c. 1355–1452/1454
Gemistos Plethon and the Revival of Plato
Georgios Gemistos, known as Plethon, was a late Byzantine philosopher and teacher associated with Mystras. His admiration for Plato challenged the dominance…
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Laconia
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Archaic and Classical periods
How Spartan Society Worked
Ancient Sparta developed a distinctive political and social system. Two kings, elected ephors, a council of elders and a citizen assembly governed…
Read story →Died 480 BC
Leonidas of Sparta
Leonidas I led the Greek defence at Thermopylae during Xerxes' invasion. He died with a remaining force of Spartans, Thespians and others…
Read story →Founded in Late Antiquity; flourished in the Middle Ages
Monemvasia: The Rock Fortress
Monemvasia developed as a protected Byzantine settlement on the southeast coast of the Peloponnese. Its single narrow entrance, strong walls and harbour…
Read story →Thirteenth–fifteenth centuries
Mystras: The Wonder of the Morea
Mystras developed around a fortress built in 1249 and passed to Byzantine control in 1262. It became the capital of the Despotate…
Read story →Archaic and Classical periods
The Helots and the Spartan State
Helots were an unfree population tied to territories controlled by Sparta, especially Laconia and Messenia. Their agricultural labour supported the citizen system…
Read story →Medieval and early modern periods
The Maniots and Their Towers
The Mani Peninsula in the southern Peloponnese was difficult for outside powers to control. Local clans built tower houses, maintained armed traditions…
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