Monuments of Methana

Several ruins of ancient fortifications and settlements are still visible in the peninsula. In the town of Methana, on the island-peninsula of Agii Anargyri, the ruins of an impressive wall of the classical and archaic era are visible. Under the church of Agii Anargyri there are the remnants of the cyclopean walls of the 6th c. BC. In 1990, near the town of Methana, the archaeologists discovered a prehistoric settlement of the Mycenaean Era (14th to 13th c. BC) and the remains of a building, believed to have been a place of worship of a prehistoric deity - possibly of Poseidon.

In the Throni plateau one can see a well-preserved tower of the 4th c. BC and the ruins of an oil mill of the 3rd c. BC.

On a low hill, east of Kypseli, the ruins of a large Mycenaean citadel, called Ogas Castle, are well preserved. On the hill of Paleokastro, near Vathy, the ruins of the acropolis of ancient Arsinoe, built during the 4th to 3rd c. BC with volcanic rocks, are quite well preserved.

Finally, in the narrow isthmus connecting Methana with the Peloponnese, a fortress have been built in 1826 by the French officer Charles Nicolas Fabvier. The castle was built on the ruins of an ancient fortification of the 5th c. BC. It is worth noting that several remnants of ancient olive mills have been found on the peninsula.

Text and photos: T. Adamakopoulos