Kardamyli (Greek: Καρδαμύλη, variously transliterated as Kardamyle, Cardamyle, Kardhamili, and Kardamili, and sometimes called "Skardamoula", especially on old maps) is a town by the sea thirty-five kilometers southeast of Kalamata, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of West Mani in the regional unit of Messenia on the Mani Peninsula.[2]
In the Iliad (Book 9[3]), Homer cites Kardamyli as one of the seven cities offered by Agamemnon to Achilles as a condition to rejoin the fight during the Trojan War. The village preserves its ancient name.
The area is filled with beaches: Ritsa, Belogianni, Salio, Tikla, Amoni, Santava. The older town includes a mediaeval castle and outworks, and the imposing church of Saint Spyridon. Many of the buildings of Old Kardamyli, also known as Pano Kardamyli, or "Upper Kardamyli" were built by the Venetians and feature a mix of traditional Greek and Venetian design. The skyline of Kardamyli, like many other Maniot towns and villages, is dominated by the distinctive regional architectural of the various towers built by scions of the Nikliani clans, the mediaeval aristocracy of the Mani.
Kardamyli is the departure point of many mountain trails, some of which lead to the peak of Mount Taygetus. Kardamyli is known in the area for having an especially good view of Mount Taygetus, known locally as Profitis Ilias, literally translating to "Prophet Elias". Nearby is the Viros Gorge, with a total length of 20 km. The Viros Gorge remains bone dry in summer, however it is known to flood heavily in winter, when snow melts on the mountains and rain falls in heavy downpours. Further afield, one may visit Oitylo, Areopoli and the Diros caverns.
The village of Kalamitsi, just outside Kardamyli was, in his later years, the principal home of Patrick Leigh Fermor and his wife Joan. Patrick was an English writer who was made an honorary citizen of the village for his participation in the Greek Resistance during World War II, especially in Crete. He died in hospital in 2011 the day after returning to his other home in Dumbleton in England.
The ashes of the writer Bruce Chatwin were scattered near a Byzantine chapel above the village in 1989.
^"Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
^"ΦΕΚ B 1292/2010, Kallikratis reform municipalities" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
^The Iliad by Homer Book IX. Ἑπτὰ δέ οί δώσω εύναιόμενα πτολίεθρα, Καρδαμύλην, Ένόπην τε καὶ Ίρήν ποιήεσσαν, And will give him seven well established cities, Cardamyle, Enope, and Hire, where there is grass; (translation by Samuel Butler).
Kardamyli (Greek: Καρδαμύλη, variously transliterated as Kardamyle, Cardamyle, Kardhamili, and Kardamili, and sometimes called "Skardamoula", especially...
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) Honorary Citizen of Heraklion, of Kardamyli and of Gytheio In 1950 Leigh Fermor published his first book, The Traveller's...
during the summer are Kalogria and the beaches by Stoupa harbor, while Kardamyli and Agios Nikolaos have good pebble and sand beaches, too. The ancient...
been involved in shipping since the 18th century. They originated from Kardamyli in Mani as the 'Lemaki' family. During this period Turkish soldiers had...
snowmelt down the mountain, emptying into the Messenian Gulf in the town of Kardamyli. Taygetus overlooks the cities of Sparta and Kalamata, whose skyline it...
place entirely on the Peloponnese coast in Southern Greece, including the Kardamyli home once owned by author Patrick Leigh Fermor. Like its predecessors...
adaptation of the original series filmed in the Ionian Seaside town of Kardamyli, was aired in November 2011 on Mega Channel with Yannis Bezos as Markos...
was lost by Sparta after Epaminondas's foundation of Messene in 369. Kardamyli: It was lost by Sparta in 338 after Philip II's campaign in the Peloponnese...
Giannis Poulopoulos Γιάννης Πουλόπουλος Born (1941-06-27)27 June 1941 Kardamyli, Mani Peninsula, Greece Died 23 August 2020(2020-08-23) (aged 79) Haidari...
foot of Profitis Ilias (the highest mountain of the Taygetus range) to Kardamyli. In Summer it remains bone dry, however in winter it is known to flood...
Ottakar’s bookshop chain, the Chalke Valley History Festival and the Kardamyli Festival in the Greek Peloponnese. Educated at Worth School, Heneage joined...
Its population is 4,699 (2011). The seat of the municipality was in Kardamyli. The village Lefktro is located above the larger village of Stoupa. Also...
the beach approach. Stoupa is just 7 km away from the historic area of Kardamyli, which is mentioned in work by Homer. Furthermore, situated atop Stoupa's...
house designed and built by Patrick in an olive grove on a cliff top at Kardamyli, on the Mani Peninsula, the central peninsula of the three which extend...
Âmire). On July 28, 1823, the first customs law was issued. The customs of Kardamyli and Limeni are mentioned as the first customs that operated. On April...
regional unit, Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Kardamyli. The municipality has an area of 402.809 km2. It comprises the northwestern...
town a temenos of the Nereids. Its site is located northeast the modern Kardamyli, at the distance of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) from the sea, where there...
snowmelt down the mountain, emptying into the Messenian Gulf in the town of Kardamyli. The Parnon Massif is divided into three parts. The northernmost, which...
voyages.’ Chatwin's ashes were scattered near a Byzantine chapel above Kardamyli in the Peloponnese. This was close to the home of one of his mentors,...
(autonomous under Roman sovereignty) Sparta, the most notable being Asine and Kardamyli. Mani became a center for purple dye, which was popular in Rome, as well...
William Stanley Moss in Crete during the occupation, photographs taken at Kardamyli, and photographs concerning particular works like those used to illustrate...
and the Resistance Benaki Museum acquisition of Leigh Fermor's home in Kardamyli, Mani, Greece Kiriakopoulos, G. 1995. The Nazi Occupation of Crete 1941–1945...
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