This Is Sparta ! A Private Tour From Athens !

It had been an inspiration for almost 2500 years ! The man who first had the idea was Periandros the tyrant from Corinth. He found it difficult on the way but he came up to another interesting idea . The name of it was diolkos. For those who had money and didn’t want to sail around Peloponnese peninsula. Finally after several people trying to succeed in this huge achievement, the canal was constructed in 1893.

In antiquity the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (Λακεδαίμων, Lakedaímōn), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece. Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the leading force of the unified Greek military during the Greco-Persian Wars. Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, which configured their entire society to maximize military proficiency at all costs, and completely focused on military training and excellence. The remaining archaeological wealth consisted of inscriptions, sculptures, and other objects collected in the local museum, founded by Stamatakis in 1872 and enlarged in 1907. Modern Sparti was re-founded in 1834, by a decree of King Otto.

Mystras occupies a steep foothill on the northern slopes of Mt. Taygetos, 6km. NW of Sparta. The castle on the top of the hill was founded in 1249 by the Frankish leader William II de Villeharduin. It was one of the first castles of Greece to be liberated in 1821. The foundation of modern Sparta by king Otto in 1834 marked the end of the old town’s life.