Μεθώνη, Μεσσηνία.
Methoni, Messenia – Greece.
Methoni
has been identified as the city Pedasus, that Homer mentions under the
name "ampeloessa" (of vine leaves). It was offered by Agamemnon to
Achilles in order to subdue his rage during the Trojan War. Along with
the rest of Messenia, the town gained its independence from the Spartans
in 369 BC. During the 4th century BC, Methoni was elaborately fortified
and continued to remain autonomous well into the Imperial Roman era,
when it enjoyed the favor of some emperors. During the Byzantine years
it continued to remain a remarkable harbor and one of the most important
cities of Greece.
The castle of Methoni was build by the
Venetians in 1209 AD on a rock extending into the sea, separated from
the mainland by an artificial moat. It has an area of 93 acres. The
castle walls are reinforced with towers at intervals. South of the
castle, built on a small rocky island there’s a fortified tower named
Bourtzi. It’s connected to the main fortress with an arch bridge. On the
east side of the castle there’s a small jetty that is part of the small
port of Methoni. The walls, towers, bastions, northwestern artillery
platform and the various gates of the castle have been dated thanks to
the identification of the Venetian coat of arms that are still in their
respective places.
The Venetians fortified Methoni, which
developed into an important trade center with great prosperity. Methoni
became the important middle station between Europe and the Holy Lands,
where every traveller stopped on their way to the East. A pilgrim who
went by in 1484 admired its strong walls, the deep moats and the
fortified towers.
The Ottoman Turks wanted to conquer Methoni.
In the 1490s, Sultan Bayezid II gathered his forces against Methoni.
Bayezid, despite the hard siege, would not have been able to capture it
if the inhabitants, thrilled by the arrival of reinforcements, hadn't
deserted the walls, a fact that the janissaries took advantage of,
invading the fortress from the governor's palace. On the August 9, 1500,
Methoni fell, after having been in the hands of the Venetians for about
300 years. The city was given to the flames, the Catholic bishop was
killed while talking to the people, the men were decapitated, the women
and children were sold to slavery. The walls were repaired and the
period of the Turkish rule began.
In February 1825, during the
Greek Revolution, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt landed at Methoni and settled
in the commander's residence, over the entrance of the castle. In 1829,
the French general Maison, freed the town together with others in the
Peloponnese.
More images at:
Kevrekidis Photography© 2013 Jordan Kevrekidis
