I - 5 : Messene - Best Preserved Ancient Greek Town

Doric Temple at the open End of Messene's Antik Stadion

On the 9^th of August, a good hour after bidding farewell to our home for three weeks, the MYRA, we will visit the ancient town of Messene, a town I had never heard of. According to many archeologists Messene is the best-preserved Hellenistic town in the world.  Built late in 369 BC, it has a fascinating history. As the Spartans lost their dominance over Greece in the 4^th century BC, their slaves, the Helots, rebelled and threw off their yoke. Messene was their new capital.

Messene in the Peloponnese's South-West Corner

Theban General Epaminondas had defeated the Spartans in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, when he saw a strategic opportunity in the Helots' rebellion. By giving them their own states and their own capitals, he could encircle Sparta, permanently weaken its economic base and remove it from its status as major power. Being Greece’s de facto ruler , he put his idea to work immediately and founded three towns surrounding Sparta: Megalopolis and Mantinea in Arcadia, Messene in Messenia.

General View of Messene in its rich agricultural and well watered surroundings

General Epaminondas knew fully well that Sparta would not just accept his strategic move but would try to reverse it. The three towns were thus built as fortified places with strong walls. All three entered into a military alliance first with Thebes later with the Macedonians who became the rulers of Greece under Alexander the Great’s father, Philipp II.

Messene's Arcadian Gate was one of the two Fortified Gates that led into the City\

Not by chance did Epaminondas make the construction of Messene's town walls a priority. He "summoned" engineers and artisans from all over Greece. Under their guidance, the Helots and hia Theban Army built the fortification in a record short 85 days (I guess it took a little longer). The wall was 9 km long, 7 meters thick and 9 meters high. 30 defensive towers in regular intervals provided additional protection. The wall had only two gates. Most of it is still visible today although badly damaged from earthquakes and landslides.

Messene's 9 kilometer long Town Wall had a Walking Passway so Troops could move quickly

Messene was located in a fertile valley that made it economically independent from Sparta. The new city included several springs and agricultural land within its walls to withstand prolonged sieges successfully. Once the town was secured, it was settled by former Helots and many exiles whose families had escaped Spartan tyranny centuries earlier.

Messene's Odeon is well preserved - albeit the Floot is new for present-day Performances

Many rejoined their new but ancient home country from Magna Graecia where colonies of Messenian refugees had prospered.  These returnees brought valuable artisanal and commercial skills and made the town a commercial and cultural hub. It also had a large Asklepion Health Center. The Romans, arriving a good 200 years after its foundation, loved the city a lot. Thanks to its agricultural wealth, Messene remained a thriving town in the Roman and early Byzantine Empire although the general economic decline after 700 AD affected it too. Messene was never abandoned though. It shrank. For the Ottoman who arrived in the late 15^th century, Messenia was an uninteresting backwater province and at best an afterthought.

Messene's Palestra, a Roman built (?) Bymnasium and Hall for Wrestling and other Sports - the Village of Mavrommati is on the Hill above the Palestra

It is probably thanks to the slow rate of decline and Ottoman neglect that so much of this ancient city survived. It was not pilfered as quarry for the construction of something else. As Byzantium weakened, Messene’s few remaining residents settled around the springs at the foot of Mount Ithome. Out of this settlement inside the ancient walls Mavrommati emerged. There, the farmers continued pursuing their business until scientists stumbled by accident on Messene’s remains during French General Maison's Morea expedition. He was sent with a force of 15’000 troops to Morea to monitor the withdrawal of the Egyptian Army and to ensure the peaceful transition to the new  Kingdom of Greece.

Meeting of General Maison and Muhammad Ali in Sept 1828 to negotate the Terms of the Egyptian Withdrawal from the Peloponnese.

Rather than describing Messene I let the photos - copied from Google Earth - to speak for themselves. Looks like an amazing discovery to be made. Definitely worth a visit at the end of our sailing season 2025.

 Messene's Ancient Greek Theatre

One of the many Mosaics recently discovered in Messene

Beautiful Masonry of the remarkably intact Steps of Messene's Stadium