Messene (Greek: Μεσσήνη Messínî or Messénê ) was an ancient Greek city, the capital of Messenia (until the modern prefecture was created). It was founded by Epaminondas in 369 BC, after the battle of Leuctra and the first Theban invasion of the Peloponnese. Today an archaeological site of the ancient city remains, and the modern town has some 10 000 inhabitants. Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as Peripheries of Greece, which are further subdivided into 51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos, Greek: νομοί, νομός)): See also List of the prefectures of Greece by area List of the prefectures of Greece by population density List of the prefectures of Greece by population External... // Messinias History Messinia (Greek: Μεσσηνία, also spelled Messenia) is a district in the Peloponnesus, a region of Greece. ... In Greece, the provinces are a level of administration between prefecture and communities and municipalities. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Messenian Gulf (Greek: Μεσσηνιακος Κόλπος Messiniakos Kolpos) is a sea that is part of the Ionian Sea. ... Here are list of postal codes in Greece. ... This is an alphabetical list by town of dialing codes in Greece. ... The National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG) is a General Secretariat of the Greek Ministry of Economy and Finance with more than 1100 employees. ... The Greek car license plates are composed of three letters and four digits per plate (f. ... Messinia Messinia (also spelled Messenia) is a district in the Peloponnesus, a region of Greece. ... Epaminondas (c. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC - 360s BC - 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 374 BC 373 BC 372 BC 371 BC 370 BC - 369 BC - 368 BC 367 BC 366... Leuctra was a village of Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae, chiefly noticeable for the battle fought in its neighborhood in 371 BC between the Thebans and the Spartans and their allies. ... For the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. ...

Ancient city

The town was built by the combined Theban and Argive armies and the exiled Messenians who had been invited to return and found a state which should be independent of Spartan rule. The site was chosen by Epaminondas and lay on the western slope of the mountain which dominates the Messenian plain and culminates in the two peaks of Ithome and Eua. The former of these (740 m or 2,630 ft) served as the acropolis, and was included within the same system of fortifications as the lower city. Argos (Greek: Άργος, Árgos) is a city in Greece in the Peloponnesus near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor, named for Nauplius. ... Sparta (Greek Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... This article refers to acropoleis in general. ...

Pausanias has left us a description of the city (iv. 3 1?33), its chief temples and statues, its springs, its market-place and gymnasium, its place of sacrifice, the tomb of the hero Aristomenes and the temple of Zeus Ithomatas on the summit of the acropolis with a statue by the famous Argive sculptor Ageladas, originally made for the Messenian helots who had settled at Naupactus at the close of the third Messenian War. Pausanias was Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century A.D., who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. ... Aristomenes was a mythical king of Messenia, celebrated for his struggle with the Spartans, and his resistance to them on Mount Ira for 11 years. ... Statue of Zeus Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th-century engraving. ... Ageladas, or (as the name is spelt in an inscription) Hagelaidas, was a great Argive sculptor, who flourished in the latter part of the 6th and the early part of the 5th century BC. He was specially noted for his statues of Olympic victors (of 520, 516, 508 BC); also... Naupactus is also a scientific name, see Naupactus (beetle) Nafpaktos, Latin: Naupactus or Naupactos (Turkish, İnebahtı; Italian, Lepanto; modern Greek, Ναύπακτος, rarely Epakto), is a town in the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece, situated on a bay on the north side of the straits of Lepanto. ...

But what chiefly excited his wonder was the strength of its fortifications, which excelled all those of the Greek world. Of the wall, some 5 miles (8 km) in extent, considerable portions yet remain, especially on the north and north-west, and almost the entire circuit can still be traced, affording the finest extant example of Greek fortification. The wall is flanked by towers about 31 ft (9 m) high set at irregular intervals: these have two storeys with loopholes in the lower and windows in the upper, and are entered by doors on a level with the top of the wall which is reached by flights of steps. Of the gates only two can be located, the eastern or Laconian, situated on the eastern side of the saddle uniting Ithome and Eua, and the northern or Arcadian gate. Of the former but little remains: the latter, however, is excellently preserved and consists of a circular court about 20 yd (18 m) in diameter with inner and outer gates, the latter flanked by square towers some 11 yd (10 m) apart. The lintel of the inner gate was formed by a single stone 18 ft 8 in (5.7 m) in length, and the masonry of the circular court is of astonishing beauty and accuracy. The other buildings which can be identified are the theatre, the stadium, the council chamber or Bouleuterion, and the propylaeum of the market, while on the shoulder of the mountain are the foundations of a small temple, probably that of Artemis Laphria.

Modern town

Messene remained a place of some importance under the Romans, but we hear nothing of it in medieval times and then the hamlet of Mavromati occupies a small part of the site. The city has been revived, and is home to over 10,000 people. The present location of Messini is about 15 to 20 km S of the archaeological site. Messene is a suburb of Kalamata nowadays. It is no longer the capital of Messenia. For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation) The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Augustus), until its radical reformation in what was later to be known as the Byzantine... There are places that have the name Kalamai In Greece (Καλαμαί): An older form of Kalamata In Uganda: Kalamai, in the Busoga province (1. ...

Messini has schools, lyceums, gymnasia, banks, a post office, and squares (plateia) named Kentriki Plateia or Central Square. The square is surrounded with a few pine trees with a building to the southwest, grass with two walkways to the north along with a few palm trees; a famous white clock tower without windows is in the middle of the square. Plateia (πλατεία) is the Greek word for town square. ... Species About 115. ... Look up Palm on Wiktionary, the free dictionary The word Palm has several meanings: The central region of the human hand and an ancient unit of length based thereon. ...

The town is accessed by Greece Interstate 82 (Pylos - Kalamata - Sparta) which has been bypassed in the south and a road to Efa (Eua) to the north. The nearest beach is in the southwest. The farmlands which used to resemble a wetland are to the southeast. Greece Interstate 82 (Pylos - Kalamata - Sparti) is a west to east highway linking Pylos with the GR-9/E55, Kalamata and downtown Sparta with GR-37/E???. The highway begins in downtown Pylos and runs through the southwestern part of Messenia and through curvy roads and through Lykodimos and intersects...

Messini used to have a railway station from the 1900s with a connection of the SPAP line about 5 km east and the westernmost terminus of this line, until the abandonment in the late 20th century. // Events and Trends Technology Lawrence Hargrave makes the first stable wing design for a heavier-than-air aircraft Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first documented flight in a powered heavier-than-air aircraft Mass production of automobile Wide popularity of home phonograph Panama Canal is built by the United... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Landmarks near Messene today include the airport of Kalamata at its east, and beaches south of the city.

Nearest places

• Velika Beach, SW
• Velika, W
• Mavrommati, NW

Communities and subdivisions

• Analypsi (pop: 413)
• Avramio (pop: 628)
• Karteroli (pop: 491)
• Lefkochora (pop; 291)
• Lykotrafos (pop: 325)
• Madena (pop: 175)
• Mavrommati Pamisou
• Messene
• Neochori Aristomenous (pop: 255)
• Pilalistra (pop: 190)
• Piperitsa (pop: 133)
• Spitali (pop: 154)
• Triodos (pop: 229)
• Velika (pop: 330)
  • Velika Beach

Historical population

1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Mapquest - Messini

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.

Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...