Misplaced Pages

#623376

53-563: Both before the Kallikratis law and after it, Therapnes was composed of the same eight Local Communities ( topiki koinotita ), the lowest level of the hierarchy: Agioi Anargyroi (formerly Zouraina), Agrianoi, Gkoritsa, Kalloni, Kefalas, Platana, Skoura and Chrysafa. The population of Therapnes in the 2021 census, conducted by the Ministry of the Interior, was 2,025. Therapnes covers the hill country on

106-627: A "Longanikiotes" (masc) or "Longanikiotissa" (fem). The village is administered as part of the Pellana region of the Laconia (aka Lakonia) prefecture. The Pellana region's administrative central office is located in the village of Kastania (aka "Kastorion", "Kastori") which is about 15 miles south of Longanikos. [Note: Diaspora Greeks looking for documents related to any legal, property, or citizenship issues for themselves or their family should look here first for information and guidance. However, in 2011 some of

159-482: A branching network leading out radially from the city to connect other cities and towns in the valley. A web of secondary roads fills in the spaces between the main roads. The Evrotas Valley enjoys a sunny and warm Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa ). The interior of the valley records the highest summer mean maximum temperatures in Greece and is comparable to areas of Andalusia in terms of summer average highs. This

212-514: A drowned town between Pounta on the mainland and Elafonisos island on the eastern side of the Laconian Gulf . The town extended over the entire drowned isthmus from 60 rock-cut tombs on the Pounta shore (a beach) to the remains of walls on Pavlopetri island off Elafonisos. A subsequent survey in 2009 discovered even earlier parts of the town and recovered additional pottery. A chronological study

265-516: A former sea bed. On the east side of Taygetus is the Sparta Fault, a normal fault , which strikes in a zig-zag path along the foot of the massif and dips toward the interior of the valley. The river is on the western side. From it the scarps of the footwall of the Sparta Fault are visible at the base of Tayegetus. Taygetus is transected by deep ravines through which tributaries flow into the Eurotas. At

318-541: A key transit point for the movement of people and armies in the Peloponnese. It had also served as a military staging area and rampart for the state of Sparta. The town is mentioned as Longanik in the Seyahatnâme of Evliya Çelebi which he visited in 1668. He mentions that out of 500 houses only 100 are inhabited as the rest either died because of the recent plague outbreak or fled to the mountains. Çelebi also mentions that

371-522: A limited reconstruction of a one-story structure on the terrace. The staircase was blocked. The entire ridge was intensely occupied leaving a profusion of Mycenaean pottery. The villa was burned at the end of LH3B2, leaving a destruction level. Two persons buried in the associated rubble appear to have died violently. Occupation of the hill went on through the Greek Dark Age , reduced to the Menelaon shrine in

424-607: A probable near abandonment of the city at the end of the late Bronze Age. Archaeology has provided a more complete story for the Mycenaean period. On the left bank of the Eurotas, across from Sparta, is a ridge on which sits a temple called the Menelaon . In the 20th century a survey by the British School of Archaeology revealed that the entire ridge, located in the municipal unit of Therapnes , ancient Therapnē, had been covered by

477-716: A record mean max temperature of 42.3°C. On August 3, 2021 the Evrotas station recorded 47.4°C. On average this station records 43 days annually with temperatures over 40.0°C. On July 30, 2021 the Kelefina Hydro Meteorological station of the National Observatory of Athens recorded 47.1°C. In July 2023 the World Meteorological Organization station in Gytheio registered 46.4°C which

530-434: A walled Mycenaean town, dated to the late Bronze Age by the late Helladic (LH3) pottery with some middle Helladic (MH) pottery in "pockets in the bedrock." The archaeologists analyzing the site recognized a building Period I, dated between LH2B–LH3A1, the latter being brought to and end about 1425 BCE by a severe earthquake. Remains of a mansion with Minoan pottery date from Period I. During Period IA,

583-409: Is 404 inhabitants according to the 2021 census. This figure includes the population of the surrounding smaller villages Vergadeika , Kyparrissi, Giakoumaiika, and Kotitsa. Because of the small size of this village, residents of this town often identify themselves as Spartans to other Greeks or foreigners. For those who are familiar with this area, a resident or person from Longanikos is referred to as

SECTION 10

#1732855250624

636-469: Is 82 kilometres (51 mi) long, flowing in a north-south direction and emptying into the Laconian Gulf . Its drainage basin is 2,239 km (864 sq mi). The classical Evrotas was changed to Iri in the Middle Ages and only changed back to Evrotas in recent times. Evrotas, however, is not the most ancient name of the river. It does not appear in the works of Homer , which purport to recount

689-542: Is a traditional Greek village, located in Laconia , in the ancient and historical Peloponnese area of southern Greece. It is also referred to sometimes in English as "Logganiko(s)" or "Longanico(s)". It is about 30 kilometers north of Sparta , the capital city of Lakonia, and is also very close to the cities of Kalamata , Tripolis and Megalopolis . It rests on the eastern slope of Mount Taigetos . The population of Longanikos

742-501: Is also only a 2.5 hour drive from central Athens and within driving distance of many famous sites, including Olympia, Monemvasia, Caves of Dirrou, Githeo, Kalamata, Corinth, the Argolid (Epidavros, Nafplion), amongst others. Massachusetts, USA A high concentration of emigrants who went to the USA settled in the suburbs of Boston , primarily the towns of Lynn and Lowell , Massachusetts in

795-490: Is believed that this area has been inhabited since Neolithic times, and much later served as a front-line military outpost for the powerful Spartan city-state. As a result of its geographical position between the 3 prefectures of Messinia, Arcadia and Laconia and because of the morphology of the ground where Taigetos and Parnonas converge without connecting, thereby creating the Laconian valley of Eurotas, Logganikos has served as

848-517: Is due to the interior's geographical location between Taygetus and Parnon mountains, completely cut out from the sea on all directions, some 30 km away from the shores. As the meltemi winds sweep Greece during the summer, both mountains provide a constant hot foehn winds effect which strongly affects the interior of the valley. During July 2023 the Hydro Meteorological station of the National Observatory of Athens in Evrotas registered

901-591: Is polluting the river, aggravated by diminished flow because of the irrigation demands on it. The Evrotas River occupies the floor of a rift valley , or graben , created by extensional forces acting over the Hellenic Plate in a northeast-southwest direction. The corresponding fault-block mountains are the Taygetus Massif on the west and the Parnon Massif on the east – both limestone ridges derived from

954-565: Is sought out by olive oil importers globally. Most of the olive oil that is harvested is purchased by large Italian premium olive-oil labels who are known to repackage the local olive oil and brand it as an Italian product. The younger people are also shifting away from an agriculture-based economy as their primary source of income. As more and more residents drive, they have expanded their job opportunities to commuting to nearby larger cities such as Sparta or Megalopolis where they take public sector or private service and manufacturing jobs. During

1007-433: Is the highest temperature ever recorded in the National Observatory of Athens fan aspirated stations network. In modern times, much of the river water is used for irrigation, with the result that the Eurotas is almost dry during the summer months. The waters of the Eurotas are used to irrigate mainly citrus crops, for which Laconia is famous. The plain of Elos near the river's mouth is particularly fertile farmland. In

1060-518: Is the main river of Laconia and one of the major rivers of the Peloponnese , in Greece . The river's springs are located just northwest of the border between Laconia and Arcadia , at Skortsinos . The river is also fed by underwater springs at Pellana and by tributaries coursing down from Mt. Taygetos and Mt. Parnon , which flank the Evrotas Valley to the west and east, respectively. The river

1113-563: Is unconnected with the Alpheios river in Arcadia . The identity of their names comes from an ancient geologic misunderstanding that the Eurotas and the Apheios were connected underground, which deceived even Pausanias , one of the best ancient geographers. He believed they had the same source but that the outflow stream disappeared into a chasm only to emerge at different locations as different streams. In

SECTION 20

#1732855250624

1166-572: The Bronze Age there was a large settlement at Therapne, with shrines to Menelaus and Helen . In mythological terms, it was said to derive its name from a nymph Therapne, daughter of Lelex , and Castor and Pollux were thought to have been born there. While Pausanias writes that Therapne has "a Temple of Menelaos " (3.19.9), Herodotus (6.61) calls the same building the temple of Helen. Eurotas (river) The Evrotas ( Modern Greek : Ευρώτας ) or Eurotas ( Ancient Greek : Εὐρώτας )

1219-578: The Cyclades , western Crete and the northeastern Aegean." The "15% Middle Bronze Age" is represented by middle Helladic and middle Minoan . This archaeological scenario is not incompatible with the Aegean distribution of the Leleges, although it is not possible to say who the early and middle Bronze Age inhabitants were. The late Bronze Age had 25% of the items. Classical and Byzantine items were minimal, indicating

1272-438: The Evrotas Valley , the massifs on either side, the two headlands, and the enclosed Laconian Gulf with its coastal islands. Its seat is the city of Sparta , as in ancient times, at a site which dominated and still dominates the valley from its central position. However, the rich-soil plain is entirely divided into villages that practice agriculture , viticulture , and arboriculture intensely. The main roads from Sparta form

1325-520: The Ionic dialect . The source of the Evrotas River is a surface spring called Piges Evrota (Πηγές Ευρώτα, "Eurotas Springs") located near the village of Skortsinos , Arcadia , by the side of the road ascending from Kyparissi . The spring is an outlet of an aquifer located in the adjacent limestone ridge at a locale called Kephalari. The ridge, a karst , is not part of the Taygetus Massif, but, like

1378-464: The 60s and onward, which historically have been gateway cities in Massachusetts for various immigrant groups from all over the world. In the beginning of the 20th century, Ipswich was also a gateway city. One of the most famous people with ties to Longanikos was Harry Agganis , also known as the "Golden Greek". During the devastating forest fires of 2007, the village was spared any damage. However,

1431-582: The Archaic and Classical Periods. Dedications to Menelaus and Helen are found in its vicinity starting the Archaic period. The excavators concluded that in the "later 15th century" (BC) the ridge was "the principal settlement site in Laconia." The shrine and its dedications identify it as the site of Homeric Sparta, capital of a ruling couple believed by the population of the Archaic Period to have been Menelaos and Helen. The classical-era city of Sparta

1484-569: The Muslims of the town are converts from the Greeks of the town and that there was only 1 mosque and 11 Churches. He also adds that the women of Longanik were producing silk. Today the village of Longanikos also includes the settlements of Vergadeika, Kiparissi, Giakoumeika and Foundeika. It is nestled along the green slopes and fir-covered mountain range of Mt. Taigetos and one can find stone houses, natural springs and fountains and forest roads that lead to

1537-481: The Skala- Molaoi road to Vlachiotis, southeast along the edge of the rising terrain to Asteri and south from there to the coast. Due to changes in sea level, some land on the flanks of the gulf has been drowned. The current communities of Elos, Leimonas and Agioi Taxiarches have been constructed on aggraded land. As Pausanias mentions that Elos was a port city, the current Elos cannot be identified with it. Skala, on

1590-515: The Trypiotiko. The rich alluvial soil through which the final 10 km of the Eurotas flows was not there in antiquity. The Eurotas has aggraded the innermost bay of the gulf. The old coastline can be approximated by a line on the periphery of the plain of Elos marking the border within which prehistoric archaeological sites are not found. The line on the west follows the Skala - Gytheion road to Skala,

1643-734: The administrative functions, formerly processed in the Kastori prefectural office, were migrated to municipal offices in Sparta. One should inquire as to the exact location for the services you are trying to obtain] The village changed location and name many times since the earliest record of its existence in Mycenaean times. The area of Longanikos has been identified with the ancient village of Velamini (Velmini), documented in ancient writings by Pausanias over 1800 years ago. The current name has been documented in writings as far back as Stefano Magno in 1453. It

Therapnes - Misplaced Pages Continue

1696-656: The east bank of the Eurotas River northeast to the slopes of Mt. Parnon. The Local Communities are each centered around a village. Each village has a history of its own, but the basis making Therapnes a distinct unit is the presence of the ruins of ancient Therapne, a Bronze Age city that stood on a ridge on the left bank of the Eurotas River , overlooking the Eurotas Valley and the site of Dorian Sparta, today's city of Sparti . The villages of Therapnes are in essence on or near

1749-514: The foot of the massif is a zone of scree . To the east of that alluvial fans from Taygetus cover half the valley, making it asymmetrical. On that account it is often called the Evrotas Furrow. The Evrotas flows over a flood plain and also through a shallow aquifer of sand and gravel 10–60  m deep, graded with the deep end downstream. The gradient of the aquifer is a steep 1–3%. The highest hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity are near

1802-481: The highest points of the mountain (Koutouni, Limna). Nearby one can also find some fountains that feed the Eurotas valley and the historical monasteries of Rekitsa and Ampelaki, close to the Arcadian border. Most of industry in this area centers around olive cultivation, resulting in the production of olive oil as the main cash crop. The extra virgin olive oil that is produced is of the highest standards and quality and

1855-494: The hill settlement was rebuilt. The structures included kilns for smelting bronze. In Period II, dated to LH3A1, a villa-type structure was built of a terrace formed from previous building material further down to the south. It was probably two-story, megaron -type, with "less substantial walls" but "a massive foundation for what could be a defense tower." It was connected to the top by stairs. Period III, LH3A2–LH3B2, begins with 150 years of apparent abandonment and then

1908-510: The junction of the Xerias and the Evrotas south of Sparti. To the east are older and finer sediments of alternating clay and marl beds, some of which are impermeable. Under the entire valley is a deep aquifer in the limestone floor, containing water permeating downward through the horsts . The Evrotas collects runoff and drains the deep aquifer on the east bank but loses water to the shallow aquifer on

1961-590: The lower and middle valley several hundred m deep at the current mouth of the river. The fault-block geology had developed earlier. During the Pleistocene the sea level dropped 500 m (1,600 ft) exposing a flat floor. Continued slippage along the Sparta Fault dropped the middle Eurotas valley further forcing the river to cut its way through the 100–250 m hills dividing the lower from the middle valley, creating Evrotas Ravine. Longanikos Longanikos ( Greek : Λογκανίκος , also transliterated as Logkanikos )

2014-488: The most exaggerated form of the myth, the Alpheios continues under the Mediterranean to Sicily or elsewhere. Today, the river is hydromorphologically far from its natural state. The main problem is anthropogenic abstraction of water, by many methods, from the shallow aquifer through which it flows. The valley contains about 7000 wells. Water is directly removed by irrigation ditches, weirs, and pumping stations. Consequently,

2067-448: The northwestern Peloponnese). The flow is copious except in times of drought. A recent study measured the outflow through the catchment exit every 15 days for 540 days in 2006-2007. It recorded a maximum of 1748 cubic m per hour and a minimum of 310.5 cubic m per hour. From the catchment at an altitude of 430 m (1,410 ft) part of the water flows into the Alpheios stream, which enters the upper Eurotas. The Laconian Alpheios stream

2120-468: The old road that led from Therapne or Dorian Sparta over Platanaki Pass just south of the main peak of Parnon to what is now South Kynouria in the eastern foreland of Parnonas and the Argolic and Myrtoan Gulfs. The pass connected Bronze Age Mycenae with its sister kingdom, Lacedaemon. The ridge has an elevation of about 500 metres (1,600 feet). Its eminence over the river is about 230 metres (750 feet). From

2173-456: The other hand, means "place of embarkation." The location of the ancient port, however, is not yet known for certain. In Greek legend, the human ancestor of all the peoples that inhabited the Eurotas Valley was Lelex , eponymous king of the Leleges , one of the peoples of the eastern Aegean whom the classical writers saw as autochthonous; that is, indigenous and pre-Hellenic. His son or grandson

Therapnes - Misplaced Pages Continue

2226-457: The other mountains of Arcadia, is a nappe raised by the compressional forces on the Hellenic Plate by the subduction of Africa. The spring is also called Logaras Spring. Logaras Spring supplies an anciently constructed catchment basin about the size of a pond, sometimes called a lake, which exits both to irrigation channels and to the Alpheios stream (not to be confused with the Alpheios river in

2279-424: The river is intermittent; large sections are typically dry of surface water, even though water still flows in the aquifers. Flash flooding is a problem. Through flood control, the riverbed has been widened in places and straightened, and the vegetation has been removed from its sides. The lower river runs between dikes in a long, straight course. Most of the numerous tributaries of the Eurotas are right-bank, feeding

2332-467: The shallow aquifer. They are, however, intermittent and ephemeral . The major ones have cut deep ravines into the Taygetus Massif. The few left-bank tributaries, receiving waters from the deep aquifer, are more substantial, but still intermittent. The classical Oineus was changed to Kelefina in the Middle Ages and not restored to its ancient name until recent times. The current Magoulitsa was formerly

2385-636: The stories and geography of Mycenaean Greece . In that legendary time, the Dorians are not known to have been present in the Evrotas Valley . At some time prior to being called Evrotas, the river was the Bomycas and the Himeras. One etymology derives the word Eurōtas from the ancient Greek eurōs (εὐρώς), "mold". The adjective, eurōeis, "moldy," is genuinely ancient, used as an epithet of Hades in Homer. It is, however, in

2438-455: The surviving administrative records but by surviving copies of records. Hypothetically, if the Leleges really were in the Eurotas valley, the time of their ascendancy would have been before Mycenaean times. Until the late 20th century, evidence in the valley of earlier occupation seemed to be lacking. Beginning in 1968 the University of Cambridge began a survey by underwater archaeology of

2491-560: The top of the ridge the valley below appears as a sunken bowl between Mount Taygetus and Therapne, hence the Homeric epithet "Hollow Lacedaemon." There is no standard modern name of the ridge. Some refer to it as Mount Menelaus after the Menelaion, a temple that stood on the ridge, or the Menelaus Ridge, and others Mount Therapne. Therapne was among the most ancient communities of Greece. During

2544-587: The turn of the 20th century and also during the 1960s and 1970s, there was a huge outflow of residents to other major Greek cities, including Athens and Sparta , and also externally to the United States , Canada , Germany , South Africa , and Australia . This global diaspora of Longanikos emigrants still maintain strong ties with the village and during summer months the population swells with diaspora residents who have returned for summer holidays. In addition to its central location between Sparta and Tripoli, it

2597-581: The west bank. Analysis of bore holes in the valley indicate that in the Pliocene it was a lake. In classical times, according to the ancient authors, it was swampy, but the cultivatable land exposed was very fertile. Then, as now, it was used mainly for fruit trees, especially olive. Geologic analysis done in the 20th century hypothesized that the Evrotas Valley in the Late Pliocene was an inland sea over

2650-409: The winter months, the Evrotas is prone to flooding. On 24 November 2005 heavy floods damaged buildings and stranded automobiles in the streets, and harmed orchards, including the valley's famous orange and olive groves. The floods affected many villages along the valley as well as the town of Gytheio; 170 km (66 sq mi) of land was ruined. Currently the nitrate waste from fertilizers

2703-479: Was Eurotas , the last of the line. The latter had a daughter, Sparta, but no sons. An outsider married her, Lacedaemon . Although he named the state Sparta after her, his name is now known to have most likely been the name of the Mycenaean state. Mycenaean , or late Bronze Age Greece is known as Achaean Greek based on the Linear B and Hittite documents . The Dorians that were present were not overtly recorded by

SECTION 50

#1732855250624

2756-435: Was built on the west bank of the Eurotas about halfway down the valley. The Spartans made little use of the left bank of the river: Only one permanent bridge has been found that crossed to it, at Therapne just south of the city. The main traffic was southward to the port of Gytheio , which was the most convenient outlet. All others involved a trek over mountains. Modern Laconia is a political subdivision of Greece covering

2809-431: Was done on "442 ceramic items, an iron nail and an obsidian chip." More research on the site is planned. The town was apparently continuously occupied from the late Neolithic to Byzantine times when it was drowned, perhaps by an earthquake. Neolithic ceramics were only 3% of the 444 items. The town was mainly Early Bronze Age, which had 40%. The early Helladic pottery is "standard ... some showing close links with

#623376