• Μythology
• A glance at history
• Foreign travellers in Kalamata
• Prominent citizens of Kalamata
• Town planning-Architecture

According to legend, Pharis was the founder of the ancient city of Pharai. He was the son of Hermes and Phylodameia. Pharis’ daughter was Telegone, who married Alpheius and gave birth to Ortilochos, whom Homer described in the Iliad as a “king of many men”.

At the palace of Ortilochos in Pharai, the renowned archer from Messinian Oechalia, Iphitos, met the young Odysseas in order to settle their differences with an exchange of gifts. The hostility between them had arisen when the Messinians stole 300 sheep along with their shepherds from Ithaca (Odyssey). At that reconciliation, which had been arranged by Ortilochos, Iphitos gave Odysseas a famous bow that had belonged to his father, Eurytos, while Odysseas gave him a sword and spear in return. It was with the bow he received from Iphitos that Odysseas later killed Penelope’s suitors.

Diokles, the ruler of Pharai and eastern Messine, was the son of Ortilochos, while Nestor ruled western Messinia. According to Homer, Pharai was one of the seven cities Agamemnon offered to Achilles to assuage his anger.

[ read the chapter » ]

The oldest traces of human habitation in the area around Kalamata date from the Proto-Helladic period (2600-2300 BC) and have been found at Akovitika, 2-3 kilometres northwest of Kalamata. Traces of ancient settlements have also been found at the hill of Tourla.

Ancient Pharai was built later and was an important center during the Late Helladic (Mycenaean) age (1580-1120 BC.). The invasion of the Dorians (1100 BC) led to the decline of Pharai in favor of Dorian Thuria (Ellinika), northwest of Pharai.

Pharai’s advantageous position as a way-station between Pylos and Sparta and the fertile soil of the Messinian plain were the reasons for the four Messinian Wars that took place between 743 and 459 BC. The victors in these wars were the Spartans, although they sustained heavy losses. The region was therefore dependent on (and settled by colonists from) Sparta, particularly between the Second Messinian War (640-620 BC) and the liberation of Messinia and the foundation of Messine (369 BC) by the Theban general Epaminondas.

Nevertheless, it continued to be administered by Laconians, therefore it repeatedly changed hands according to which side [ read the chapter » ]

The first written reference to Kalamata was by the Turkish traveler Elviya Celebi, who visited the town in 1667. Apart from a description of the town itself, he praises its famous silk products, among other things.

The first Venetian occupation of Kalamata lasted from 1685 to 1715. The Venetian historians Coronelli, Rossi, Garzoni and Locatelli mainly refer to the battle with the Ottoman army and the seizure of the city on September 14, 1685. A few years earlier, in 1675, the British traveler Bernard Randolph, had visited Kalamata and wrote that it was at the “head of the gulf of Koroni, about a mile from the sea. The castle is small. The perimeter [ read the chapter » ]

Panayiotis Benakis (late 17th century-1771)
One of Kalamata’s elders, he was among the main protagonists in the Orloff revolt. Active in trade, he acquired large landholdings both in the town and its surrounding countryside. Apart from his commercial activities, he was a prominent figure in Kalamata’s social and political life. After the failure of the revolt, Benakis escaped on a Russian ship for Italy, where he died a year later.

Prokopios Pelekasis (? -1812)
Patriarch of Constantinople from 1785-1789, Pelekasis was born and died in Alagonia, Messinia. During Prokopios’ term as patriarch, he worked zealously to organize the patriarchate’s finances and to boost the morale of subjugated Greeks.

Nikitaras (Nikitas Stamatelopoulos, 1782-1849)
A chieftain [ read the chapter » ]

TOWN PLANNING – ARCHITECTURE
Despite being a seaside city, Kalamata’s development runs north-to-south rather that along the coastline. Trade and industry growth in the 19^th century and early 20th century bridged the gap between the castle and coast, which led to the city’s long and narrow shape of today. These factors, combined with influences from western Europe and Athens also determined the city’s architectural style.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Up until the early 19th century, the heart of Kalamata lay in and around the castle. Orchards with mulberry trees, fig trees, melon fields and swamps stretched from the castle to the coast, a half-hour distance. The Analipsi, or Palia Duana, neighborhood, comprising shops and tanneries, had been established in the pre-revolution years. The first organized urban settlement around the castle has been dated between 1830 and 1860. The Ypapanti region stood as the nucleus and the Benaki family was the main player. There was gradual southward development beyond March 23 Square. A new seaside neighborhood, named Neai Kalamai, was established to the east in 1860. It was later developed [ read the chapter » ]