Peloponnese

Peninsula, forming the southern part of mainland Greece.  A large, mountainous body of land jutting south into the Mediterranean Sea, the peninsula has an area of 8,278 sq mi (21,439 sq km) and is joined to the rest of mainland Greece by the Isthmus of Corinth. The Mycenaean civilization flourished there in the 2nd millennium BC at Mycenae and Pylos. Its chief cities during the classical period were Corinth and Sparta. Under the Romans it was part of the province of Achaea from 146 BC to c. 4th century AD. It was part of the Byzantine Empire until it was taken by the Franks; they held it in the 13th–15th centuries, when it was often known as Morea. The modern city of Patras (pop., 2001: 163,446), in the north, is a commercial centre.

Peloponnesus or Pelopónnisos, formerly Morea, peninsula (1991 pop. 1,086,935), c.8,300 sq mi (21,500 sq km), S Greece. It is linked with central Greece by the Isthmus of Corinth, and it is washed by the Aegean Sea on the east and southeast, by the Ionian Sea on the southwest and west, and by the gulfs of Pátrai and Corinth on the north. Its deeply indented south coast terminates in Cape Matapan. Mainly mountainous, the region includes the Taygetus, Kyllene, and Erímanthos mts. The Evrótas and Alfiós are the chief rivers.

Economy

Predominately agricultural and pastoral, the Peloponnesus produces currants, grapes, figs, citrus fruit, olives, tobacco, and wheat. The most fertile parts of the peninsula are the coastal strips in the north and west. Sheep and goat raising, textile manufacturing, fishing, and sericulture are major sources of income. There are deposits of pyrite, manganese, lignite, and chromium. The peninsula attracts many tourists; the port cities of Pátrai, Corinth, Kalamata, and Návplion are the main modern centers of the Peloponnesus.

Holy Land  Greece   Pilgrimages       Pilgrimages Map  Index Español   English Index

     Gallery