East Mani ( - "Anatolikí Máni") is a municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Its seat of administration is the town Gytheio (before 2011 the small town Kotronas). It is a mountainous and rocky area whose economy relies on fishing, olive oil and tourism.
Geography.
East Mani comprises the southeastern part of the geographic and historical region of the Mani Peninsula, also known as Laconian Mani () or Inner Mani (), in juxtaposition with the northeastern part of Mani (Messenian or Outer Mani), which is covered by the municipality of West Mani.
The Mani Peninsula is separated into two parts based on the ridge line of the Taygetos Mountain Range : the Aposkiaderi (shady) Mani and the Prodiliaki (sunny) Mani. Aposkiaderi Mani is the area to the west of the range, making it the municipality of West Mani. Prodiliaki (sunny) Mani, encompasses the villages to the east of the mountain range, which make up the East Mani municipality.
The landscape of East Mani is dry, bare, and rocky. According to the Greek Soil Institute, the terrain has very low agricultural potential and very high risk of desertification, forcing farmers and inhabitants to utilize rainfall.
Because of the distance between the Mani Peninsula and the more populated areas of Greece, the coastline and landscape of East Mani differs from other parts of Greece, giving rise to a “frontier” culture. It is dominated by cliffs and coves, which gave way to many pirates dating from the Ottoman rule in the 1700’s to the 1870’s. The coves allowed them to lead attacks on passing cargo ships, where frequent raids led locals to primarily live in higher elevated areas. The port of Gytheio, the largest port of East Mani, was opened in the 1960’s and allows for heavy trade and maritime activities such as fishing, trading, docking, and giving access to food resources to the current day.
Beginning August 7, 2021, wildfires began to ravage many parts of East Mani, transforming some aspects of the landscape. In East Mani, the fires burned 105 km2. From Ancient Olympia, Diavolitsi, and East Mani combined, the total surface area of burnt land reached 290 km squared. East Mani received the most damage from the wildfires, with the slopes of burnt area in Mani being 35%.
History.
The town of Kotronas was founded in around 1500 BC. It emerged to become a major port. Kotronas was named by Homer. Part of the Mycenaean navy that sent out to Troy was stationed there. When the Dorians took over Mani, Laconia and parts of Messenia, Kotronas' role as a major port was replaced by Gytheio. In the Roman period, Teuthrone, the ancient name of Kotronas, was a member of the Koinon of Free Laconians. Kotronas suffered greatly from pirate raids.
The Ottomans invaded East Mani and the Peloponnesus region of Greece multiple times in the early 1800’s, heavily influencing the society and organizational aspects throughout the region. The origins of the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829) were in Mani, as the people began uprisings to combat the infiltration by the Ottomans. However, after the Ottomans left, there remained the structure of a social organization system. The Ottomans chose certain leaders to give power to, called the Kapetanios. When the Ottomans were forced out because of the revolts, the Kapetanios remained authority figures and East Mani became organized based on a social hierarchy.
After the Greek War of Independence, Mani was able to rebuild, but it suffered economically from the worldwide depression in the 1920s. Following the depression, German and Italian occupation during and after World War II impacted the spread of ideas and innovations from the rest of the world to the isolated region of East Mani.Throughout history, Mani has been a heavily militarized society because of continuous domination by a more powerful group, beginning with the Ottoman invasion in 1770, contributing to violence, especially during World War II during the militarization of the Maniat society by The Axis powers.
Culture.
The East Mani culture is centered around a closed way of life, with societies formed based on a clan or patronymic group, reliant on manhood and patriarchal values. This way of life stemmed from being geographically distanced from the more populated regions of Greece, while also being influenced by invaders and European culture, persisting throughout the 1940s. This culture places emphasis on familial respect and power structure based on age within families. Historically, the main influence on Maniat tradition derived from clans, where the more powerful clans called megalogenites or soilides were able to build towers, rule the better soil, and inhabitat otherwise barren area. They invoked their rule on the smaller or weaker clans called ahamnoteroi.
Many activities in Mani center around tourism because of its natural beauty. Cliffs, blue waters, famous historical sites such as the shipwreck of Dimitri’s on a beach called Selinitsa, Mavrovouni and Skoutari beaches, the lighthouse of Gythio on Kranae islet, and the Dior’s caves. The theatre of Gythio and many churches additionally hold many cultural events such as festivals during the summer.
Municipality.
The municipality East Mani was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 4 former municipalities, that became municipal units:
The municipality has an area of 619.277 km2, the municipal unit 108.879 km2.
Population.
The population development of the municipal unit and the larger municipality East Mani are listed below.
References.
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