Peloponnese: Ancient Greek Geography, History, and Myths Explained

The Peloponnese or southern Greece, was originally called Pelops nesos, or island of Pelops, who was the grandson of Zeus and whose family, the Pelopidae, ruled Mycenae and Argos. The land is separated from northern Greece by the Isthmus of Corinth, a narrow strip just north of the city of Corinth. It is mainly a mountainous region with some large plains, notably in Laconia and Messenia. The Pelopon- nese is divided into several regions, moving around the peninsula from north to south to west and then back to the east: the Argolid, Laconia, Messenia, Elis, Achaea, Arcadia, and Corinth.

The Argolid, a triangular piece of land, jutted out into the sea, with mountains bounding it from the northeast to the southwest, with the Aegean Sea in the south. Achaea lay to its west and south, separating the Argolid from Laconia. Its main city, Argos, stood near the Bronze Age or Mycenaean sites of Mycenae and Tiryns, with a central plain nominally called Argos. The city of Mycenae was the most important site in the Argolid and was associated with the Trojan War and most of the mythology of the Bronze Age. Its leader was Agamemnon, the brother of Menelaus, who organized the rescue force to bring Menelaus’s wife, Helen, who had been kidnapped by Paris, the son of Priam, the king of Troy.

With the fall of Mycenae after the Dorian invasion, Argos became the chief city. It had started out as a small village and by 700, it had become a large town incorporating Dorians from the surrounding area. This city and area became the chief Dorian stronghold for the Peloponnese in this early period. From here, the Dorians spread to the south and west. The region of the Peloponnese became a Dorian stronghold. As per mythology, and probably reflecting a more general migration, the new inhabitants pushed the indigenous population out of their original lands more into the rugged hills of central and western Peloponnese. The Dorians then became the rulers of the lands and established themselves primarily in the Corinthia, Argolis, and Laconia.

To the south of the Achaea lay Laconia, an extensive region with a fertile plain with the Eurotas River running through it. Mountain ranges, Taygetus in the west and the Parnon in the east, protected Laconia and provided valuable runoff for the plains and their agriculture; the mountains terminated at Cape Taenarum (Mata- pan) and Cape Malea on either side of the Laconian Gulf. It too was a rich region in the Bronze Age, with Sparta as its main city as related by Homer. The Dorian invasion likewise disrupted the ancient system of social and political life where the indigenous population was reduced in servitude, becoming the helots. The region was soon dominated by Sparta, where five local villages created the important and ultimately large city or polis. Laconia’s main agricultural product was barley, and its production allowed a sizable population to be supported, enabling the Dorian Spartans to dominate the entire Peloponnese.

West of Laconia was Messenia, a region dominated during the Bronze Age by Pylos, the home of Homer’s Nestor. This was an administrative and agricultural center ruled by a king. The region was taken over by the Dorians but remained independent of Sparta until after the Messenian Wars. Along its northern border was the Neda River, separating it from Elis. To the northeast was Arcadia, with Mount Elaeum and Mount Nomia. Finally, to the east was Laconia, bordered by the Taygetus Mountains. The region had rich plains and a favorable climate, and like Laconia, it could support a large population above subsistence level.

To the north of Messenia was the district of Elis, or Elea. The Ionian Sea bounded it on the west, while on the north was Achaea, and to the east was Arcadia. Elis had control of the Olympic Games at Olympia. The northern district was known for its good pastureland and the raising of cattle and horses. It was taken over by the Dorians as they moved west from Aetolia. The city of Elis, its primary polis, was a democracy by around 500. During the Peloponnesian War, the city was at first allied with Sparta, but soon internal rivalries broke out, and they defected from the Peloponnesian League. At the Battle of Mantinea in 418, they fought against Sparta, and when Sparta won, it avenged itself on Elis by taking part of its land. After the war, during the fourth century, the region was dominated by the Arcadian Confederacy.

To the east of Elis, moving east along the northern coast of the Peloponnese, was Achaea. To its south was Arcadia, on the west Elis, on the east Corinth, and on the north the Bay of Corinth. The region is mountainous and well served with rivers. Supposedly, the Dorians pushed the original inhabitants out of Argolis, and they fled west to Achaea. Twelve of the cities there formed the Achaean League. They were neutral during the Persian Wars, probably believing that its rough region would prevent conquest, and during the Peloponnesian War, they remained noncommittal.

A tremendous earthquake in 373 caused massive destruction. The region joined with Thebes when it invaded the Peloponnese in 367, seeing it as an opportunity to reduce Sparta’s power. Shortly afterward, however, many of the cities reverted to oligarchs and sided with Sparta against Thebes at the Battle of Mantinea in 362. When Philip II of Macedon attacked Thebes, the Achaeans joined with Athens to help Thebes but were defeated, becoming part of the newly formed, Macedonian- backed Corinthian League against Persia.

Arcadia was landlocked in the middle of the Peloponnese. It successfully retained its independence against the rise of Sparta in the seventh century by forming a defensive league. During the Persian Wars, this league sent troops under Sparta to Thermopylae and Plataea. It would later join Sparta against Athens in the Peloponnesian War but afterward joined Thebes against Sparta. It created a new Arcadian federation, with a new capital established at Megalopolis. The region bounded every other region of the Peloponnese being nearly in the center.

The final major area was Corinthia, to the east of Achaea and Arcadia and north of Argolis. The region was well sited on the Corinthian and Saronic gulfs and included the Isthmus of Corinth. To the north lay Megara and Attica. The ancient region was dominated by the city of Corinth, which built its power on trade, especially using both gulfs to reach areas to the east and west. In particular, Corinth built a transport system to unload, ferry, and load goods on and off ships from each gulf so as to transport the goods throughout the eastern Mediterranean. The Corinthians had a strong naval force and were viewed as the merchants for all the Peloponnese.