Εμφανίζονται 74 τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Οι κάτοικοι του τόπου στην ευρύτερη περιοχή: "ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ Περιφέρεια ΕΛΛΑΔΑ" .
ΑΣΙΝΗ (Δήμος) ΑΡΓΟΛΙΔΑ
Οι κάτοικοι είναι φιλόξενοι, εργατικοί, καλοί καλλιεργητές της γης,
και σπουδαίοι ψαράδες. Έχουν διαπρέψει στα γράμματα και έχουν συμβάλει στην τουριστική
ανάπτυξη της περιοχής.
Οι κάτοικοι του Τολού
είναι άποικοι Κρητικοί. Το ίδιο και πολλοί Καντιώτες. Ένας πολύ μεγάλος αριθμός
κατοίκων, κυρίως του Δρεπάνου,
των Ιρίων και της Κάντιας
προέρχονται από την ορεινή Αρκαδία.
Το κείμενο (απόσπασμα) παρατίθεται το Μάρτιο 2004 από τουριστικό φυλλάδιο
του Δήμου Ασίνης.
ΑΖΑΝΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΑΡΚΑΔΙΑ
The Arcadian tribes "the Azanes, the Parrhasians, and other such peoples" are reputed to be the most ancient tribes of the Greeks
ΑΡΓΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΡΓΟΛΙΔΑ
Gymnesii or Gymnetes (gumnesioi or gumnetes). A class of bond-slaves at Argos, who may be compared with the Helots at Sparta (Steph. Byz. s. v. Chios; Pollux, iii. 83). Their name shows that they attended their masters on military service in the capacity of light-armed troops, but no particulars are known about them.
This word primarily denotes the inhabitants of a district lying around some particular locality, but is generally used to describe a dependent population, living without the walls or in the country provinces of a dominant city, and, although personally free, deprived of the enjoyment of citizenship and the political rights conferred by it.
...From the account given above of the probable origin of the Perioeci of Sparta
we should naturally expect to find a subject population of this kind existing
in most Greek states, which are known to have experienced immigrations not resulting
in a total change of population, but in a combined residence of populations of
different nationality. Immigrations of this kind, which resulted in combined settlements,
were in a high degree the characteristic of Dorian movements; and accordingly
we should expect to find a Perioecic population as the basis of the early Dorian
states. This is in the main verified by facts. In Argos, for instance, we have
an undoubted Perioecic population; and although no true Perioeci can be identified
in cities like Sicyon and Corinth, or most of the later Dorian colonies, this
is easily explained by the fact that these states were created after the movement
of the great Dorian migration was over. The Perioeci of Argos were called Orneatae
from the town of Orneae, apparently the first or the most important town reduced
to this condition by the Argives (Herod. viii. 73). These Orneatae are called
summachoi of the Argives by Thucydides (v. 67, and Arnold's note), and with them
are classed the inhabitants of Cleonae; but that they were Perioeci appears from
the passage of Herodotus, in which he is evidently translating the less familiar
Argive term Orneatae into the more familiar Spartan one Perioeci, to show the
status of the Cynurian population he is describing. How large the Perioecic population
of Argolis was we do not know. A large part of it, Cynuria, was taken by the Spartans
(Herod. i. 82); and the two great Achaean townships, Mycenae and Tiryns, were
certainly not Perioecic towns at the time of the Persian war (Id. vii. 102, ix.
28). After their destruction by Argos about 468 B.C. (Diod. xi. 65), they may
possibly have been reduced to this condition.
This extract is from: A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890) (eds. William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin). Cited May 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΚΑΦΥΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΛΕΒΙΔΙ
Οι κάτοικοι των Καφυών ήταν αυτόχθονες της Αττικής, οι οποίοι βρήκαν καταφύγιο στην Αρκαδία μετά το διωγμό τους από τον Αιγέα. (Παυσ. 8.23.2)
ΛΑΚΕΔΑΙΜΩΝ (Αρχαία χώρα) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
(Heilotai), and Helotes (Heilotes). The Helots or bondsmen of the
Spartans. The common account of the origin of this class is, that the inhabitants
of the maritime town of Helos were reduced by Sparta to this state of degradation,
after an insurrection against the Dorians already established in power. This explanation,
however, rests merely on an etymology, and that by no means probable. The word
Heilos is probably a derivative from helein in a passive sense, and consequently
means "a prisoner"- a derivation known in ancient times. It seems likely
that they were an aboriginal race, which was subdued at a very early period, and
which immediately passed over as slaves to the Doric conquerors. In speaking of
the condition of the Helots, their political rights and their personal treatment
will be considered under different heads, though in fact the two subjects are
very nearly connected.
The first were doubtless exactly defined by law and custom, though
the expressions made use of by ancient authors are frequently vague and ambiguous.
"They were," says Ephorus, "in a certain point of view public slaves.
Their possessor could neither liberate them nor sell them beyond the borders."
From this it is evident that they were considered as belonging properly to the
State, which to a certain degree permitted them to be possessed by individuals,
reserving to itself the power of enfranchising them. But to sell them out of the
country was not in the power even of the State; and such an event seems never
to have occurred. It is, upon the whole, most probable that individuals had no
power to sell them at all, as they belonged chiefly to the landed property, and
this was inalienable. On these lands they had certain fixed dwellings of their
own, and particular services and payments were prescribed to them. They paid as
rent a fixed measure of corn; not, however, like the Perioeci, to the State, but
to their masters. As this quantity had been definitely settled at a very early
period, the Helots were the persons who profited by a good, and lost by a bad,
harvest, which must have been to them an encouragement to industry and good husbandry,
as would not have been the case if the profit and loss had merely affected the
landlords. In fact, by this means, as is proved by the accounts respecting the
Spartan agriculture, a careful cultivation of the soil was kept up. By means of
the rich produce of the lands, and in part by plunder obtained in war, they collected
a considerable property, to the attainment of which almost every access was closed
to the Spartans. The cultivation of the land, however, was not the only duty of
the Helots; they also, at the public meals, attended upon their masters, who,
according to the Lacedaemonian principle of a community of property, mutually
lent them to one another. A large number of them was also employed by the State
in public works. In the field the Helots never served as hoplites, except in extraordinary
cases; and then it was the general practice afterwards to give them their liberty.
This seems first to have occurred under Brasidas in B.C. 424. On other occasions
they attended the regular army as light-armed troops (psiloi); and that their
numbers were very considerable may be seen from the battle of Plataea, in which
5000 Spartans were attended by 35,000 Helots. Although they did not share the
honour of the heavy-armed soldiers, they were in turn exposed to a less degree
of danger; for, while the former, in close rank, received the onset of the enemy
with spear and shield, the Helots, armed only with their slings and javelins,
were in a moment either before or behind the ranks, as Tyrtaeus accurately describes
the relative duties of the light-armed soldier (gumnes) and the hoplite. Sparta,
in her better days, is never recorded to have unnecessarily sacrificed the lives
of her Helots. A certain number of them were allotted to each Spartan. At the
battle of Plataea this number was seven. Those who were assigned to a single master
were probably called ampittares. Of these, however, one in particular was the
servant (therapon) of his master, as in the story of the blind Spartan, who was
conducted by his Helot into the thickest of the battle of Thermopylae, and, while
the latter fled, fell with the other heroes. It appears that the other Helots
were in the field placed more immediately under the command of the king than the
rest of the army. In the fleet they composed the large mass of the sailors, in
which service at Athens the inferior citizens and slaves were employed. It is
a matter of much greater difficulty to form a clear notion of the treatment of
the Helots, and of their manner of life; for the rhetorical spirit with which
later historians have embellished their views has been productive of much confusion
and misconception. Myron of Priene, in his account of the Messenian War, drew
a very dark picture of Sparta, and endeavoured at the end to rouse the feelings
of his readers by a description of the fate which the conquered underwent. "The
Helots," says he, "perform for the Spartans every ignominious service.
They are compelled to wear a cap of dog's skin (kune), to have a covering of sheep's
skin (diphthera), and are severely beaten every year without having committed
any fault, in order that they may never forget they are slaves. In addition to
this, those among them who, either by their stature or their beauty, raise themselves
above the condition of a slave, are condemned to death, and the masters who do
not destroy the most manly of them are liable to punishment." Myron's statements,
however, are to be received with considerable caution.
Plutarch relates that the Helots were compelled to intoxicate themselves,
and to perform indecent dances, as a warning to the Spartan youth. Yet Helot women
discharged the office of nurse in the royal palaces, and doubtless obtained the
affection with which the attendants of early youth were honoured in ancient times.
It is, however, certain that the Doric laws did not bind servants to strict temperance;
and hence examples of drunkenness among them might well have served as a means
of recommending sobriety. It was also an established regulation that the national
songs and dances of Sparta were forbidden to the Helots, who, on the other hand,
had some extravagant and lascivious dances peculiar to themselves, which may have
given rise to the above report. It was the curse of this bondage, which Plato
terms the hardest in Greece, that the slaves abandoned their masters when they
stood in greatest need of their assistance; and hence the Spartans were even compelled
to stipulate in treaties for aid against their own subjects. A more favourable
side of the Spartan system of bondage is seen in the fact that a legal way to
liberty and citizenship stood open to the Helots. The many intermediate steps
seem to prove the existence of a regular mode of transition from the one rank
to the other. The Helots who were esteemed worthy of an especial confidence were
called argeioi; the aphetai were probably released from all service. The desposionautai,
who served in the fleets, resembled probably the freedmen of Attica, who were
called "the out-dwellers" (hoi choris oikountes). When they received
their liberty, they also obtained permission to dwell where they wished, and probably,
at the same time, a portion of land was granted them without the lot of their
former masters. After they had been in possession of liberty for some time, they
appear to have been called neodamodeis, the number of whom soon came near to that
of the citizens. The mothones or mothakes were Helots, who, being brought up together
with the young Spartans, obtained freedom without the rights of citizenship.
The number of the Helots has been estimated by K. O. Muller and Schomann
as having been some 225,000 at the time of the battle of Plataea, as against an
estimated total population of 380,000 or 400,000.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Apr 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΜΑΝΤΙΝΕΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΡΚΑΔΙΑ
Οι κάτοικοι της Μαντίνειας έγιναν σύμμαχοι πότε των Λακεδαιμονίων και πότε των μελών της Αχαϊκής Συμπολιτείας, πήραν μέρος σε πολλές μάχες και αναγκάστηκαν κατά καιρούς να εγκαταλείψουν την πόλη τους.
ΤΑΙΝΑΡΟΝ (Ακρωτήρι) ΑΝΑΤΟΛΙΚΗ ΜΑΝΗ
One of the chief recruiting places in the fourth century was Corinth, and afterwards for a time the district near the promontory of Taenarum in Lacedaemon.
ΤΕΓΕΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΡΚΑΔΙΑ
Οι κάτοικοι της περιοχής της Τεγέας πριν την ίδρυση της ομώνυμης πόλης από τον Τεγεάτη ζούσαν χωρισμένοι σε αγροτικές κοινότητες (Παυσ. 8,45,1).
ΕΠΙΔΑΥΡΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
ΕΡΜΙΟΝΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΡΓΟΛΙΔΑ
Ενα αρχαίο φύλο που ζούσε στον ελλαδικό χώρο.
ΕΡΜΙΟΝΙΣ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΑΡΓΟΛΙΔΑ
The Hermioneans are Dryopians, driven out of the country now called Doris by Herakles and the Malians.
Halieis (Halieis), the name of a sea-faring people on the coast of
Hermionis, who derived their name from their fisheries. (Strab. viii. p. 373.)
They gave their name to a town on the coast of Herinionis, where the Tirynthians
and Hermionians took refuge when they were expelled from their own cities by the
Argives. (Ephor. ap. Byz. s. v. Halieis; Strab. viii. p. 373.) This town was taken
about Ol. 80 by Aneristus, the son of Sperthias, and made subject to Sparta (hos
heile Halieas [not alieas] tous ek Tirunthos, Helod. vii. 137). The district was
afterwards ravaged on more than one occasion by the Athenians. (Thuc. i. 105,
ii. 56, iv. 45; Diod. xi. 78.) After the Peloponnesian War the Halieis are mentioned
by Xenophon as an autonomous people. (Xen. Hell. iv. 2. 6, vi. 2, § 3.)
The district is called e Halias by Thucydides (ii. 56, iv. 45), who
also calls the people or their town Halieis; for, in i. 105, the true reading
is es Halias, i.e. Halieas. (See Meineke, and Steph. B. s. v. Halieis.) In an
inscription we find en Halieusin. (Bockh, Inscr. no. 165.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
ΛΑΚΕΔΑΙΜΩΝ (Αρχαία χώρα) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
Leleges, an ancient race which was spread over Greece, the adjoining
islands, and the Asiatic coast, before the Hellenes. They were so widely diffused
that we must either suppose that their name was descriptive, and applied to several
different tribes, or that it was the name of a single tribe and was afterwards
extended to others. Strabo (vii. p. 322) regarded them as a mixed race, and was
disposed to believe that their name had reference to this (to sullektous gegonenai).
They may probably be looked upon, like the Pelasgians and the other early inhabitants
of Greece, as members of the great Indo-European race, who became gradually incorporated
with the Hellenes, and thus ceased to exist as an independent people.
The most distinct statement of ancient writers on the origin of the
Leleges is that of Herodotus, who says that the name of Leleges was the ancient
name of the Carians (Herod. i. 171). A later Greek writer considered the Leleges
as standing in the same relation to the Carians as the Helots to the Lacedaemonians
and the Penestae to the Thessalians. (Athen. vi. p. 271.) In Homer both Leleges
and Carians appear as equals, and as auxiliaries of the Trojans. (Il. x. 428.)
The Leleges are ruled by Altes, the father-in-law of Priam, and inhabit a town
called Pedasus at the foot of Mount Ida. (Il. xxi. 86.) Strabo relates that Leleges
and Carians once occupied the whole of Ionia, and that in the Milesian territory
and in all Caria tombs and forts of the Leleges were shown. He further says that
the two were so intermingled that they were frequently regarded as the same people.
(Strab. vii. p. 321, xiii. p. 611.) It would therefore appear that there was some
close connection between the Leleges and Carians, though they were probably different
peoples. The Leleges seem at one time to have occupied a considerable part of
the western coast of Asia Minor. They were the earliest known inhabitants of Samos.
(Athen. xv. p. 672.) The connection of the Leleges and the Carians was probably
the foundation of the Megarian tradition, that in the twelfth generation after
Car, Lelex came over from Egypt to Megara, and gave his name to the people (Paus.
i. 39. § 6); but their Egyptian origin was evidently an invention of later times,
when it became the fashion to derive the civilisation of Greece from that of Egypt.
A grandson of this Lelex is said to have led a colony of Megarian Leleges into
Messenia, where they founded Pylus, and remained until they were driven out by
Neleus and the Pelasgians from Iolcos; whereupon they took possession of Pylus
in Elis. (Paus. v. 36. § 1.) The Lacedaemonian traditions, on the other hand,
represented the Leleges as the autochthons of Laconia; they spoke of Lelex as
the first native of the soil, from whom the people were called Leleges and the
land Lelegia; and the son of this Lelex is said to have been the first king of
Messenia. (Paus. iii. 1. § 1, iv. 1. § § 1, 5.) Aristotle seems to have regarded
Leucadia, or the western parts of Acarnania, as the original seats of the Leleges;
for, according to this writer, Lelex was the autochthon of Leucadia, and from
him were descended the Teleboans, the ancient inhabitants of the Taphian islands.
He also regarded them as the same people as the Locrians, in which he appears
to have followed the authority of Hesiod, who spoke of them as the subjects of
Locrus, and as produced from the stones with which Deucalion repeopled the earth
after the deluge. (Strab. vii. pp. 321, 322.) Hence all the inhabitants of Mount
Parnassus, Locrians, Phocians, Boeotians, and others, are sometimes described
as Leleges. (Comp. Dionys. Hal. i. 17.) (See Thirlwall, Hist. of Greece, vol.
i. p. 42, seq.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΜΕΣΣΗΝΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΜΕΣΣΗΝΙΑ
Pylos the son of Cleson, bringing from the Megarid the Leleges who then occupied the country.
ΟΡΧΟΜΕΝΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΛΕΒΙΔΙ
Minyae (Minuai), an ancient race in Greece, said to have been descended from Minyas, the son of Orchomenus, who originally dwelt in Thessaly, and afterwards migrated into Boeotia, and founded Orchomenus. Most of the Argonautic heroes were Minyae; and some of them having settled in the island of Lemnos, continued to be called Minyae. These Lemnian Minyae were driven out of the island by the Tyrrhenian Pelasgians, and took refuge in Lacedaemon, from whence some of them migrated to Thera, and others to Triphylia in Elis, where they founded the six Triphylian cities. (Herod. iv. 145--148.)
ΣΙΚΥΩΝΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
ΤΕΓΕΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΡΚΑΔΙΑ
Τεγεατικές φυλές που προέρχονταν από την κλήρωση που έκανε ο Αρκάς μεταξύ των γιων του για να τους μοιράσει τη χώρα και από τον Ιππόθουν, γιο του Κερκυόνα (Παυσ. 8,53,6).
ΤΡΟΙΖΗΝΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ (Δήμος) ΑΡΚΑΔΙΑ
Ο Τσακώνικος χορός σαν ενιαίο σύνολο, μελωδία, ρυθμός και χορός, είναι
, ίσως , το μοναδικό δείγμα αρχαίας ελληνικής μουσικής που διασώθηκε ως σήμερα
και αυτό γιατί είναι ιερός λατρευτικός χορός. Στην Ελλάδα επιζούν αρκετές αρχαίες
λατρευτικές συνήθειες, παρά την επίθεση που δέχτηκαν από την καινούργια χριστιανική
πίστη, που όσες δεν μπόρεσε να εξαφανίσει, είτε τις ενσωμάτωσε, είτε σιωπηρά τις
ανέχεται.
Τέσσερις απόψεις υπάρχουν για την προέλευση του χορού.
Η πρώτη και παλαιότερη, είναι ότι ο χορός είναι πυρρίχιος, που έχει
υποστηρικτεί από ντόπιους ερευνητές, άποψη που δεν ευσταθεί, κυρίως γιατί ο χορός
δεν ακολουθεί το ποιητικό μέτρο των αρχαίων πολεμικών χορών. Δεν υπάρχει, επιπλέον,
καμία επιστημονική υποστήριξη γι΄ αυτή την άποψη.
Η δεύτερη άποψη ξεκινά από τη σχολή της κας Δώρας Στράτου, γνωστή
για τις πιο σοβαρές μελέτες πάνω στους ελληνικούς χορούς. Η σχολή αυτή υποστηρίζει
ότι ο Τσακώνικος χορός είναι αναπαράσταση της προσπάθειας του Θησέα να βγει από
το Λαβύρινθο, σύμφωνα με το γνωστό Ιωνικό μύθο, και ότι ο χορός αυτός είναι ο
χορός "γέρανος" που περιγράφει ο Πλούταρχος
Η Τρίτη άποψη θέλει το χορό να έχει αρχή του το γέρανο, αλλά στην
πορεία να ξεκόβει από αυτόν και να αναπαριστά τη νικηφόρα πάλη του Απόλλωνα με
το φίδι. Σύμφωνα με την άποψη αυτή, ο χορός μεταφέρθηκε από τους Μινωίτες, όπου
υπήρχε ως ιερός χορός προς τιμήν του Θησέα, και διατηρήθηκε από τους Μυκηναίους
της Λακωνίας που κατέφυγαν στον Πάρνωνα, γύρω στο 1100 π.χ για να αποφύγουν τους
τραχείς Δωριείς. Με την επικράτηση του Δωδεκάθεου ο χορός αφιερώθηκε στον Απόλλωνα,
του οποίου η λατρεία επικρατεί σε όλη την Κυνουρία.
Η τέταρτη άποψη, ότι ο χορός δημιουργήθηκε αυτόχθονα με τη διδασκαλία
από τον Πρατίνα χορού που χορευόταν στις αρχαίες Καρυές, δεν φαίνεται να ευσταθεί.
Ο μεγάλος δάσκαλος Σίμωνας Καρράς, τάσσεται με την άποψη του χορού
να αναπαριστά την πάλη του Απόλλωνα με το φίδι, γιατί όπως αναφέρει "...με τον
απολλώνιο παιωνικό ρυθμό των 5 χρόνων, τα φιδίσια κυκλίσματα, στροφές, διπλώματα
και ξεδιπλώματα του χορευτικού ομίλου και με τον κορυφαίο που φέρνει βόλτες κύκλο
τον χορό και κάποτε χορεύει αντικριστά με τον δεύτερο χορευτή, θυμίζει πύθιο νόμο
ορχηστικό και μουσικό(πάλη του Απόλλωνα προς τον Πύθωνα) και όχι φανταστικούς
μίτους Θησέα και Αριάδνης....".
Ο χορός χορευόταν κυρίως στις κλειστές διασκεδάσεις, που δεν μπορούσαν
να χορέψουν στην ύπαιθρο. Ο χορός αποκαλείται "κλειστέ" δηλαδή κλειστός, λόγω
του τρόπου με τον οποίο πιάνονται οι χορευτές: το δεξί του δεύτερου κάτω από το
αριστερό του πρώτου, τα δάκτυλα σταυρωτά και σφιγμένα, τα κορμιά κολλητά. Τα βήματα
είναι αργά, μετρημένα και ο χορός ξετυλίγεται κάνοντας κύκλους και στροφές, διπλώματα
και ξεδιπλώματα.
Εκτός από τον Τσακώνικο χορό στην περιοχή χορεύουν επίσης και άλλους
ντόπιους χορούς : τον "τεσσέρα", τον "στα τρία" (τα τσία), τον "πέρα η μεριά".
Είναι χαρακτηριστικό ότι για άγνωστους λόγους, μέχρι τα τελευταία
χρόνια, ο Τσακώνικος ρυθμός όταν τραγουδιόταν για να χορευτεί, είχε στίχους στην
κοινή Ελληνική και ποτέ δεν χορευόταν με Τσακώνικους στίχους. Παρακάτω (στην ιστοσελίδα)
παρατίθενται οι πιο γνωστοί στίχοι του Τσακώνικου ρυθμού.
Το κείμενο παρατίθεται τον Μάρτιο 2003 από την ακόλουθη ιστοσελίδα, με φωτογραφία, του Δήμου Απόλλωνος
Ο Τζουμπές είναι η παραδοσιακή γυναικεία ενδυμασία της Τσακωνιάς και
περιγράφεται παρακάτω. Το Kείμενο είναι της Aγγελικής Xατζημιχάλη από το Λεύκωμα
του Mουσείου Mπενάκη "Eλληνικαί Eθνικαί Eνδυμασίαι"
H ενδυμασία των γυναικών του Λεωνιδίου είναι εξέλιξις της άλλοτε φορουμένης
από τας αρχόντισσας του Πραστού της καταστραφείσης πλουσιωτάτης πρωτευούσης της
Tσακωνιάς. Aποτελείται εκ βαρυτίμων υφασμάτων χρυσοϋφάντων, μεταξωτών βελούδων
και εκλεκτών εριούχων, άτινα εκόμιζον οι πλούσιοι Tσάκωνες, οι μετερχόμενοι λίαν
ευδοκίμως το εμπόριον εις τας πόλεις της Aνατολής και Δύσεως. Eκαλούντο δε αι
αρχόντισσαι του Πραστού, ως φέρουσαι το μακρύ πλούσιον εξωτερικόν ένδυμα, τον
τζουμπέ, τζουμπελούδες. Eπίσης δε, εκ τον πλήθους των πολυτίμων κοσμημάτων άτινα,
μεταναστεύσασαι, συνεπεκόμισαν μεθ' εαυτών εις Λεωνίδιον, ήσαν γνωσταί αι τζουράδες
(κυράδες), οι Πραστιώτισσες του Λεωνιδίου, και με την επωνυμίαν δακτυλιδούδες,
ως φέρουσαι ανά ένα πολύτιμον δακτύλιον με ζαφείρια, ζουμπρούτια, διαμάντια, μαργαριτάρια
εις έκαστον δάκτυλον. H συνηθιζομένη κατά την τελευταίαν περίοδον ενδυμασία αύτη
απετελείτο από:
1. Tο πουκάμισο ή όγγιουμα (ένδυμα), ονομαζόμενον εις την Tσακωνιάν ορθότατα "ένδυμα",
ως αποτελούν το πρώτον και κυριώτερον ένδυμα του ανθρώπου, τον χιτώνα. Φθάνει
έως τον αστράγαλον και γίνεται από λεπτόν μεταξωτόν ύφασμα, κεντημένον με μεταξωτά
άσπρα κεντίδια ή με χρυσονήματα εις την τραχηλιάν και τα μανίκια, τις μάνικες.
2. Tο βραχάνι ή φουστάνι, εξ υφάσματος κατασκευαζομένου εξ ερίου και τρίχας καμήλου
(ύφασμα ομοιάζον με την τσόχαν, πολύ εν χρήσει και εις την Δύσιν κατά τον IH'
αιώνα) είχε συνήθως πράσινον ή λαδοπράσινον χρωματισμόν, και σπανίως κίτρινον.
Aρκετά πλατύ, εκούμβωνε εις την μέσην και έφερεν εις τον γύρον πλατυτάτην ταινίαν
από ερυθράν τσόχαν, τον ποδόγιουρε.
3. Tο ζιπούνι, είδος μικρής ζακέττας εκ χρυσοϋφάντου υφάσματος. Έχει μάνικες πλατείας
και μακράς, ανοικτάς από τον αγκώνα και κάτω, τα καλκάνια.
4. O τζουμπές είναι ο μετά ταύτα φερόμενος, άνευ χειρίδων, εξωτερικός ποδήρης
επενδύτης. Γίνεται εξ ερυθράς τσόχας ή ατλαζίου εις απαλάς αποχρώσεις, και εσυνηθίζετο
μόνον από τας νύμφας και νέας υπάνδρους γυναίκας της πρώτης κοινωνικής τάξεως
του Λεωνιδίου.
5. Tο μαγλίκι, μεταξωτόν μανδήλιον ανατολικής προελεύσεως, περιελίσσεται εις τον
λαιμόν, καλύπτει το στήθος και στερεώνεται με χρυσήν αδαμαντίνην πόρπην,
6. εις την ζώστραν, ταινίαν χρυσοκέντητον τριών περίπου δακτύλων ήτις σφίγγει
την μέσην προσαρμόζεται το ασημοζούναρο, αι δύο μεγάλαι αργυραί ή επίχρυσοι πόρπαι,
στολίζουσαι την μέσην υπό το στήθος.
7. Tο φέσι, με την πλουσίαν μακράν κυανήν μεταξίνην φούνταν, εισήχθη κατά τα τελευταία
έτη εις την επίσημον αυτήν ενδυμασίαν του Πραστού Λεωνιδίου, την υποστάσαν πλείστας
μεταβολάς. Aντικαταστήσαν τον παλαιοτάτης παραδόσεως περίπλοκον κεφαλόδεσμον της
Πραστιώτισσας, εφέρετο, μολαταύτα, με την πατροπαράδοτον κόμμωσιν, τας δύο μεγάλας
πλεξίδας περιστρεφομένας περί την κεφαλήν.
Το κείμενο παρατίθεται τον Μάρτιο 2003 από την ακόλουθη ιστοσελίδα του Δήμου Απόλλωνος
Ο τσακώνικος χορός είναι παραδοσιακός χορός με ρίζες στα αρχαία ελληνικά
χρόνια. Ιδιαίτερα δημοφιλής στην Τσακωνιά, όπου χορεύεται μέχρι σήμερα σε 5/8
ή 5/4, ανάλογα με το αν χορεύεται αργά ή γρήγορα. Οι χορευτές κρατιούνται σφιχτά,
σαν να προσπαθούν να μη χάσει ο ένας τον άλλο και η πρωτοχορεύτρια κρατά ένα μαντήλι
στο χέρι. Ο χορός είναι ανοιχτός κυκλικός. Αλλοτε, πάλι, σχηματίζει ένα σαλίγκαρο
(σπείρα) σε αργό ρυθμό και ξεδιπλώνεται σε γρήγορο ρυθμό, αναπαριστώντας τη ζωή,
την ανάπτυξη, τη νίκη. Η παράδοση λεει πως ο χορός αυτός σχετίζεται με ένα επεισόδιο
της μυθολογίας: την έξοδο του Θησέα από το Λαβύρινθο. Πολλοί μελετητές πιστεύουν
ότι πρόκειται για τον αρχαίο Γέρανο που είχαν χορέψει ο Θησέας και οι σύντροφοί
του. Γι' αυτό έχει διατυπωθεί η άποψη ότι οι ρίζες του χορού αυτού βρίσκονται
στην Κρήτη. Γεγονός, πάντως, είναι πως υπήρχε και σε άλλα μέρη της Ελλάδας και
της Μικράς Ασίας από πολύ παλιά. Η Δώρα Στράτου γράφει, σχετικά, στο βιβλίο της
"Μια ζωή, μια περιπέτεια":
Οταν στα 1100 π.Χ. κατέβηκαν τα τελευταία Ελληνικά φύλα, οι Δωριείς, και κατέκτησαν
την Πελοπόννησο και διάφορα νησιά, οι παλιοί Μυκηναίοι, κάτοικοι της Λακωνίας,
Αχαιοί και Μινωϊτες άποικοι, κατέφυγαν στα γύρω βουνά, για να αποφύγουν την υποδούλωση.
Με τον καιρό όμως υποτάχθηκαν και αυτοί. Παρ' όλα αυτά οι Τσάκωνες κράτησαν πολλά
από τα βιώματά τους και τις συνήθειες της προηγούμενης ζωής και αυτό αποδεικνύεται
από τον Τσακώνικο χορό, που χορεύεται μόνο στην περιοχή αυτή και αναβιώνει ένα
γεγονός συγκλονιστικό, που μέσα στο πέρασμα των αιώνων δεν λησμονήθηκε: Το Θησέα
και τον χορό του."
Για την προέλευση, ωστόσο, του Τσακώνικου χορού οι μελετητές δεν
έχουν καταλήξει σε μια οριστική και τεκμηριωμένη θέση. Σίγουρα είναι πανάρχαιος
χορός που χορεύεται σε όλα τα τσακωνοχώρια σήμερα, όπως τον χόρευαν πριν από χιλιάδες
χρόνια οι πρόγονοι μας και τον θαυμάζουν οι επισκέπτες καθώς βλέπουν τις τσακωνοπούλες,
ντυμένες τζουμπελούδες, να τον χορεύουν στις εθνικές και τοπικές γιορτές καθώς
και στα θρησκευτικά πανηγύρια του Τυρού, του Πραστού, των Μελάνων, του Λεωνιδίου,
της Σίταινας ...
Οσο για τα μουσικά όργανα και τα τραγούδια που τον συνοδεύουν δεν μπορούμε να
ισχυριστούμε ότι είναι τόσο παλιά όσο ο χορός...
Το κείμενο παρατίθεται τον Μάρτιο 2003 από την ακόλουθη ιστοσελίδα του Δήμου Βόρειας Κυνουρίας
Τα τσακώνικα είναι επιβίωση της αρχαίας Λακωνικής και το μοναδικό
γλωσσικό ιδίωμα, από αυτά που κρατούν από τις αρχαίες Ελληνικές διαλέκτους, το
οποίο έμεινε ζωντανό- δηλαδή ομιλούμενο- τουλάχιστον στον Ελλαδικό χώρο. (Εκτός
του Ελλαδικού χώρου παρόμοιους δεσμούς έχουν η Ποντιακή, η Καππαδοκική και τα
Ελληνικά της Νότιας Ιταλίας).
Η σπανιότητα οφείλεται στο γεγονός ότι από τον 3ο αιώνα π.Χ. και εντεύθεν,
όπως είναι γνωστό, επικράτησε στον Ελληνικό κόσμο η Αλεξανδρινή ή Ελληνιστική
Κοινή, που προήλθε από την Αττική διάλεκτο και είχε υπερδιαλεκτικό χαρακτήρα.
Διάδοχός της ήταν η Μεσαιωνική ελληνική (6ος -18ος αι.) που εξελίχθηκε στη σημερινή
Νέα Ελληνική. Ετσι, τα τσακώνικα θεωρείται σαν παραφθορά και εξέλιξη της αρχαίας
Λακωνικής, αναμεμιγμένη με όλες τις επιρροές της ελληνικής γλώσσας κατά την εξέλιξή
της μέχρι σήμερα. Ομιλείται στις περιοχές της Κυνουρίας όπου υπάρχει τσακώνικος
πληθυσμός, δηλαδή στον Τυρό, τα Σαπουνακαίϊκα, τα Μέλανα, τον Αγιο Ανδρέα, την
Πραματευτή, τη Βασκίνα, το Λιβάδι, τη Σαμπατική, τον Πραστό, τη Σίταινα και την
Καστάνιτσα.
Από τα στοιχεία που υπάρχουν φαίνεται ότι τα τσακώνικα μιλήθηκαν κατά
το παρελθόν και εκτός των ορίων της σημερινής Τσακωνιάς, όπως, για παράδειγμα,
στη γειτονική περιοχή της Λακωνίας, αλλά και στις τσακώνικες αποικίες. Η τελευταία
εκτίμηση στηρίζεται στην πρόσφατη- σχετικά- αποκάλυψη ότι στα χωριά Βάτικα και
Χαβουτσί, των ανατολικών παραλίων της θάλασσας του Μαρμαρά, όπου ήταν συγκεντρωμένοι
Τσάκωνες, μέχρι του έτους 1924 τουλάχιστον ήταν σε χρήση τα τσακώνικα.
Σήμερα, βέβαια, η χρήση αυτού του ιδιώματος έχει υποχωρήσει αισθητά.
Υπολογίζεται ότι το μιλούν (από μέτρια έως καλά) έως και 2.000 κάτοικοι της Τσακωνιάς,
που οι περισσότεροι είναι υπερήλικες. Αξίζει να σημειωθεί πως μέχρι το 1997 τα
τσακώνικα διδάσκονταν στο Γυμνάσιο του Τυρού από ντόπιους καθηγητές. Τα κυριότερα
γλωσσικά στοιχεία που αποδεικνύουν ότι η Τσακωνική έχει στενούς δεσμούς με την
Αρχαία Λακωνική είναι:
Διατήρηση του Δωρικού α εκεί που η Ιωνική είχε η (μάτηρ- μήτηρ).
Τροπή του σ σε δασεία, μεταξύ φωνηέντων, και αποκοπή του έπειτα.
Τροπή του θ σε σ.
Τροπή του τελικού ς σε ρ (ρωτακισμός) όταν ακολουθεί φωνήεν.
Διπλή προφορά του υ σαν ου και ιου, ανάλογα με το ποιο σύμφωνο υπάρχει πριν το
υ (κύων-κούε, λύκος-λιούκο).
Αποβολή του τελικού ς (τοίχο-τοίχος).
Η διάλεκτος γράφεται σήμερα με στοιχεία της νέας ελληνικής εμπλουτισμένα με μερικά
επιπλέον σύμβολα φθόγγων.
Η τσακώνικη διάλεκτος θεωρείται από τις αρχαιότερες στον κόσμο. Η
αρχαιότητα και η καταγωγή της διαλέκτου αποδείχθηκε και από τον μεγάλο Γερμανό
φιλόλογο Μιχαήλ Δέφνερ. Επίσης, για τη διάλεκτο αυτή έχουν γίνει αρκετές έρευνες
από Ελληνες και ξένους ειδικούς και γλωσσολόγους και έχει εκπονηθεί γραμματική
(Κωστάκης) και λεξικό της. Υπάρχει επίσης και αναγνωστικό με στοιχεία λεξιλογίου
και γραμματικής.
Τα τσακώνικα ζωντανεύουν σήμερα και στη μουσική παράδοση, με αρκετά
δημοτικά τραγούδια που συνοδεύουν κυρίως τον τσακώνικο χορό. Μάλιστα τελευταία
έχει εκδοθεί και ποίηση στην τσακώνικη διάλεκτο.
Μια καλή αναφορά μεταξύ άλλων για την τσακώνικη διάλεκτο είναι τα
"Χρονικά των Τσακώνων", έκδοση του συλλόγου του "Αρχείου των Τσακώνων" με έδρα
το Λεωνίδιο, όπου δημοσιεύονται αρκετά άρθρα και εργασίες γύρω από την προέλευση
και την εξέλιξη της γλώσσας.
Το κείμενο παρατίθεται τον Μάρτιο 2003 από την ακόλουθη ιστοσελίδα του Δήμου Βόρειας Κυνουρίας
ΜΕΣΣΗΝΙΑ (Νομός) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
Το μανιάτικο μοιρολόι είναι ένα είδος δημοτικού ελεγειακού τραγουδιού
και λαϊκής ποίησης που δεν συναντιέται πουθενά αλλού στην Ελλάδα.
Τα μοιρολόγια της Μέσα Μάνης έχουν οκτασύλλαβο μέτρο, ενώ της Έξω
Μάνης δεκαπεντασύλλαβο και λέγονται σε κηδείες και μνημόσυνα.
Στο «κλάμα», όπως λέγεται το μοιρολόγισμα, οι άνδρες δε συμμετέχουν,
για να μη φανεί η ευαισθησία τους, ενώ οι γυναίκες μοιρολογούν το νεκρό ιεραρχικά,
που, όταν πρόκειται για άνδρα, ξεκινά από τη μάνα και συνεχίζεται απο την αδελφή,
την κόρη και, τέλος, καταλήγει στη γυναίκα του. Αποτελεί τιμή για την οικογένεια
του νεκρού να μοιρολογηθεί από άτομο εκτός της οικογένειας.
Η Μανιάτισσα μοιρολογήτρα τη στιγμή που μοιρολογεί βρίσκεται σε ψυχική
κατάσταση έκστασης και χρησιμοποιεί λόγια έμμετρα με πετυχημένους χαρακτηρισμούς
και σχόλια, προερχόμενα από τη ζωή και την κοινωνική δράση του νεκρού. Η καλή
μοιρολογήτρα κατέχει ψηλή θέση στην τοπική κοινωνία και όλοι την εκτιμούν και
τη σέβονται, ενώ όταν βρεθεί σε «κλάμα» όλοι κρέμονται από τα χείλη της για το
άκουσμα των λόγων της.
Τα καλύτερα μοιρολόγια οι παρευρισκόμενοι τα συγκρατούν και τα τραγουδούν
σε διάφορες στιγμές της ζωής τους, δημιουργώντας έτσι τα τραγουδομοιρολόγια, από
τα οποία όμως έχουν αφαιρεθεί τα πολύ θλιβερά στοιχεία των μοιρολογιών.
Το απόσπασμα παρατίθεται τον Μάρτιο 2003 από την ακόλουθη ιστοσελίδα της Νομαρχιακής Επιτροπής Τουριστικής Προβολής Μεσσηνίας
ΑΣΙΝΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΩΝΗ
Kατάγονται από τον Παρνασσό και εγκαταστάθηκαν στην Ασίνη της Μεσσηνίας ύστερα από αρκετές περιπέτειες (Παυσ. 4,34,9-12).
ΟΡΝΕΙΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΕΜΕΑ
Οι Ορνεάτες κατάγονταν, σύμφωνα με τον Ηρόδοτο, από τους Κυνουρίους, όπως και οι Σπαρτιάτες Περίοικοι. Οι Κυνούριοι ήταν αυτόχθονες και μάλλον οι μοναδικοί Ιωνες, οι οποίοι όμως με τον καιρό έγιναν Δωριείς (Ηρόδ. 8,73).
ΜΕΣΣΗΝΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΜΕΣΣΗΝΙΑ
After the return of the Heracleidae (Dorians) ,when they assigned Argos to Temenus, Cresphontes asked them for the land of Messenia Aristodemus was now dead, but Cresphontes was vigorously opposed by Theras the son of Autesion... who was at that time guardian of the sons of Aristodemus, being their uncle Cresphontes, wishing to obtain Messenia as his portion at all costs, approached Temenus, and having suborned him pretended to leave the decision to the lot. Temenus put the lots of the children of Aristodemus and of Cresphontes into a jar containing water, the terms being that the party whose lot came up first should be the first to choose a portion of the country. Temenus had caused both lots to be made of clay, but for the sons of Aristodemus sun-dried, for Cresphontes baked with fire. So the lot of the sons of Aristodemus was dissolved, and Cresphontes, winning in this way, chose Messenia.
This extract is from: Pausanias, Description of Greece. Harvard University Press
Cited Aug 2002 from Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
ΣΠΑΡΤΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΛΑΚΩΝΙΑ
Achaei (Achaioi), one of the four races into which the Hellenes are usually divided.
In the heroic age they are found in that part of Thessaly in which Phthia and
Hellas were situated, and also in the eastern part of Peloponnesus, more especially
in Argos and Sparta. Argos was frequently called the Achaean Argos (Argos Achaiikon,
Hom. Il. ix. 141) to distinguish it from the Pelasgian Argos in Thessaly; but
Sparta is generally mentioned as the head-quarters of the Achaean race in Peloponnesus.
Thessaly and Peloponnesus were thus the two chief abodes of this people; but there
were various traditions respecting their origin, and a difference of opinion existed
among the ancients, whether the Thessalian or the Peloponnesian Achaeans were
the more ancient. They were usually represented as descendants of Achaeus, the
son of Xuthus and Creusa, and consequently the brother of Ion and grandson of
Hellen. Pausanias (vii. 1) related that Achaeus went back to Thessaly, and recovered
the dominions of which his father, Xuthus, had been deprived; and then, in order
to explain the existence of the Achaeans in Peloponnesus, he adds that Archander
and Architeles, the sons of Achaeus, came back from Phthiotis to Argos, married
the two daughters of Danaus, and acquired such influence at Argos and Sparta,
that they called the people Achaeans after their father Achaeus. On the other
hand, Strabo in one passage says, that Achaeus having fled from Attica, where
his father Xuthus had settled, settled in Lacedaemon and gave to the inhabitants
the name of Achaeans. In another passage, however, he relates, that Pelops brought
with him into Peloponnesus the Phthiotan Achaeans, who settled in Laconia. It
would be unprofitable to pursue further the variations in the legends; but we
may safely believe that the Achaeans in Thessaly were more ancient than those
in Peloponnesus, since all tradition points to Thessaly as the cradle of the Hellenic
race. There is a totally different account, which represents the Achaeans as of
Pelasgic origin. It is preserved by Dionysius of Halicarnassus (i. 17), who relates
that Achaeus, Phthius, and Pelasgus were sons of Poseidon and Larissa; and that
they migrated from Peloponnesus to Thessaly, where they divided the country into
three parts, called after them Achaia, Phthiotis and Pelasgiotis. A modern writer
is disposed to accept this tradition so far, as to assign a Pelasgic origin to
the Achaeans, though he regards the Phthiotan Achaeans as more ancient than their
brethren in the Peloponnesus.The only fact known in the earliest history of the
people, which we can admit with certainty, is their existence as the predominant
race in the south of Thessaly, and on the eastern side of Peloponnesus. They are
represented by Homer as a brave and warlike people, and so distinguished were
they that he usually calls the Greeks in general Achaeans or Panachaeans (Panachaioi
Il. ii. 404, vii. 73, &c.). In the same manner Peloponnesus, and sometimes the
whole of Greece, is called by the poet the Achaean land. (Achaiis gaia, Hom. Il.
i. 254, Od. xiii. 249.) On the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians, 80 years
after the Trojan war, the Achaeans were driven out of Argos and Laconia, and those
who remained behind were reduced to the condition of a conquered people. Most
of the expelled Achaeans, led by Tisamenus, the son of Orestes, proceeded to the
land on the northern coast of Peloponnesus, which was called simply Aegialus (Aigialos)
or the Coast, and was inhabited by Ionians. The latter were defeated by the Achaeans
and crossed over to Attica and Asia Minor, leaving their country to their conquerors,
from whom it was henceforth called Achaia. (Strab. p. 383; Pans. vii. 1; Pol.
ii. 41; comp. Herod. i. 145.) The further history of the Achaeans is given under
Achaia.
The Achaeans founded several colonies, of which the most celebrated were Croton
and Sybaris.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΑΚΡΟΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ (Κάστρο) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΟΣ
Bunaea, (Bounaia), a surname of Hera, derived from Bunus, the son of Hermes and Alcidameia,
who is said to have built a sanctuary to Hera on the road which led up to Acrocorinthus.
(Paus. ii. 4.7, 3.8.)
ΑΝΔΑΝΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΑΝΔΑΝΙΑ
Στη Μεσσηνία τα εισήγαγε η βασίλισσα Μεσσήνη, όπωςτα διδάχτηκε από τον Καύκωνα. Ηταν τα Μυστήρια για τις Μεγάλες Θεές (Παυσ. 4,1,8-9).
Agyieus (Aguieus), a surname of Apollo describing him as the protector of the streets and public places. As such he was worshipped at Acharnae (Paus. i. 31.3), Mycenae (ii. 19.7), and at Tegea. (viii. 53.1.) The origin of the worship of Apollo Agyieus in the last of these places is related by Pausanias. (Compare Hor. Carm. iv. 6. 28; Macrob. Sat. i. 9.)
ΣΠΑΡΤΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΛΑΚΩΝΙΑ
My own three favorite cities," answered Hera, "are Argos, Sparta, and Mycenae.
ΑΚΑΚΗΣΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΕΓΑΛΟΠΟΛΗ
Η πόλη του Ακακήσιου ανήκε στους Παρρασίους, που η χώρα τους εκτεινόταν δυτικά της Μεγαλόπολης (Παυσ. 8,27,4).
ΑΚΟΝΤΙΟΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΕΓΑΛΟΠΟΛΙΣ
Η πόλη του Ακοντίου ανήκε στους Παρρασίους, που η χώρα τους εκτεινόταν δυτικά της Μεγαλόπολης (Παυσ. 8,27,4).
ΑΡΚΑΔΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
Αυτόχθονες κάτοικοι της Πελοποννήσου.
ΔΑΣΕΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΕΓΑΛΟΠΟΛΗ
Η πόλη των Δασεών ανήκε στους Παρρασίους, που η χώρα τους εκτεινόταν δυτικά της Μεγαλόπολης (Παυσ. 8,27,4).
ΕΛΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΛΑΚΩΝΙΑ
Originally inhabitants of Helos, afterwards general name for slaves of Lacedaemonians:
<b>Helotae</b> (Heilotai), and Helotes (Heilotes). The Helots or bondsmen
of the Spartans. The common account of the origin of this class is, that the inhabitants
of the maritime town of <b>Helos</b> were reduced by Sparta to this
state of degradation, after an insurrection against the Dorians already established
in power. This explanation, however, rests merely on an etymology, and that by
no means probable. The word Heilos is probably a derivative from helein in a passive
sense, and consequently means "a prisoner"--a derivation known in ancient
times. It seems likely that they were an aboriginal race, which was subdued at
a very early period, and which immediately passed over as slaves to the Doric
conquerors. In speaking of the condition of the Helots, their political rights
and their personal treatment will be considered under different heads, though
in fact the two subjects are very nearly connected.
The first were doubtless exactly defined by law and custom, though the expressions
made use of by ancient authors are frequently vague and ambiguous. "They
were", says Ephorus, "in a certain point of view public slaves. Their
possessor could neither liberate them nor sell them beyond the borders".
From this it is evident that they were considered as belonging properly to the
State, which to a certain degree permitted them to be possessed by individuals,
reserving to itself the power of enfranchising them. But to sell them out of the
country was not in the power even of the State; and such an event seems never
to have occurred. It is, upon the whole, most probable that individuals had no
power to sell them at all, as they belonged chiefly to the landed property, and
this was inalienable. On these lands they had certain fixed dwellings of their
own, and particular services and payments were prescribed to them. They paid as
rent a fixed measure of corn; not, however, like the Perioeci, to the State, but
to their masters. As this quantity had been definitely settled at a very early
period, the Helots were the persons who profited by a good, and lost by a bad,
harvest, which must have been to them an encouragement to industry and good husbandry,
as would not have been the case if the profit and loss had merely affected the
landlords. In fact, by this means, as is proved by the accounts respecting the
Spartan agriculture, a careful cultivation of the soil was kept up. By means of
the rich produce of the lands, and in part by plunder obtained in war, they collected
a considerable property, to the attainment of which almost every access was closed
to the Spartans. The cultivation of the land, however, was not the only duty of
the Helots; they also, at the public meals, attended upon their masters, who,
according to the Lacedaemonian principle of a community of property, mutually
lent them to one another. A large number of them was also employed by the State
in public works. In the field the Helots never served as hoplites, except in extraordinary
cases; and then it was the general practice afterwards to give them their liberty.
This seems first to have occurred under Brasidas in B.C. 424. (Cf. Thuc. iv. 80,
vii. 19.) On other occasions they attended the regular army as light-armed troops
(psiloi); and that their numbers were very considerable may be seen from the battle
of Plataea, in which 5000 Spartans were attended by 35,000 Helots. Although they
did not share the honour of the heavy-armed soldiers, they were in turn exposed
to a less degree of danger; for, while the former, in close rank, received the
onset of the enemy with spear and shield, the Helots, armed only with their slings
and javelins, were in a moment either before or behind the ranks, as Tyrtaeus
accurately describes the relative duties of the light-armed soldier (gumnes) and
the hoplite. Sparta, in her better days, is never recorded to have unnecessarily
sacrificed the lives of her Helots. A certain number of them were allotted to
each Spartan ( Herod.ix. 28; Thuc.iii. 8). At the battle of Plataea this number
was seven. Those who were assigned to a single master were probably called ampittares.
Of these, however, one in particular was the servant (therapon) of his master,
as in the story of the blind Spartan, who was conducted by his Helot into the
thickest of the battle of Thermopylae, and, while the latter fled, fell with the
other heroes ( Herod.vii. 229). It appears that the other Helots were in the field
placed more immediately under the command of the king than the rest of the army
( Herod.vi. 80Herod., 81). In the fleet they composed the large mass of the sailors
( Hist. Gr. vii. 1, 12), in which service at Athens the inferior citizens and
slaves were employed. It is a matter of much greater difficulty to form a clear
notion of the treatment of the Helots, and of their manner of life; for the rhetorical
spirit with which later historians have embellished their views has been productive
of much confusion and misconception. Myron of Priene, in his account of the Messenian
War, drew a very dark picture of Sparta, and endeavoured at the end to rouse the
feelings of his readers by a description of the fate which the conquered underwent.
"The Helots", says he, "perform for the Spartans every ignominious
service. They are compelled to wear a cap of dog's skin (kune), to have a covering
of sheep's skin (diphthera), and are severely beaten every year without having
committed any fault, in order that they may never forget they are slaves. In addition
to this, those among them who, either by their stature or their beauty, raise
themselves above the condition of a slave, are condemned to death, and the masters
who do not destroy the most manly of them are liable to punishment". Myron's
statements, however, are to be received with considerable caution.
Plutarch relates (Lycurg. 28) that the Helots were compelled to intoxicate
themselves, and to perform indecent dances, as a warning to the Spartan youth.
Yet Helot women discharged the office of nurse in the royal palaces, and doubtless
obtained the affection with which the attendants of early youth were honoured
in ancient times. It is, however, certain that the Doric laws did not bind servants
to strict temperance; and hence examples of drunkenness among them might well
have served as a means of recommending sobriety. It was also an established regulation
that the national songs and dances of Sparta were forbidden to the Helots, who,
on the other hand, had some extravagant and lascivious dances peculiar to themselves,
which may have given rise to the above report.
It was the curse of this bondage, which Plato terms the hardest in
Greece, that the slaves abandoned their masters when they stood in greatest need
of their assistance; and hence the Spartans were even compelled to stipulate in
treaties for aid against their own subjects (Thuc.i. 118Thuc., v. 14; cf. Aristot.
Pol.ii. 6 Pol., 2). A more favourable side of the Spartan system of bondage is
seen in the fact that a legal way to liberty and citizenship stood open to the
Helots. The many intermediate steps seem to prove the existence of a regular mode
of transition from the one rank to the other. The Helots who were esteemed worthy
of an especial confidence were called argeioi; the aphetai were probably released
from all service. The desposionautai, who served in the fleets, resembled probably
the freedmen of Attica, who were called "the out-dwellers" (hoi choris
oikountes). When they received their liberty, they also obtained permission to
dwell where they wished (Thuc.iv. 80Thuc., v. 34), and probably, at the same time,
a portion of land was granted them without the lot of their former masters. After
they had been in possession of liberty for some time, they appear to have been
called neodamodeis (Thuc.vii. 58), the number of whom soon came near to that of
the citizens (Plut. Ages.6). The mothones or mothakes were Helots, who, being
brought up together with the young Spartans, obtained freedom without the rights
of citizenship.
The number of the Helots has been estimated as having been some 225,000
at the time of the battle of Plataea, as against an estimated total population
of 380,000 or 400,000.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Apr 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ΘΩΚΝΙΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΕΓΑΛΟΠΟΛΗ
Η πόλη της θωκνίας ανήκε στους Παρρασίους, που η χώρα τους εκτεινόταν δυτικά της Μεγαλόπολης (Παυσ. 8,27,4).
ΚΛΕΩΝΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΝΕΜΕΑ
Εγκατέλειψαν την πόλη τους και εγκαταστάθηκαν στις Κλαζομενές ύστερα από την κάθοδο των Δωριέων στην Πελοπόννησο (Παυσ. 7,3,8).
Perseus Project Index. Total results on 21/5/2001: 8 for Cleonaeans, 1 for Kleonaians.
ΜΑΚΑΡΙΑΙ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΕΓΑΛΟΠΟΛΗ
Η πόλη των Μακαριών ανήκε στους Παρρασίους, που η χώρα τους εκτεινόταν στα δυτικά της Μεγαλόπολης (Παυσ. 8,27,4).
ΜΕΣΣΗΝΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΜΕΣΣΗΝΙΑ
Εκαναν τρεις πολέμους με τους Λακεδαιμονίους και διωγμένοι από αυτούς έκαναν αποικία στη Ζάγκλη της Ν. Ιταλίας.
Perseus Project Index. Total results on 20/4/2001: 514 for Messenians.
ΜΥΚΗΝΕΣ (Μυκηναϊκό ανάκτορο) ΑΡΓΟΛΙΔΑ
Εγκατέλειψαν τις Μυκήνες μετά την κατάληψή της από τους Αργείους (Παυσ. 7,25,5).
ΣΙΚΥΩΝ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΑ
Λαός Πελασγικός.
Υπήρχε θησαυρός τους στην Ολυμπία (Παυσ. 5,14,9).
ΣΠΑΡΤΗ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΛΑΚΩΝΙΑ
Ο πρώτος λαός που δωροδόκησε τον αντίπαλο.
Perseus Project Index : Lacedaemonians, Lakedaimonians, Spartans, Spartan
ΦΛΙΑΣΙΑ (Αρχαία περιοχή) ΠΕΛΟΠΟΝΝΗΣΟΣ
Ηταν Αργείοι στην καταγωγή και έγιναν δωριείς μετά την κάθοδο των Ηρακλειδών στην Πελοπόννησο. Δεν είχαν δεσμούς με τους Αρκάδες (Παυσ. 2,12,3).
Perseus Project Index. Total results on 21/5/2001: 96 for Phliasians.
Χαρακτηριστική του πλούτου και της ευημερίας που είχε παλαιότερα η πολιτεία και που δημιουργήθηκε από το μεγάλο εξαγωγικό εμπόριο λαδιού, το οποίο γινόταν από το λιμάνι της.
ΕΠΙΔΑΥΡΟΣ ΛΙΜΗΡΑ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΜΟΝΕΜΒΑΣΙΑ
Οι κάτοικοι ισχυρίζονταν ότι κατάγονταν από την Αργολίδα. Εγκαταστάθηκαν στο μέρος αυτό όταν, πλέοντας προς την Κω, είδαν συμβολικά όνειρα και θεϊκά σημάδια που τους έπεισαν ότι έπρεπε να μείνουν εκεί (Παυσ. 3,23,6-7).
ΠΑΠΠΑΔΙΑΝΙΚΑ (Κωμόπολη) ΑΣΩΠΟΣ
Περί το 1821 πολλοί κάτοικοι απεχώρησαν (από τον Ασωπό) και δημιούργησαν το χωριό Παπαδιάνικα, που ονομάστηκε έτσι από την πολυπληθή οικογένεια Παπαδάκη.
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