Administrative Region : Peloponnese
Regional unit : Messinia
Chora (Χώρα) Messinia
Chora,[2] formerly known as Ligoudista or Lygoudista, is a semi-mountainous town, which administratively falls under the Municipality of Pylos - Nestor and is located in the west of the Prefecture of Messinia.
Information
The region of Chora is known for its ancient, medieval and modern history. As the first and most ancient city of Pylos, Ancient Pylos, is not geographically identical with the present-day town of Pylos, although the latter constitutes both the honorary and the substantial residential continuation of the former (partly, a part is also covered by Chora and its wider area) and since, as far as ancient Pylos is concerned, it is only partially identified with various archaeological remains of palaces and other administrative and residential infrastructures in various other neighboring archaeological sites of the wider area of Pylia, but remains essentially unidentified, overall, according to older and modern expert researchers, the area of Chora, which is also symbolically referred to as the area of Nestor, is probably another part of ancient Pylos, according to one of the archaeological hypotheses, which also has significant chances of being true, as the characteristic reference point of the Minoan period of the ancient city, which is the Nestor's Palace, as well as other palaces, such as those found and excavated in Iklaina, are located very close to the modern town of Chora.
Chora is today an important town of the Municipality of Pylos - Nestor, which falls under the Regional Unit of Messinia, which was established in 2011 with the Kallikrates Program. In the last population census conducted in 2011, the Municipality of Pylos-Nestoros had a population of 21,077 inhabitants, the Municipal Unit of Nestoros 5,042 inhabitants, the Municipal Community of Chora 3,498 inhabitants, while Chora had 3,454 inhabitants and was the fifth most populous city of the Regional Unit of Messinia, after the capital Kalamata (54,100), Messini (6,065), Filiatra (5,969) and Kyparissia (5,131).[3].
Ligoudista or Chora was formerly, in chronological order, the seat of the old municipalities of Keniri (1835–1840), Flesiados (1840–1912), the communities of Ligoudistas (1912–1927) and Chora (1927–1990), as well as the municipalities of Chora (1990–1997) and Nestor (1997–2010).
Location
Chora is located approximately 273 kilometres southwest of Athens, 205 kilometres south of Patras, 117 kilometres southwest of Tripoli and approximately 55 kilometres northwest of Kalamata. It has an altitude of 294[4] metres and is approximately 16 kilometres from the coast of the Ionian Sea. Close to Chora are the towns of Kyparissia, Filiatra and Gargaliana to the northwest and west, at distances of approximately 40, 25 and 11 kilometers respectively, while to the south and southeast are the towns of Pylos, Methoni and Koroni, at distances of approximately 22, 33 and 62 kilometers respectively. Also nearby are, to the west of Chora, Ampelofyto at a distance of approximately 3 kilometers, to the north of Chora, Mouzaki at a distance of approximately 6 kilometers, to the northeast of Chora, Stylianos at a distance of approximately 5.5 kilometers and to the south of Chora, Koryfasio at a distance of approximately 8.5 kilometers respectively.
History
The town and its region, which is identified with part of ancient Pylia, have a long history, which is consistent with that of the Peloponnese. The beginning of the capital city of King Nestor is lost in the depths of prehistory, having been inhabited since the Neolithic era. According to Greek mythology, Ancient Pylos was founded by the eponymous hero Pylos or King Nileas and was originally called Koryphasion, from Cape Koryphasion, on which it was built. During the Homeric period, it is mentioned by Homer as the capital of the kingdom of Nestor, which was one of the important kingdoms of Mycenaean Greece, according to the archaeological findings of the palace known as the Palace of Nestor, which is associated with Nestor, king of Pylos, as mentioned in Homer's Iliad. Later the area was subjugated to Ancient Sparta along with the rest of Ancient Messenia.
Mycenaean period
Main articles: Ancient Pylos of Messinia and Palace of Nestor
Ancient Pylos was the capital of the Mycenaean kingdom of Pylos, also known as the Kingdom of Nestor, which was an important center at that time, according to Homer's mention in the "Odyssey" (Rhapsody Rhapsody R, lines 107-114). The Mycenaean city of Pylos (between 1600-1100 BC) covered an area of 2,000 square kilometers and had a population between 50,000, according to Linear B tablets, and 80,000-120,000 inhabitants.[5][6] Excavations between 1939 and 1952 by the American archaeologist Carl William Blegen (1887–1971) led to the discovery of the first of a series of palaces of the Bronze Age kingdom of Ancient Pylos. This is the Palace of Nestor in the area of modern Upper Egliano, about 9 kilometers northeast of the bay of Pylos. Blegen was the first, according to the Homeric epics, to give the name to the ruins of this great Mycenaean palace, which dates back to around 1300 BC. The Linear B tablets found by Blegen clearly show that the place itself was called Pylos and was written as (pu-ro, Mycenaean Greek) by its inhabitants. The palace was destroyed and abandoned after the 8th century BC. In nearby areas, such as the area of Voidokilia, Tragana, Iklaina, and other archaeological sites in the Pylia region, many more elements/remains from this period of Ancient Pylos have since been found.
Archaeological research
In the area of Chora, part of ancient Pylia, remarkable archaeological treasures have been discovered. Initially, stone walls, fragments of frescoes, floors, Mycenaean vessels, and clay inscriptions were discovered in Epano Egliano. The first such research was carried out in 1912-26 by Karl Blegen and Konstantinos Kourouniotis. They were interrupted during World War II and resumed in 1952 by Spyridon Marinatos. On December 31, 1957, a honeycomb tomb, the chosen one of Nileos, was discovered by the father of Nestor, mythical king of Pylos. A wing of the palace, 3,000 years old, was also discovered. In 1962, a number of finds were found in the Peristeria area of Pylos[7]. Efforts in Pylos continued until 1964, when almost the entire Palace of Nestor came to light. This palace is chronologically placed around 1300 and 1200 BC. and was destroyed with the descent of the Dorians (1100 BC)
Katavothra – Volimidia – Kefalovryso – Megambelia
According to the findings to date, in the wider area of Chora, there is evidence of human presence at least since the 4th millennium BC[8] in the Katavothra cave,[9] located within the settlement of Chora, in which sherds of late Neolithic black polished pottery have been found. Also at the site of Volimidia,[10] at the northern end of the town, almost at the foot of Mount Aigaleo, where a Mycenaean necropolis was excavated, with 34 chamber tombs (ME –YE III C), carved in solid, but at the same time soft limestone,[11] which are unique in their kind, as their shape and size are different from the usual chamber tombs of Mycenaean times.[12][13]
According to Sp. Marinatos, "Old Pylos" was located there.[14] In the same area there was a polis, around 1600 BC, which was preserved until the Roman era, which also had a small hypocaust in the middle of the necropolis.[15] The existence of Kefalovrysos,[16] an area with abundant water above Volimidia, contributed to the establishment of the Mycenaean settlement and subsequently the later settlements of Volimidia.[13][17]
At the site of Megambelia,[18] on a hill, which is located approximately 1 kilometer east of Chora, Mycenaean shells and remains of fired bricks were found, proving the existence of a small Mycenaean settlement as well.[19] Also in the southwestern edge of Chora, other chamber tombs have been excavated.[8][13]
330–1204: Byzantine era
Various findings from the Byzantine period of habitation of the Chora region, between the 7th and 15th centuries, exist at the sites of Kavalaria or Kavelaria, Dunavi (the Danube) and Eglianos. In Kavelaria, the settlement is considered to have existed from the Early Christian era until the mid-19th century[20] and in its area, superficial Byzantine ceramic remains of buildings, foundations of houses, as well as everyday vessels have been found from time to time.[13] In the wider area of Chora there are also place names of Slavic origin, such as Ligoudista, Dunavi (Danube), Eglianos and Kabirova, which are linked by modern researchers[13] to the wider presence of Slavs, who settled in the Peloponnese (6th–7th centuries) and joined as subjects or vassals (paktiotai) of the Byzantine Empire.[13][21]
1205-1432: Middle Ages - First Venetian Rule
After the first dissolution of the Byzantine Empire, in 1204, during the First Venetian Rule and the Frankish Rule (1205-1432), the Chora, as well as the entire Morea[22], became a possession of the Venetians and the Franks, with the control exercised by the Principality of Achaia (1205-1432).[23]
The name Levoudista is first encountered in a written text of 1212, during the First Venetian Rule. After the Treaty of Sapienza in 1209, which defined the boundaries of the principality and the Venetian lands, Pope Innocent III also had the diocese of Methoni (Modon) under his jurisdiction. One of the villages that belonged to him was Ligoudista.[13][22]
Also in the wider area of Pylia, towards the beginning of the end of the Byzantine Empire period, in the late 13th century, and specifically in 1278[24], the Frankish coastal castle of Paleokastro Navarino was built by the Franks, led by the Flemish crusader Nicholas II Saintomer, prince of the Principality of Achaia, on the ruins of the ancient and Byzantine fortification. Gradually, the castle and its surrounding area acquired the character of a castle town. The area of old Navarino was at times a Frankish and Venetian creation along with Methoni and Koroni until 1500 when they were conquered by the Ottomans[25][26].
1432-1460: Despotate of Mystras
According to the "Chronicle" of Georgios Frantzis, in 1429, Ligoudista belonged, like other cities, villages, regions and fortresses, to the general-in-chief Nikephoros Melissenos.[13][27][28] Also, among the places granted to Constantine Palaiologos was the castle of Saulauros, after the castle of Archangelos and before the castles of Ioannina and Ligoudista.[29] For a short period of about 30 years (1432-1460), after the First Venetian Occupation, the area of Chora and Navarino was controlled by the Despotate of Mystras (1349-1460), as from 1417-18 the Byzantines had managed to liberate most of Messinia and Ilia.
1460-1683: First Ottoman Occupation
The period of the First Ottoman Occupation (1460-1683) in the Morea region began with the second campaign of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror (Mehmet II), in the Peloponnese. After the surrender of Mystras (Thursday, May 29, 1460) and Vordonia, he occupied Kastritzi and Gardiki (where the population of Leontario had taken refuge). The castles of Agios Georgios and Karytaina followed, and then his army descended on the Kontovounia region and the region of Arcadia (Kyparissia), according to the historian Laonikos Chalkokondylis.[30] It was during this period that the Navarino region was first transformed into a kaza. During this first period of Ottoman rule, Ligoudista had a privileged position as a commercial center of the region and its castle city was guarded by a large garrison.
1683-1715: Second Venetian Rule
Main article: Territory of Navarino
During the Second Venetian period, it was referred to as Ligudista ([31] or Ligudisca[32]). The settlement is also mentioned in various censuses of the Venetian Pronoites of the Serene Republic of Venice, which were made during the thirty-year period (1683/84-1715), during which the Venetians occupied the Peloponnese, through their possession (Stato da Mar), also known as the Kingdom of the Morea (1688-1715). The village of Ligudista belonged, in 1689, to the province of Navarino (Territorio di Navarin), which was one of the 4 provinces into which the Methoni district was then divided (Phanariou province, Arcadia province, Navarinou province and Methoni province). Based on the Venetian Corner census of 1689, the village of Ligudista had 201 inhabitants.[31]
The Venetians, who had captured the Peloponnese from the Ottoman Empire during the early stages of the Morean War (1684-1699), tried with great success to develop the Morean region, which had been devastated by the war, and to revive its agriculture and economy, but they were unable to gain the loyalty of the majority of the population, nor to secure their new possession militarily. Thus, the Peloponnese was soon recaptured by the Ottomans after a brief campaign between June and September 1715. The area of Navarino remained a Venetian province until 1715, when the Ottomans recaptured the Peloponnese, during the Seventh Venetian-Turkish War or Second War of the Morea (1714–1718).
27 March 1821: Battle of Ligoudista or Battle of "Chores"
The three older villages of Ligoudista, Kavelaria and Tsifliki, which today form the town of Chora, were referred to in the plural as "Chores" during the Revolution of 1821. On 27 March 1821, the Battle of Ligoudista took place, with the Greeks victorious over the Turks.[33] The Greek-Triphylian troops of Athanasios Grigoriades and Gregory Papatheodoros, who were on their way to besiege the castles of Methoni, Koroni and Navarino (Niokastro), clashed at "Chores" with 600 Ottoman soldiers (400 Turks, 200 Albanians), under the leadership of Halil Bey, Ibrahim Basioglou and Sali Aga. This battle lasted about three hours and after its end the defeated Turko-Albanians were forced to flee in disorder.[13][34]
July 19, 1944: Battle of Chora – Agorelitsa
Main article: Battle of Chora Agorelitsa (1944)
Between Chora and Ampelofyto (Agorelitsa), next to the Sela River, is the monument in honor of the fighters of the National Resistance, at the point where on July 19, 1944, during the Battle of Chora – Agorelitsa (also known as the Battle of Manousos Bridge), the Greek resistance fighters of the 1/9th Battalion of ELAS, which was under the PEEA, ambushed a German convoy (phalanx) of the 117th commando division of the Third Reich and won with limited losses.
Modern settlement
The modern town of Chora, which formerly belonged to the Trifylia District, essentially originates from the union of three villages that previously existed in its area: Ligoudista, Tsifliki,[35] and Kavallaria[36] or Kavelaria.[13] The settlements of Tsifliki and Kavallaria were formally abolished in 1889.[37] Chora today has a good street layout and has all the amenities of a modern city. It is also an agricultural and commercial center. The town is located on a hill overlooking the plain. Its center is picturesque, with narrow streets and tiled houses. The landscape is complemented by the rich olive groves and vineyards around it.[33]
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