Gythio, Greece

Gythio

Gythio is a small coastal town on the Gulf of Laconia known as Cranae in antiquity, the port of Sparta. This was the first refuge of lovers Paris and Helen; they eloped here over the Taygetos Mountains from her home in Sparta and set off by ship to Troy. Today, Gythio is the capital of the Mani, the isolated southern fringe of the Peloponnese named after Maina Castle, built by William de Villehardouin in the 13th century, the same gentlemen who gave us the castles at Monembassia and Mystra.

Gythio is noteworthy only as a driving point between Sparta and Monembassia or Areopolis. Tall old houses along the seafront of Gythio overlook a lighthouse on the tiny island of Marathonissi, now connected by a roadway to the mainland. Several faded tavernas , rooms to let, and tourist-worn shops line the seafront to Perivolaki Square, all catering to those who await the ferries to Kythira or Crete. However, Gythio is the octopus capital of Greece, and most seaside cafes serve this tasty denizen of the Gulf of Gythio..

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