodosius I who had managed to unite the Roman Empire under his control died. His eldest son Arcadius succeeded him in the Eastern Roman Empire while his younger son Honorius received the Western Roman Empire. The Roman Empire had split for the last time and Mani became part of the Eastern or Byzantine Empire.[14]

Between 395 and 397, Alaric I and his Visigoths plundered the Peloponnese and destroyed what was left of Gythium.[14] Alaric captured the most famous cities, Corinth, Argos, and Sparta, selling many of their inhabitants into slavery. He was at last defeated by Stilicho and then crossed the Gulf of Corinth towards the north.

In 468, Genseric of the Vandals, during his invasion of the Peloponnese tried to land at Kenipolis, in Mani but the Maniot inhabitants of the area, made him retreat after he sustained heavy losses.[14]

Byzantine general Belisarius on the way to his campaign against the Vandals, stopped at Kenipolis to get supplies, honor the Kenipolians, for their victory and to recruit some soldiers.[17] In 590, the Eurasian Avars, a barbarian tribe attacked and occupied most of western Peloponnese.[18]

During the Macedonian dynasty

Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII (reigned 945 - [[959) wrote the De Administrando Imperio, which was written between 948 and 952. It served as an internal and foreign policy manual to be used by his son and successor, Romanus II. Included in this manual was a description of Mani and its inhabitants:

Be it known that the inhabitants of Castle Maina are not from the race of aforesaid Slavs but from the older Romaioi, who up to the present time are termed Hellenes by the local inhabitants on account of their being in olden times idolaters and worshippers of idols like the ancient Greeks, and who were baptized and became Christians in the reign if the glorious Basil. The place in which they live is waterless and inaccessible, but has olives from which they gain some consolation.[18]

The area inhabited by the Maniates was first called by the name "Maina" and was associated with the castle of Tigani.[18] The Maniots during that time were deemed pagan "Hellenes" or practitioners of pagan Greek culture (see Names of the Greeks) and were only Christianized fully in the 9th century AD, though some church ruins from the 4th century AD indicate that Christianity was practiced by some Maniots in the region at an earlier time.[18] The Maniots were the last inhabitants of Greece to openly follow the pagan Hellenic religion. This can be explained by the mountainous nature of Mani's terrain, which enabled them to escape the attempts of the Eastern Roman Empire to Christianize Greece by force.[18] Yet, the Maniots (like many other Greeks) established a dualistic identity encompassing both their ancient traditions and cultural values, as well as the moral ideals of Christianity.

Under the Principality of Achaea

During the Fourth Crusade (1201 - 1204), the Crusaders captured Constantinople. The Eastern Roman Empire was in effect partitioned between several Greek and Latin successor states, notably including (from west to east) the Despotate of Epirus, the Latin Empire, the Empire of Nicaea and the Empire of Trebizond. These four produced rival lines of emperors, struggling for control over each other and the rest of the semi-independant states emerging in the area.

William of Champlitte and Geoffrey I Villehardouin defeated the Peloponnesian Greeks under at the Battle of the Olive Grove of Koundouros (1205) and made the Peloponnese in the Principality of Achaea.[19] In 1210, Mani was given to Baron Jean de Neuilly as Hereditary Marshal and he built the castle of Passavas on the ruins of Las.[19][20] The castle occupied a significant position as it control the important pass from Gythium to Oitylo as well as containing the Maniots to Mani.[19]

The Maniots, however, were not easily contained and they were not the only threat to the Frankish occupation of the Peloponnese. The Melengi, a Slavic tribe in the Taygetus mountain range, raided Laconia from the west and the Tsakonians also resisted the Franks.[21] In 1249, the new prince, William II of Villehardouin, acted against the raiders. He used the newly captured fortress of Monemvasia to keep the Tsakones at bay, he built the castle at Mystras in the Tayegatus mountains over looking Sparta to contain the Melingi.[21] To stop the Maniot raids, he built the castle of Megali Maini which is most probably Tigani. It is described as at a fearful cliff with a headland above.[21]

A Latin bishop was appointed for Mani during the 1250s.[21] In 1259, he was defeated and was captured during the Battle of Pelagonia by the renewed Byzantine Empire under the leadership of Nicaea.[21]

Under the Despotate of Morea

Map showing the Byzantine Empire in 1265.

On July 25, 1261, the Byzantines under Michael VIII Palaiologos recaptured Constantinople. Prince William was set free on the condition that he had to surrender the fortresses of Megali Maina, Mystras and Monemvasia, as well as surrender hostages including Lady Maragret, Baroness of Passavas.[21]

With the Franks gone from Laconia, the Maniots lived in peace under the Despotate of Morea, whose successive Despotes governed the province. Mani seemed to have been dominated by the Nikliani family who were refugees.[21][Social Castes of Mani] However, the peace end when the Ottoman Turks started their attacks on the Peloponnese.

Ottoman times

Map of the Ottoman Empire.

15th century

After the Fall of Constantinople to Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire on May 29, 1453, the Maniots persisted in maintaining their autonomy.[21] In May 1460, Sultan Mehmed II occupied the entire Peloponnese. The Despotate of Moreas was under two brothers of Constantine XI who had died defending Constantinople.[21] However neither Demetrios Palaiologos nor Thomas Palaiologos chose to follow his example. They did not defend the Peloponnese. Instead, Thomas fled to Italy while Demetrious sought refuge with Mehmed himself.[21] Helena Palaiologina, a daughter of Demetrios and Theodora Asanina was given in marriage to Mehmed II.

Their cousin Graitzas Palaiologos refused to surrender and defeated the Ottomans in Salmenico near Aegion. Krokondilos Kladas also refused to capitulate and as the leader of the Maniots, he too fought off the Ottomans with success. Graitzas Palaiologos continued his resistance until July 1461 and was then offered a commission in the armed forces of the Republic of Venice.

Kladas, was granted lordship over Elos and Varvounia, in 1461, by Mehmed who hoped he would defend Laconia from the Maniots.[21] During that time, Mani's population grew a lot because of all the refugees that come from other areas of Greece.[22][Population of Mani] In 1463, Kladas turned against the Ottomans and joined the Venetians. Kladas lead the Maniots against the Ottomans with Venetian help until 1479 when the Venetians made peace with the Ottomans and gave the Ottoman's the right to rule 'Brazzo di Maina.[21] Kladas refused to accept the conditions so the Venetians put a price on his head.[21]

After the end of the Turco-Venetian War, the Venetians left the Maniots to fend for themselves. Many of the Greeks who had revolted alongside the Venetians were massacred by the Ottomans, but many of them fled to find refuge in Mani. The Maniots continued to resist and Mehmed sent an army of 2,000 infantry and 300 cavalry against Mani under the command of Ale Boumico. [23] The Venetians trying to gain favour with the Porte handed over some Maniot rebels.[24] The Ottomans reached Oitylo before Kladas and the Maniots attacked the them and massacred them. Only a few escaped amongst them was Ale Boumico.[24] Kladas invaded the Laconian plain with 14,000 Maniots and killed the Turkish inhabitants of the Laconian plain.[24]

A month later, a larger force under the command of Ahmed Bey invaded Mani and drove Kladas to Porto Kagio.[25] There he was picked up by three galleys of King Ferdinand I of Naples.[25] To delay the Turks long enough for Kladas to escape, the Maniot rearguard attacked the Turkish army delayed them long enough for Kladas to escape.[25] Kladas reached the Kingdom of Naples and from their he became a mercenary leader. He returned to Mani in 1490 but he was killed in a battle at Monemvasia.[25]

16th century

From 1500 to 1570, Mani kept its autonomy with out any invasion from the Ottomans.[24] The Ottomans were busy with driving the Venetians out of the Peloponnese and succeeded in 1540, when they conquered Monemvasia and Nauplio.[26] The Ottomans under Selim II, getting ready to invade the Venetian island of Cyprus, built a fortress in Mani, at Porto Kaigo, and their also garrisoned Passavas.[26] The aim of this was to cut off the Venetian's communication lines and to keep the Maniots at bay.[26] Alarmed the Maniots called upon Venetian assistance and the Venetian navy in combination with the Maniot army captured the castle.[26]

Cyprus fell later that year, but the combined fleets of the Holy League defeated the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto.[26] The Greeks thinking that John of Austria would champion their revolted under the command of the Bishop of Monemvasia.[26] The promised army never arrived and by 1572, the Bishop was forced to retreated to Mani.[27] The Maniots appealed to Pope Gregory VIII to convince Philip II of Spain to assist them, however this attempt failed.[27]

17th century

In 1603, the Maniot approached Pope Clement VIII, who had recently taken the cross.[27] Clement died two years and the Maniots began to seek a new champion and they centerd their attention on the King of Spain, Philip III.[27] They said to him to land his army at Porto Kaiyo and the Maniots would join him with 15,000 armed men as well as 80,000 other Peloponnesians.[24] The Maniots also sent envoys to some major powers of the Mediterranean, like the Republic of Venice, the Kingdom of France, the Republic of Genoa, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and once again Spain.[27] These states were interested and sent several expeditionary forces to Mani, but they all failed to achieve anything after from a Spanish expedition that sacked Passavas.[27]

The Maniots found a champion in 1612, Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Nevers.[27] Charles was a descendant of the Byzantine Emperor, Andronicus II Palaeologus through his grandmother who was of the line of Theodore I of Montferrat, Andronicus' son.[28] Through this he claimed the throne of Constantinople. He began plotting with and the Maniots who addressed him as King Constantine Palaeologus.[27] When the Porte heard about this, they sent Arslan in command of an army of 20,000 men and 70 ships to invade Mani.[28] He succeeded in ravaging Mani and impossing taxes on the Maniots (which they did not pay).[28] This caused Nevers to move more actively for his crusade. Nevers sent envoys to the courts of Europe looking for support.[28] In 1619, he recruited six ships and a number men but he was forced to abort the mission because of the beginning of the Thirty Year War.[28] The idea of the crusade faded and Nevers died in 1637.[28]

In 1645, the Turkish-Venetian War or "Cretan War" began. The Republic of Venice was attempting to defend Crete, one of their provinces since 1204, from an attempt to expand the Ottoman Empire, initially under Ibrahim I.[27] The Maniots supported the Venetians by offering them ships. In 1659, Admiral Francesco Morosini, with 13,000 Maniots as his allies, occupied Kalamata, a large city near Mani.[28] In 1667, during the Siege of Candia, some Maniot pirate ship sneak into the Ottoman fleet and managed to looted a burn some ships.[27][28] How Candia fell in 1669 and Crete became part of the Ottoman Empire.[Refugees]

With Crete captured, the Ottomans turned their attention to Mani. The Grand Vizier, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmet Pasha, sent the pirate, Hasan Baba to subdue Mani.[28] Baba arrived in Mani demanding the Maniots to surrender hostages but instead he was answered with bullets[28]. During the night, ten Maniots went and cut the hawsers of Hasan's ships.[28] This caused some of Baba's ships to anchor on some rocks and the Maniots taking advantage of the situation attacked and killed the Turks and occupied the ships. Baba managed to escape with only one ship.[29]

Meanwhile in the prisons of Bagno, there was a twenty-five year old Maniot pirate.[30] His name was Liberakis Gerakis and he was a notorious pirate, who at the age of fifteen was in the Venetian galleys as a rower.[30] After been released by the Venetians, he continued piracy but was captured by the Turks in 1667.[30] The Grand Vizier decided to give him amnesty if he co-operated with the Turks and helped them get Mani.[30] Gerakis agreed and in 1670 he became bey of Mani.[30]

One of his first acts was to exile his family enemies, the Iatriani family and the Stephanopoulos family from Oitylo.[30][Immigration from Mani] The Iatriani fled in 1670 and settle in Livorno, Tuscany.[30] The Stephanopoulos' were forced to leave Oitylo in 1676 and after gaining promission from the Republic of Genoa went to Corsica, first living in the town of Paomia before moving to Cargese (today the Stepanopoulos family consider themselves "Greeks").[30]

Liberakis soon fell out of favor with the Turks, because he joined his fellow Maniots in piracy and was captured in 1682.[31] With the Ottoman's preoccupied with the Austrians, the Venetians under Morosini saw their oppurtunity to take over the Turkish Peloponnese.[32] The Turkish general in the Peloponnese, Ismael, found out and attack Mani with 10,000 men.[33] One again the Turks ravaged the plains but during the night the Maniots attacked, killing 1,800 Turks.[33] The other Turks retreated to the castle of Kelefa and Zarnatas where they were besieged by the Maniots.[33]

After brief sieges the Maniots managed to capture both Koroni and Kelefa. However, Ismael, returned with 10,000 infantry and 2,500 and started besieging the Maniots at Kelefa.[33] The Turks nearly succeeded in breaching the walls before 4,500 Ventians under the command of Morosini arrived and forced the Turks to retreated to Kastania, with the Maniots in pursuit.[32][33]

The Venetians with the assistance of the Greeks of the Peloponnese, conquered the rest of the Peloponnese and then besieged Athens.[33] During the Siege of Athens, the Parthenon was hit by artillery fire and the building was being used as a ammunition arsenal and half of it was blown up.[33] The Ottoman now desperate liberated Liberakis and gave him the posistion His Highness, the Ruler of Mani. Liberakis launched several raid into the Venetian Peloponnese but when the Ottomans tried to poison him, he defect to the Venetians.[34][35] The Venetians made him a 'Knight of St Mark' and recognized him as ruler of Roumeli.[35] The first thing he did was to attack the city of Arta, which had destroyed his estates at Karpenisi. He captured and plundered the city before going back to Mani.[35] The Aretans sent a commitee to Venice and reported everything to the Doge. Liberakis moved to Italy were he died fourteen years later.[35]

Meanwhile a Maniot trader, Manos Maneas was telling German traders of the new power in the Balkans.[35] He described them as a gold race that would defeated the Ottomans.[35] This empire was the Russian Empire under Peter the Great.[35]

18th century

In 1715, the Ottomans attacked the Venetians at the Peloponnese. Within seventy days, the Venetians had been driven out of the Peloponnese.[36] The Venetians won some minor naval battles off Mani but they abandoned the Greeks in 1716.[36] The next year, the Treaty of Passarowitz was signed and the Venetians abandoned their claim to the Peloponnese.[36]

A Greek living Russia, named Papazolis who was a friend of the Orlov's, had the Orlov's convince Tsarina Catherine the Great to send an army to Mani to liberate Greece.[36] A Russian fleet of five ships and 500 soldiers under the command of Aleksey Grigoryevich Orlov sailed from the Baltic Sea in 1769 and reached Mani in 1770.[34] The fleet landed at Oitylo were they were met by the Maniots.[36] They decided to split the army into two groups: the 'Western Legion' and the 'Eastern Legion'.[36] The 'Eastern Legion' under the command of Barkof, Grigorakis and Psaros consisted of 500 Maniots and six Russians.[36] The 'Western Legion' under the command of John the Dog Mavromichalis, Dolgorougoph and Komoundouros consisted of 200 Maniots and twelve Russians.[36]

Meanwhile the Russian fleet was besieging Koroni with assistance from the 'Western Legion'.[36] The siege proved to be difficult and soon Orlov got into a dispute with John the Dog.[36] Mavromichalis said to Orlov that if they wanted to make a real war they had to occupy Koroni and if they didn't they should not excite the Greeks in vain.[36] Orlov replied by calling the Maniots ragged and rude booty men.[36] To this Mavromichalis replied by saying: and the last of these ragged booty men keeps his freedom with his own sword and deserves more than you, slave of a whore! (by this Mavromichalis meant the Tsarina).[37] The Russian left and conduction their own operations under the end of the year when they sailed back to Russia.[34]

Meanwhile the 'Easern Legion' met success when they defeated an army of 3,500 Turks.[36] The Ottomans responded to this by sending 8,000 Turko-Albanians, who were reknown for savagery to invaded the Peloponesse.[37] The Turko-Albanians first plundered Attica before entering the Peloponnese.[37] They Turko-Albanians pillaged the Peloponnese but John the Dog with 400 followers attacked them at Rizomylo in Messenia.[37] The Maniots fought them but soon the Ottoman's superior number won them the battle and all the Maniots were killed except for Mavromichalis who was serious wounded.[37] The Turks took Mavromichalis and tortured him to death.[37] The Turko-Albanians attacked Almiro and Vergas on Mani's north-eastern border. As they camped there over night, the Maniots surrounded them and attacked them. They Turko-Albanians were defeated and lost 1,700 men while the Maniots lost thirty-six men and three women.[37] The Turks retreated and the left the Maniots in peace.

In 1776, the Ottomans appointed a Maniot, Zanetos Koutifaris as bey of Mani.[38][Beys of Mani] They also tired to impose a tax of 15,000 piasters on the Maniots (which once again they did not pay).[39] Porte had had enough of the Turko-Albanians because of the way they looted the Peloponnese.[39] Hassán Ghazi, the Turkish bey of the Peloponnese, in collaboration with the Greek klephts under the command of Constantinos Kolokotronis (father of Theodoros Kolokotronis) killed most of the Turko-Albanians in the Peloponnese and made a pyramid out of their heads.[39] In 1779, the Turks had a enough of Koutifaris because he was trying to extend his beydom into the Laconian plain so they had him executed. He was replaced by Michalis Troupakis.[38]

At around 1780, Hassán Ghazi with 16,000 men besieged the two towers in Kastania. The defenders were Constantine Kolokotronis and Panagiotes Venetsanakis with 150 men and women.[40] The fight lasted for twelve days and most of the defenders were killed. The prisoners of war were tortured and dismembered.[40] The wife of Constantine Kolokotronis was dressed like a warrior and fought her way carrying her baby who was Theodoros Kolokotronis, the future leader of the Greek War of Independence.[40]

Maniot towers like the one that held off the Turks at Skoutari.

From Kastania, Hassán Ghazi advanced towards Skoutari and laid siege to the tower of the powerful Grigorakis family.[37] The tower defend by fifteen men held out for three days before the Turks undermined it, placed gunpowder in the mine and blew up the powder and the men in the tower.[37] By this time, the main Maniot army of 5,000 men and 2,000 women had mustered at Trikefalia, which were mountains above the town of Parasyros under the command of Exarchos Grigorakis and his nephew Zanetos Grigorakis.[37]

The Ottoman army advance to the plain of Agiopidada (Greek: 'Holy Wells').[37] The Ottomans sent envoys to the Maniots telling them that Hássan wanted to speak to them.[37] The Maniots knew that if the envoys they sent to the Turks gave the Turks a negative reply they would be executed by Hássan.[37] Three old men, two priests and a laymen who thought they wouldn't contribute anything to the battle decided to sacrifice themselves.[37]

The six men went to Hássan and asked him what he wanted with out bowing.[39] When he replied that he wanted: Ten captains' children as hostages. All your guns and every year poll tax for you head because you attacked against the Sultan with the Russians, our enemies.[39] The answered his demands by saying: We prefer to die than giving you our guns and children. We don't pay taxes because our land is poor.[39] Hássan furious with the response had the men decapitated and impaled them on stakes do the Maniots could see them and fear for their safety.[39]

The Maniots did the exact opposite and charged at the Ottomans.[39] The fighting was fierce and by the end only 6,000 Turks reached Mystras.[39] The Maniot casualties are unknown but the Turks lost 10,000 men.[39] Hássan tried to weaken the Grigorakis family by inviting Exarchos to Tripoli. He treated him as an honored guest but then had him hung. [38] On Easter Sunday, Exarchos' mother, incited the men of Skoutari to take revenge for her sons death.[41] Under the command of Zanetos, the men of Skoutari dressed as priests were allowed into Passavas. Once inside the Skoutariotes, took out their concealed weapons and killed all the inhabitants of Passavas.[42]

In 1782, the Ottomans lured Michalis Troupakis onto a ship and sent him to Mytilini, were he was executed for piracy.[43] The Porte tried to get Zanetos to replace him but Zanetos refused until he was lured onto a ships and forced to become bey.[43]

During Zanet's rule over Mani, Mani became a base for many klephts and other Greek bandits. Amongst them were the famous Greek pirate, Lambros Katsonis, who helped the Russians with their wars against the Ottomans, Andreas Androutsos (father of Odysseas) and Zacharias.[44] On January 9, 1792, Catherine II of Russia had her representative Alexander Bezborodko sign the Treaty of Jassy with Grand Vizier Koca Yusuf Pasha of the Ottoman Empire.[45] The treaty ended the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792 and recognized Russia's 1783 annexation of the Crimean Khanate and transferred Yedisan to Russia making the Dniester the Russo-Turkish frontier in Europe, and leaving the Asiatic frontier - Kuban River - unchanged.[45] Lambros Katsonis said, Aikaterini (Greek: Catherine) did her treaty but Katsonis didn't do his treaty with the enemy.[44]

Katsonis together with Androutsos and Zacharias, he built a gun battery at Porto Kagio.[45] He gathered a small army and a navy of eleven ships and he attacked Ottoman ships in the area.[45] However, not being able to maintain his ships, he started attacking ships from other countries.[45] Later that year he sunk two French ships which was the beginging of the end for Katsonis.[45] An Ottoman fleet of thirty ships and a French destroyer attacked Katsonis at Porto Kagio.[45] Katsonis' men fleet to land except for Katsonis who escaped to Odessa, Russia on one of the ships.[45]

Androutsos with 500 men tried to cross the Peloponnese and go into Roumeli.[44] Zacharias in a rear guard action managed to help fight his way through the Peloponnese and into Roumeli.[44] In 1798, Napoleon sent two Stephanopoulos to Mani trying to get the Maniots to attack the Ottomans from the Peloponnese while he attacked from Egypt.[43] Zacharias and Zanetbey accepted the offer and Napoleon sent them weapons. When the Turks found out they had him replaced as bey with Panagiotis Koumoundourakis.[43]

Modern Mani

Early 19th century

In 1803, the Ottomans deposed of Koumoundourakis because he was not capable of subduing Zanetbey who was still receiving weapons from the French at his castle at Cranae.[43] The Ottomans replaced him with Antony or Antonbey, Zanetbey's cousin.[43] The Turkish fleet under the command of the admiral, Seremet.[44] The Ottoman fleet was not able to captured Cranae and they were soon forced to retreat.[43]

In 1805, Seremet attacked Zacharias at his fortress in the Taygetus mountains and managed to kill him.[44] In 1807, the Ottomans attacked Antonbey at Gytheio because he was unwilling to suppress his cousin who was still attacking the Turks.[46] The Turks were once again forced to retreat.[46] Three years later Antonbey, resigned in favor of his son-in-law, Konstantis Zervakos, who in favor with the bey of the Peloponnese.[46] However, the Maniots did not share the Ottoman's opinion and deposed of him.[46]

Later that year, the Maniots leader gathered at Gytheio and elected Theodoros Zanerakis or Theodorobey, Zanetbey's nephew as bey. In 1815, the Ottomans attacked Mani but they were driven back.[22] Theodorobey was removed from power later that year and was replaced by Petros Mavromichalis or Petrobey.[46]

Petros Mavromichalis was John the Dog's nephew. He was the first Maniot bey from Messa Mani.[46] In 1798, he had also been approached by Napoleon to join the war on the Ottomans but after Napoleon's defeat in Egypt he joined the French army for a while and fought in the Ionian Islands.[47] It was rumored at the time that he was appointed bey only because his uncle had not been killed and had been Ismalized and had become an officer in the Ottoman army.[47] In 1819, he joined the Filiki Eteria, the secret organization that was organizing a revolt amongst them Greeks and by 1821 they were ready.[47]

Contributions to the Greek Revolution

File:Petrobey-Mavromihalis.jpg
Petros Mavromichalis (1765-1848)
Maniot flag with the motto « Victory or Death »
Theodoros Kolokotronis, a leader of the Revolution.

Maniots, known for their martial qualities, were the first to join the Greek liberation movement. The society called the Filiki Eteria ("Company of Friends") sent their representatives Perrevos and Chrisospathis to organize the Maniots.[48] On March 17, 1821, 12,000 Maniots gathered in the church of Taxiarchs (Archangels) of Areopoli and declared war against the Ottoman Empire.[49] The flag of the revolution was white with a blue cross in the center. On top of the flag there was a sign: "Victory or death".[50] The Maniots were responsible for writing "Victory" and not "Freedom" on their banner since Mani was always free.[50] On the bottom of the flag lied an ancient inscription: "With the shield or on the shield."[50]

On the 21 March, an army of 2,000 Maniots under the command of Petros Mavromichalis, Theodoros Kolokotronis and Papaflessas marched towards Kalamata.[50] On the 23 March, they captured the city.[50] From Kalamata, Mavromichalis wrote letters to the states of Europe, informing them of what the Greeks were doing.[51] The Messenian Senate was also held there. Kolokotronis wanted to attack Tripolis and thus captured the main Turksih city in the Peloponnese.[51] However, Mavromichalis wanted to capture the smaller towns first and then take Tripolis.[51] The Senate agreed with Mavromichalis and the Maniots attacked the Turks of Messenia and Laconia.[51]

Kolokotronis convinced that he was correct, moved into Arcadia with 300 Maniots. When he entered Arcadia his band of 300 fought a Turkish force of 1,300 men and defeated them.[50] On the 28 April, a few thousand Maniot soldiers under the command of Mavromichalis' sons joined Kolokotronis' camp outside Tripolis. On the 12 September of that year, the Turkish capitol in the Peloponnese fell. On the 4 July that year, Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis was killed near the Souliote fortress of Kaiapha.

The Sultan became desperate and in 1824 he called on his Viceroy in Egypt, Muhammud Ali to aid him.[52] Ali promised to aid him in return for cession of the island of Crete, Cyprus as well as making his eldest son Ibrahim Pasha, Pasha of the Peloponnese.[52] Ali accepted the offer and sent his son in command of the expedition. Meanwhile the Greeks were in disarray because of political rivalries which caused a civil war. Kolokotronis was arrested, his son Panos was killed and his nephew Nikitaras forced to flee.[52]

Ibrahim made good use of this turmoil and landed with his army at Methoni. Ibrahim soon had re-captured all the Peloponnese except for Nauplio and Mani. When he tried to capture Nauplio, he was repelled by Dimitrios Ypsilantis and Konstantinos Mavromichalis, Petros' brother. [53] Ibrahim then decided to head for Mani.

Ibrahim sent an envoy to the Maniot demand that they surrender or else he would ravage their land.[50] Instead of surrendering the Maniots gave him a Maniotic reply saying:

From the few Greeks of Mani and the rest of Greeks who live there to Ibrahim Pasha. We received your letter in which you try to frighten us saying that if we don't surrender, you'll kill the Maniots and plunder Mani. That's why we are waiting for you and your army. We, the inhabitants of Mani, sign and wait for you.[50]

Enraged by the reply, Ibrahim commanding an army of 7,000 men attacked Mani on the 21 June, 1826.[54] He was stopped at the walls of Almiro and Vergas which ran for around 500 meters.[55] Defending the walls were 2,000 Maniots under the command of Illias Mavromichalis and 500 Greek refugees.[54][56] As Ibrahim launched his infantry and cavalry against the Maniot position, he also made two of his ships, including the one he was on, to attack the Maniot fortifactions from the sea with their artillery.[54] The Egyptian army attacked the Maniot posistion eight times and they were thrown back.[54] The fighting continued for a few more days before the Egyptians retreated when rumors that Kolokotronis was approaching their rear with 2,000 came true.[57] The Maniots pursued the Egyptians all the way to Kalamata before returning to Vergas.[50] This battle was costly for Ibrahim not only because he suffered 2,500 casualties but also it ruined his plan to invade Mani from the north.[54]

While Ibrahim was launching his attack on the Maniot position at Vergas, he decided to launch a small fleet and attack Areopolis.[56] This plan is described by Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos as excellent because of the fact that it would catch Areopolis scarcely defend and by capturing Areopolis, Ibrahim could cut off the Maniots communication lines and control the mountains passes that led to Gytheio.[56] It would also allow the Egyptian to attack the Maniot at Vergas from the rear.[56]

On the 24 June, he sent a small fleet carrying 1,500 to land at the Bay of Diros and to capture Areopolis.[56] As the Egyptians land on the beach, the alarms bells rang.[54] Soon 300 women and old men who had been harvesting the crops gathered.[56] Armed only with their scythes and cudgels, they charged at the Egyptians.[56] The Egyptians had not been expecting any resistance were suprised by this sudden attack and were forced to retreat to a fortified posistion on the beach were they could receive support from the ships.[56] Soon 300 Maniots arrived from other towns and the Egyptians were forced to either swim to the ships or be slain by the Maniots.[56] His defeat was costly for Ibrahim not only did he loose 1,000 men but his plan to invade conquer Mani were ruined.[58] Later on the women of Diro were dubbed the 'Amazons of Diro'.[58]

Ibrahim annoyed by his defeats at Vergas and Diro plundered the Peloponnese for a month before turning his attention back to Mani.[59] He sent an army of 6,000 Arabs to advance it to the Taygetus and sweep down and captured Gytheio and Laconian Mani.[59] In command of the army was a Greek from Vordonia, Bosinas.[59] As he advanced towards Polytsaravo he was stopped by Theodoros Stathakos, who together with his family of thirteen people was waiting in their tower.[59] Bosinas tried to make him surrender and give up his and Theodoros feigning to surrender allowed Bosinas to come towards the tower to collect them but once Bosinas was within range of their guns they killed him.[59] In retaliation his army, shot at the tower with their cannons and blew it up.[59]

The Egyptians then proceeded towards the town of Polytsaravos and reached it on the 28 August.[59] The inhabitans of the town had sent the women and children to take refuge in the mountains before improving the fortifactions they had there.[59] The inhabitants of the town were reinforced by other Maniots and soon the defenders numbered 2,500 men.[59] The Egyptians had trouble advancing to Polytsaravos because of the fact that it was surrounded by rocky ground which was situated on high ground.[60] As soon as the Arabs arrived the Maniots sallied from the fortifactions and attacked the Arabs.[59] The Arabs retreated from Polytsaravos after sustaining 400 casualties while the Maniots only suffered nine.[59] This was the last invasion of Mani by the Egyptians or the Ottomans as the Peloponnese, Central Greece and some of the island were liberated in 1828 after the French, English and Russians defeated the Turks at Navarino in 1827.

Republic and Regency

Map of the boundaries of the Greek Kingdom after the Treaty of Constantinople
King Otto, the first King of Greece.
File:Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776-1831)..JPG
Ioannis Kapodistrias (1776-1831). Oil painting by D. Tsokos

In 1831, Ioannis Capodistrias became governor of Greece.[59] Capodistrias quarreled with the Mavromichalis' because the Maniots refused to pay taxes to the government.[61] Capodistrias requested that Tzanis, Petros' brother go to Nauplio, then capitol of Greece and negotiate.[62] As soon as Tzanis arrived he was arrested and imprisoned. Capodistrias then sent soldiers to Mani and had Petros arrested, imprisoned and charged with high treason.[62] His brother Konstantinos, the defender of Nauplio and Petros' son, George Mavromichalis, were put under house arrest in the capitol.[62]

On the 27 September, Capodistrias went to attend a church service at the Church of St Spyridon.[62] He noticed that Konstantinos and George were waiting at the chruch doors.[62] As he passed them he briefly stopped before proceeding into the church. As he was about to step into the church, Konstantinos fired his gun and the bullet hit Capodistrias at the back of the head while at the same time George stabbed him through the heart.[62] Capodistrias collapsed into his attendants arms. Capodistrias' one armed bodyguard shot Konstantinos as he has running. Konstantinos was hit by several more bullets before he died.[62] His body was then dragged by an angry mob who thrown it into the sea.[62] George was captured and executed on the island of Bourzi, a little off the shore of Nauplio while his father looked on.[62]

In 1833, a Prince from Bavaria, Otto became King of Greece after he was appointed by the Great Powers.[49] Since he was underage he had a Council of Regency governing the country for him.[49] One of the Council's first acts was to try and subdue the unruly Maniots and pull down their towers another was to free Petros and Tzanis from their prisons.[63] The council sent an army of Bavarians to Messa Mani with the goal of taming Mani.[64] They made to Areopoli but during the night, they Maniots surrounded them and captured them.[65] The Maniots forced them to leave Mani.[65]

On the 14 May, 1834, four companies of Bavarians troops assited by four cannons laid siege to the town of Petrovouni.[65] 800 Maniots from the surrounding towns attacked the Bavarians.[65] The Bavarians were massacred as most of them were either slain by the Maniots or fell into a ravine near the town while escaping.[65] Later that year, an army of 6,000 men with five cannons under the command of General Schmaltz assisted by five squadrons of royalist-Maniots once again besieged Petrovouni.[65] When news of an army of 1,000 Maniots was approaching, they retreated to Gytheio.[65]

The Council decided that they could not subdue the Maniots by force, so they decided to sent a diplomat, Max Feder, with the intentions of subduing Mani.[65] He went to different Maniot family and offered them position if they supported the king.[65] Many of the achamnomeri and some megalogenites were convinced by his offered and agreed.[65] However, several of the older families and the poorer anchamnomeri did accept the offer because the former didn't want to be dependent on a king and the latter because they did not want governors with superior rights.[65] In Kitta, this division caused blood shed when the king's supporter started fighting the other group under the command of Giogaros Skylakakis.[65] Feder soon arrived with his new allies and blew up Skylakakis and all his allies in his towers. Thus was Mani finally subdued.[66]

Late 19th century

During Otto's rule, pleanty of blood was spilt in Mani because of the vendettas which had plagued it for centuries.[66] The vendettas continued until 1870, when the last Maniot vendetta took a regular army with attilery to stop.[67]

In 1841, Crete revolted against the Ottomans. The Maniots who are described as cousins of the Cretans rushed to Crete to support their cousins.[66] The Cretans together with the Maniots forced the Turks into their fortress were they besieged them. A combined Ottoman-English fleet managed to subdue the Cretans and make the Maniots go back to Mani. In 1866, a new revolution sparked in Crete and 2,000 Maniots under the command of Petropoulakis went and assisted their cousins.[66] However, the Cretans were defeated and the Maniots were again forced to retreat to Mani.[66]

20th century

At the start of the 20th century, Greece was involved with the Macedonian Struggle. Many volunteers from Mani took part in the war.[68] The Maniots also took part in the series of wars that followed including the Balkan Wars and the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922).[68]

During World War II, the Maniot contributed a lot to the Greek Army.[68] Amongst the Greek leaders during the Battle of Greece, was a Maniot, Colonel Konstantinos Davakis.[68] Davakis in command of the Pindus Detachment, defeated the Italians at the Battle of Pindus despite the Italians have better machinary and weapons. Meanwhile, the British navy defeated the Italian navy in the Battle of Matapan of Cape Tenaro.[69]

However, the Germans attacked Greece in order to support the Itlians. The Greeks were forced to retreat and soon Mani received it's forgotten role as center of refugees.[69] In April 1941, the British started evacuating their troops from Porto Kagio.[69] By the end of that month, Mani and the rest of Greece, were in Italian and German hands.[69]

The Germans and Italians were forced out of Greece in 1944 but as soon as they left the Greek Civil War began. The armies of the Communist, ELAS and DSE fought against the Greek army and the royalists.[70] Mani nevered recovered from both wars and soon the younger people of Mani left for Athens, the USA and Australia.[71]

Now Mani is divided into two nomos, Laconia and Messenia. Mani has around 18,000 inhabitants with the most important and populous town being Gytheio. Mani's main source of income is tourism. The most famous of them all are the Caves of Diro, which are two caves that have underwater rivers flowing through them.

Notes

Vathia, a typical Maniot village. It is famous for it's great Maniot towers.

^ Social castes of Mani: In the second Byzantine occupation of Mani, there were four social castes, the Nikliani, the Megalogenites, the Achamnomeri and the Fameyi. The Nikliani were the inhabitants of the town of Nikli before it was sacked by the Byzantine emperor, Andronicus II Palaeologus. Kyriakos Kassis claims that the Nikliani were a family[72] while Patrick Leigh Fermor claims they were the inhabitants of Nykli.[73] The Nykliani were wealthy, upper class people who started the building of pyrgoi in Mani[72].


The Megalogenites (Greek:Big Births), were refugees from other parts of Greece who were from wealthy and reknown families like the Commenoi, Palaeologoi, Medici and others.[72] They mostly ignored the Nikliani's laws or tried to live in harmony with them.[72] The Megalogenites also started building towers like the ones built by the Nikliani.[72]


The Achamnormeri were the third Maniot class and was the middle class.[74] It did not have as many rights as the first two class. They had the right to build only one storey towers and they were not allowed to build it out of limestone or marble.[74] They owned most of the fields and had a right to a portion of common property like quail, salt and fish.[74] They also had the freedom of movement and means of production. If during the night, they managed to raise a tower larger than one of their neighbors they were considered more powerful.[74]


The last caste were the Fameyi who were serfs. [74]They had not property and they sometimes confused by modern historians as Achamnormeri.[74] They were low quantity and they could be emancipated and became Achamnormeri.[74]

^ Population of Mani: In 1453, Mani's population grew drasticly as a lot of refugees arrived from other parts of Greece, after the Fall of Constantinople.[22] Around that time towns like Skoutari were founded by people who had escaped from Constaninople.[75] Kassis tells us that the population of Mani at that time was between 40,000 and 80,000.[22]

Count Chateau-Reneau says that at the begining of the 17th century there were 700 cities and many villages in Mani which is thought to be an exaggerated number.[22] In 1700, 14,773 people were recorded in the census despite the constant migrations in Mani.[22] In 1805, Colonel William Leake records that there were 30,000 people living in Mani.[22] Twelve years later, K. Koumas writes in his geography's that Mani had 100,000 inhabitants which was a wildly exaggerated number.[22] In 1820, Anagnostras composition for the Philiki Eteria says that Mani had 8,000 fighting men.[22] Kassis comes to the conclusion that Mani had around 45,000 inhabitants in 1820.[22]

^ Refugees: As a result of the many revolts against the Ottoman Empire, the Maniots welcomed new Greek refugees from various areas including Asia Minor, and especially Crete when the Turks acquired the island from the Venetians in 1669.[76] The Cretan refugees settled in Mani and created villages with Cretan names that enriched the Maniot dialect with Cretan words and idioms.[76]

The mass migration of refugees caused new problems in Mani. The limited area of good arable land led to many local wars between families, clans, and different villages. The era of vendetta began in Mani and it seemed that only a new Ottoman invasion could save the country from a civil war. Many Maniot people began to serve as mercenaries in the army of the Doge of Venice while some others became pirates to fulfill their patriotic duties. In fact, the Ottoman fleet near Chania, Crete was destroyed by Maniot pirates.[33]

^ Immigration from Mani: Between 1600 and 1700, there were mass exodus of Maniots leaving Mani for European countries. In 1570, some Maniots immigrated to Voltera.[77] As seen above the 700 Stephanopoulos' migrated to Corcisa as well as the Iatrini, (who latinized name happened to be Medici) who went to live in Tuscany after gaining Ferdinand Medici's promission.[31] There still towers in Tuscany that look the Maniot ones.[23] The Duke of Genoa wanted some Maniots to colonize the western Italian coast as to protect it from pirates and the poeration ended in success.[23] There are mentions of a lot of Maniots in Naples and T. Asanis Palaeologus building a church there.[23] There are also tombs of Palaeologi in Cornwell, England as well as one in Westminister of a Palaeologus who fought with Oliver Cromwell.[23] Charles V, the King of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire had distinguished army corp name the Mainoti.[23]

^ Beys of Mani: From 1776 until 1821, eight beys ruled Mani. These beys were:

  • Zanetos Koutifaris (1776 - 1779).
  • Michalis Troupakis (or Mourtzinos) or Michalibey (1779 - 1782).
  • Zantetos Kapetanakis Grigorakis or Zanetbey (1782 - 1798).
  • Panagiotis Koumoundouros (1798 - 1803).
  • Antony Grigorakis or Antonbey (1803 - 1808).
  • Constantinos Zervakos or Zervobeis (1808 - 1810).
  • Theodoros Grigorakis or Theodorobey (1811 - 1815).
  • Petros Mavromichalis or Petrobey Mavromichalis (1815 - 1821).[78]

Inline citations

  1. ^ Homer [1]
  2. ^ a b c Kassis, Mani's History", 7
  3. ^ a b c Saitas, Mani", 13
  4. ^ a b c d Fermor. Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponesse., 302
  5. ^ a b c d e f Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 20
  6. ^ Xenophon, Hellenica, 1, 4, 8–12.
  7. ^ Green, Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age, 302
  8. ^ Livy 34.29
  9. ^ Smith [2]
  10. ^ Smith [3]
  11. ^ Livy, Rome and the Mediterranean, 35.35
  12. ^ a b Cartledge and Spawforth, Hellenistic and Roman Sparta:A tale of two Cities, 78
  13. ^ a b c d Kassis, Mani's History", 16
  14. ^ a b c d e f g Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 21
  15. ^ a b Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 49
  16. ^ Pausanias 3.21.8
  17. ^ Kassis, "Mani's History", 19
  18. ^ a b c d e Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 22
  19. ^ a b c Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 23
  20. ^ Kassis, "Mani's History", 23
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 24
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kassis, "Mani's History", 38 Cite error: The named reference "Kassis38" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  23. ^ a b c d e f Kassis, "Mani's History", 28
  24. ^ a b c d e Kassis, "Mani's History", 29
  25. ^ a b c d J Chapman, 'Turkokratia: The Kladas Revolt'
  26. ^ a b c d e f Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 25
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 26
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kassis, "Mani's History", 30
  29. ^ Kassis, "Mani's History", 30-1
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h Kassis, "Mani's History", 31
  31. ^ a b Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 27
  32. ^ a b Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 28
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h Kassis, "Mani's History", 32
  34. ^ a b c Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 29
  35. ^ a b c d e f g Kassis, "Mani's History", 33
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kassis, "Mani's History", 34
  37. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Kassis, "Mani's History", 35
  38. ^ a b c Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 30
  39. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kassis, "Mani's History", 36
  40. ^ a b c Πουμελιωτη, "Ηρωίδες της Λακωνίας και της Μάνης Όλης (1453-1944), 31
  41. ^ Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 51
  42. ^ Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 52
  43. ^ a b c d e f g Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 31
  44. ^ a b c d e f Kassis, "Mani's History", 37 Cite error: The named reference "Kassis37" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  45. ^ a b c d e f g h Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 140
  46. ^ a b c d e f Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 32
  47. ^ a b c Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 33
  48. ^ Paroulakis, The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence", 40
  49. ^ a b c Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 58
  50. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kassis, Mani's History", 39 Cite error: The named reference "Kassis39" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  51. ^ a b c d Paroulakis, The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence", 58
  52. ^ a b c Paroulakis, The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence", 113
  53. ^ Paroulakis, The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence", 125
  54. ^ a b c d e f Kassis, Mani's History", 40
  55. ^ Saitis, Mani", 12
  56. ^ a b c d e f g h i Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 62
  57. ^ Barrow, The Mani", 21
  58. ^ a b Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 63
  59. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kassis, Mani's History", 41
  60. ^ Barrow, The Mani", 102
  61. ^ Paroulakis, The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence", 165
  62. ^ a b c d e f g h i Paroulakis, The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence", 168
  63. ^ Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 35
  64. ^ Kassis, Mani's History", 43
  65. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kassis, Mani's History", 44
  66. ^ a b c d e Kassis, Mani's History", 45
  67. ^ Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 36
  68. ^ a b c d Kassis, Mani's History", 46
  69. ^ a b c d Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 141
  70. ^ Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 38
  71. ^ Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 39
  72. ^ a b c d e Kassis, "Mani's History", 24
  73. ^ Fermor, Mani: Travels into the Southern Peloponnese", 86
  74. ^ a b c d e f g Kassis, "Mani's History", 25
  75. ^ Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 54
  76. ^ a b Fermor, Mani: Travels into the Southern Peloponnese", 150
  77. ^ Kassis, "Mani's History", 27
  78. ^ Greenhalgh and Eliopoulos, Deep into Mani: Journey into the Southern Tip of Greece", 30-2

References

Primary sources

  • Homer, translated by Robert Fitzgerald, (1974). The Iliad. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283405-3
  • Livy, translated by Henry Bettison, (1976). Rome and the Mediterranean. London: Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044318-5.
  • Pausanias, translated by W.H.S Jones, (1918). Pausanias Description of Greece. London: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-14-044362-2.
  • Polybius, translated by Frank W. Walbank, (1979). The Rise of the Roman Empire. New York: Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044362-2.

Secondary sources

  • Bob Barrow, (1998). The Mani. Stoupa: Thomeas Travel Services.
  • Paul Cartledge and Antony Spawforth, (2002). Hellenistic and Roman Sparta: A tale of two cities. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-26277-1
  • Patrick Leigh Fermor, (1984). Mani: Tavels in the Southern Peloponnese. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-011511-0
  • Peter Greenhalgh and Edward Eliopoulos, (1985). Deep into Mani:Journey to the southern tip of Greece. London: Trinity Press ISBN 0-571-13524-2
  • Peter Green, (1990). Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age, (2nd edition). Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-500-01485-X.
  • Rosemary Hall, Paul Hellander, Corinne Simcock and David Willet. Lonely Planet: Greece. Singapore: SNP Printing Pte Ltd. ISBN 0-86442-527-9
  • Kyriakos Kassis, (1979). Mani's History. Athens: Presoft
  • William Leake, Travels in the Morea, i. 244 foll.
  • Maria Mavromataki, (2001). 8,500 Years of Civilization: Greece: Between Legend and History. Athens: Haïtalis. ISBN960-8284-01-5
  • Peter Parouakis, (1984). The Greeks: Their Struggle for Independence. Darwin: Hellenic International Press. ISBN 0-9590894-0-3
  • Γιαννη Χ. Ρουμελιωτη. Ηρωίδες της Λακωνίας και της Μάνης Όλης (1453-1944). ΙSBN 960-87030-1-8
  • Yiannis Saĭtas, translated by Philip Ramp, (1990). Greek Traditional Architecture: Mani. Athens: Melissa Publishing House
  • William Smith, (1873). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: John Murray.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maniots&oldid=102524330"