Definition
The Peloponnese is a large peninsula linked to the northern territory of Greece by the Isthmus of Corinth. To the west of the Peloponnese is the Ionian sea while to the east is the Aegean Sea. The terrain is typified by high limestone mountains, narrow coastal plains, and natural rocky harbours. The area contained several cities important in antiquity such as Mycenae, Argos, Megalopolis, Sparta, Ellis, Messene, and Corinth. The region also contains the important ancient religious sites of Olympia, Epidaurus, Isthmia, and Nemea which regularly hosted Pan-Hellenic sporting games, notably the Olympic Games.
The Bronze Age
Inhabited since prehistoric times, the name Peloponnese (in Greek Peloponessos, a term first used in the Archaic period) means 'island of Pelops' and derives from the mythical king Pelops who was thought to have unified the region. The coastal plains were exploited for agricultural production which allowed the growth of major Bronze Age settlements such as Mycenae, Argos, and Tiryns on the plain of Argos, Sparta on the Laconian plain, and Messene in the southwest. The Mycenaean civilization is noted for its expansion throughout the Aegean, its palace and tomb architecture, its fine gold artwork, and as the origin of such famous stories as the Trojan War. The civilization collapsed sometime in the 12th century BCE perhaps due to natural disaster, over-population, internal social and political unrest, invasion from foreign tribes, or a combination of all or several of these factors.
Archaic & Classical Periods
In the Archaic and Classical period Corinth, in particular, was ideally located to control lucrative land and sea trade routes connecting Greece with the wider Mediterranean. Many of the cities of the Peloponnese fought in the Persian Wars of the early 5th century BCE and some formed a loose alliance for the purposes of military action known as the Peloponnesian League (c. 505 BCE - 365 BCE). The Greeks actually referred to this alliance as 'the Lacedaemonians and their allies' after their lead city-state Sparta. Relations were not always peaceful between the members but they did effectively combine for major conflicts, notably in the Peloponnesian War of 431-404 BCE against Athens and its allies.
Ever the regional trouble-maker, Corinth formed an alliance with Argos, Boeotia, Thebes, and Athens to fight Sparta in the Corinthian Wars of 395-386 BCE. The conflict was largely fought at sea and was lost by the Corinthians. Sparta would, in turn, lose regional dominance in their disastrous defeat to Thebes at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE. Even worse for the region, in 338 BCE Philip of Macedonia defeated the Greek allied forces of Athens, Thebes and Corinth in the Battle of Chaironeia. There then followed an unstable period when the region was governed by a succession of Hellenistic kings.
Hellenistic & Roman Periods
The Achaean League (also known as the Achaean Confederacy) was a federation of 12 states in the north-east of the Peloponnese, which originally formed in the 5th century BCE. Initially allies of Athens, the League came under Spartan control. In the 3rd century BCE the League expanded its territorial control, even subduing Sparta, and by the end of the century became an ally of Macedon. In the 2nd century BCE the Achaeans stood against Macedonia and signed a treaty of alliance with Rome.
In the mid-2nd century BCE Rome, tired of the region’s internal disputes and provocations, destroyed Corinth (146 BCE) and the Peloponnese became, along with northern Greece, the Roman province of Achaea. Patrae (modern Patras), which could control trade routes via the western entrance to the Corinthian Gulf, became an important Roman colonia. Gythium and Methone were other important cities in this period as they were conveniently located along east-west sea-routes.
Corinth regained some of its former status when Julius Caesar founded his colony at the site in 44 BCE. The city became an important administrative and trade centre, and, following St. Paul’s visit between 51 and 52 CE, Corinth became the centre of early Christianity in Greece. Corinth, and the Peloponnese in general, fell into decline when the Germanic Heruli and Alaric tribes attacked the region in 267 CE and 396 CE.
About the Author
Bibliography
- Bagnall, R.S. et al, The Encyclopedia of Ancient History (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012)
- Hornblower, S., The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 2012).
- Kinzl (ed) et al, A Companion to the Classical Greek World (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010).
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Timeline
Visual Timeline-
6000 BCE - 5000 BCEFirst inhabitation of the Nemean valley.
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c. 3000 BCEFirst settlement at Tiryns.
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3000 BCE - 2000 BCEFirst inhabitation of Mycenae area.
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c. 2100 BCEFirst evidence of building structures at Mycenae.
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2000 BCEEarly Greeks settle the Peloponnese.
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c. 1600 BCEFirst construction stages of the Tiryns citadel.
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c. 1500 BCE - 1200 BCEMycenae at its peak of influence.
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c. 1450 BCELinear B script developed at Mycenae.
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1400 BCE - 1300 BCEMycenaean palace architecture at Tiryns.
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1400 BCE - 1300 BCEMycenaean fortifications, palaces and tombs constructed at Argos.
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1400 BCE - 1100 BCECulture in the Cyclades is increasingly influenced by the Mycenaean civilization of mainland Greece.
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c. 1300 BCEFirst palace destroyed at Mycenae and repaired, Lion Gate added and fortifications extended.
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1300 BCE - 1200 BCEMycenaean Tiryns is at the height of its importance.
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c. 1200 BCEEarthquake severely damages Tiryns.
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c. 900 BCESparta is founded.
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c. 700 BCECorinthians adopt the trireme from the Phoenicians.
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700 BCE - 600 BCEKing Phiedon leads Argos to its greatest expansion.
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c. 657 BCE - 585 BCEThe Kypselidai are tyrants of Corinth.
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c. 650 BCESparta crushes Messenian revolt.
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627 BCE - 587 BCEPeriander is tyrant at Corinth.
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c. 625 BCEBlack-figure pottery created in Corinth.
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585 BCEAn oligarchy of 80 takes power at Corinth.
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580 BCEFirst athletic games at Isthmia.
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c. 580 BCEThe kouroi of Argos thought to represent Cleobis & Biton are sculpted.
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c. 505 BCE - 365 BCEPeloponnesian League alliance between Sparta, Corinth, Elis and Tegea which establishes Spartan hegemony over the Peloponnese.
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494 BCE - 493 BCETelesilla of Argos defends her city against the Spartan forces with an army of women.
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c. 468 BCETiryns is destroyed by the Argeians.
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468 BCEArgeians destroy citadel of Mycenae.
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460 BCE - 445 BCEFirst Peloponnesian War.
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431 BCE - 404 BCEThe 2nd Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League) which involved all of Greece.
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431 BCE - 404 BCE
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424 BCESpartan general Brasidas takes Amphipolis, Thucydides failed to prevent this and is exiled.
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424 BCEA force of Athenian peltasts defeat Spartan hoplites on Sphaktria in the Peloponnese.
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415 BCE - 330 BCENemean Games relocated to Argos.
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410 BCEAlcibiades leads the Athenian fleet to victory over Sparta at Cyzicus.
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404 BCEEnd of the Peloponnesian war, Athens defeated By Sparta at Aigospotamoi, Rule of the Thirty Tyrants in Athens.
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395 BCE - 386 BCE
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390 BCEAthenian leader Iphikrates employs peltasts to defeat Spartan hoplites at Lechaion near Corinth.
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379 BCE - 376 BCESparta establishes a garrison at Thebes.
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c. 330 BCE - c. 300 BCEExtensive building programme at Nemea funded by the Macedonians.
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269 BCENemean Games definitively moved to Argos.
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243 BCECorinth joins the Archaean League.
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225 BCEMacedonians bring an army across the Isthmus to face another Achaian force trying to take Corinth.
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146 BCE
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44 BCE
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c. 150 CEPausanias visits the abandoned site of Nemea.
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393 CERoman Emperor Theodosius definitively ends all pagan Games in Greece.
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