Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
East Mani
Municipality in Greece From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
East Mani (Greek: Ανατολική Μάνη - Anatolikí Máni) is a Greek municipality in the Peloponnese administrative region, in the regional unit of modern Laconia. Its seat of administration is the town of Gytheio. It covers the southern portion of the mountainous and rocky Mani Peninsula, a geographic and cultural region long considered distinct and isolated relative to the rest of Greece. The neighboring municipality West Mani to its northwest encompasses the remainder of the Mani Peninsula. Both municipalities were established in 2011 following reforms to Greek administrative divisions. [2]
Remove ads
Geography
Summarize
Perspective
East Mani occupies the southeastern part of the Mani Peninsula, a region known as Laconian Mani (Λακωνική Μάνη) or Inner Mani (Μέσα Μάνη). The municipality of West Mani is to its north.
The peninsula is bisected by the Taygetus Mountains; locals call its western half Aposkiaderi (shady) and the eastern side Prodiliaki (sunny).[3]
The landscape is dry, bare, and rocky.[3] According to the Greek Soil Institute, the terrain has very low agricultural potential and a very high risk of desertification; inhabitants must rely on rainfall for water.[4]
The Mani Peninsula's rugged coastline and landscape and its isolation relative to the rest of Greece have given rise to a “frontier” culture in East Mani.[4] Its many cliffs and coves provided shelter for pirates operating in coastal waters during Ottoman rule from the 1700’s to the 1870’s.[4] To escape the effects of reprisals, locals began moving their permanent settlements inland to higher elevations. [4] The main port of Gytheio on the east coast was opened in the 1960’s, allowing for heavy trade and maritime activity.[4]
The 2021 Greece wildfires ravaged much of the Peloponnese. [5] East Mani took damage across 105 sq. km., with 35% of its mountain slope burnt in the wildfire .[6]
Remove ads
History
Summarize
Perspective
The town of Kotronas dates to the Bronze Age, founded around 1500 BCE. It emerged to become a major port. In Homeric tradition, ships of the Mycenaean navy launched from there. When the Dorians took over Mani[when?], Laconia and parts of Messenia, Gytheio replaced Kotronas as the major port. In the Roman period, Teuthrone—an ancient name of Kotronas—was a member of the Koinon of Free Laconians. Kotronas suffered greatly from pirate raids.[vague]
The Ottoman Empire invaded East Mani and the entire Peloponnese multiple times in the early 1800’s; the Turkish presence would have a lasting societal impact.[7] The origins of the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829) were in Mani, as the people began uprisings to combat the infiltration by the Ottomans.[7] However, after the Ottomans left, there remained the structure of a social organization system.[7] The Ottomans chose certain leaders to give power to, called the Kapetanios.[7] When the Ottomans were forced out because of the revolts, the Kapetanios remained authority figures and East Mani became organized based on a social hierarchy.[7]
After the Greek War of Independence, Mani was able to rebuild, but it suffered economically during the worldwide Great Depression of the 1930's.[7] German and Italian occupation during World War II obstructed the spread of ideas and innovations from the rest of the world to the isolated region of East Mani.[7]Throughout history, Mani has been a heavily militarized society because of continuous domination by a more powerful group, beginning with the Ottoman invasion in 1770, contributing to violence, especially during World War II during the militarization of the Maniots society by The Axis powers.[7]
Remove ads
Culture
The East Mani culture is traditionally based on clan or patrilineal kinship groups, strongly reliant on concepts of manhood and patriarchal rule.[8] This way of life stemmed from East Mani's geographical isolation from the more populated regions of Greece and was further influenced by histories of foreign invasions; it persisted until the social upheavals of World War II.[9] Like many clan-based cultures, that of the Maniots emphasized familial respect, with power hierarchy within families based on age.[8] The more powerful clans were called megalogenites or soilides and occupied better-quality land and built defensive towers. They dominated the smaller or weaker clans, called ahamnoteroi.[8]
The Mani Peninsula's natural beauty and colorful history make East Mani a thriving tourist destination today. Cliffs, blue waters, Mavrovouni and Skoutari beaches, the lighthouse of Gythio on Cranaus islet, and the Dior’s caves are some of its offerings.[10] The theatre of Gythio and local churches hold festivals and other cultural events such during the summer.[10]
Municipality
The municipality of East Mani was established in 2011 by the Kallikratis Programme, a nationwide administrative reform. As a consequence of the reform, the municipalities of Gytheio, Oitylo, and Sminos were merged into East Mani. [2]
The municipality has an area of 619.277 km2, the municipal unit 108.879 km2.[11]
Population
The population development of the municipal unit and the larger municipality East Mani are listed below.
See also
References
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads