Ermioni

 

Ermioni is located on the southeast coast of Argolida, 85 km southeast of Nafplio, at an altitude of 5 meters. It belongs to the Province of Ermionida, as the name suggests. It is a coastal town with 2,505 inhabitants and is the seat of the homonymous Municipality, to which the D.D. Heliokastro and Thermisia. Ermioni belongs to the D.D. Ermioni, as well as the monastery of Agioi Anargyroi and the settlements of Achladitsa (Dardiza), Kouverta and Podari. Its economy is based on tourism mainly due to its island color, but on agricultural crops and fishing. The area of ​​Mandrakia has been recognized as a traditional settlement.

 

History

Ancient period
Ermioni was founded by Dryopes who were displaced from central Greece, after the descent of the first Greek tribes. Apart from Ermioni, the Dryopes founded the southern cities of Argolis and the cities of Masis, Iones and Asini. Hermione, as Homer mentions in the list of the Young, participated in the Trojan campaign with the army of Argos.

After the descent of the Dorians, the area of ​​Argolida was dominated by the Dorians who, with Argos as their center, gradually expanded throughout Argolida and occupied the city of Ermioni. According to Pausanias, the Argives ruled in Ermioni without war. At that time, many old inhabitants, Dryopes, took refuge and settled in the city of Alies, which was the port of Hermione. In the following years, Hermione was under the sphere of influence of Argos but maintained some autonomy. The city controlled an area that corresponded to the current province of Ermionida. It had two ports, Masitas and Fishermen.

In the middle of the 7th century the Argives were defeated by the Spartans and the power of the Argos weakened. Hermione got rid of the rule of Argos and became an ally of Sparta. During this period it seems that the Amfiktionia of Kalavria was founded, of which Ermioni was a member along with seven other cities. In the Persian wars he contributed to the Greek fleet with three ships in the naval battle of Salamis and with three hundred hoplites in the battle of Plataea. Hermione suffered great damage during the Peloponnesian War from Sparta's rivals Athenians and Argives, as she remained an ally of Sparta. In the following years it became part of the Achaean Confederation, until the Roman conquest in 146 BC.

Roman and Byzantine period
At the beginning of the Roman period, Hermione received pirate raids from which she suffered great damage. After the extermination of the pirates of the Mediterranean by Pompey, the city flourished again. During the 2nd and 3rd century it was a developed city, as evidenced by the archaeological findings of the period, the description of Pausanias who visited it and mentions a remarkable city and the coins minted by the city during this period.

It is not known when Christianity spread in the area. The oldest ruins of a Christian church date back to the 5th century AD. Hermione belonged at that time to the metropolis of Corinth. During the last centuries of Byzantium the region declined. The period of Frankish rule begins in the region in 1210 when Geoffrey Villehardouin conquered Acrocorinth and then Argolis. The area was initially ceded to the Duke of Athens Otto de la Ross. In the 14th century it passed to the de Brienne family and then to the D'Egien family, when in 1388 it was ceded to Venice. During this period, settlements of Arvanites in the area of ​​Ermionida took place. Towards the end of the Byzantine period, Hermione began to be found under the name Kastri, probably from the ancient fortification that was still preserved. This name was retained until the first years of liberation.

Modern Times
The Venetians ruled the area of ​​Ermionida from the castle of Thermisia. In 1460 they lost Argos which was occupied by the Ottomans of Mahmut Pasha, but they kept Nafplio and the southern Argolis and kept control of the area until the third Venetian-Turkish war. In this war Venice was defeated and the area of ​​Nafplio came under Ottoman control (1540). The first Ottoman period was a period of decline for the region of Hermione. In 1669 the Venetians with their victory in the sixth Venetian-Turkish war gained control of the entire Peloponnese which they maintained for about forty years, until the next Venetian-Turkish war (1714). During the last period of Ottoman rule (1714-1821) Ermioni experienced growth and shortly before the revolution of 1821 its population reached about 2,000 inhabitants. Hermione took part in the Revolution of 1821 and many Hermionites strengthened the revolutionary forces formed in the area led by Arsenios Crestas from Kranidi. Important fighters from Ermioni were the brothers Giannis and Stamatis Mitsas who participated in many battles in the Peloponnese and Attica. In 1827, the Third National Assembly began its work in Ermioni, which ended in Troizina.

 

People

Ancient times
The ancient musician and poet Lasos, who lived in the 6th century BC, came from Ermioni.
Kikeidis or Kididis flourished in an unknown time. For Aristotle he is one of the good poets while reference to his face is also made by the comedian Kratinos.
The guitarist Epiklis, had a great reputation in Athens and was invited by the then young and infamous Themistocles to teach him, as reported by Plutarch.
Kydias Hermioneus was a guitarist and poet. He held a prominent position among the composers, based on reports by Plato.