Maniots information

Maniots
Μανιάτες
	Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis, Greek revolutionary of Maniot origin.
Total population
	Unknown
Regions with significant populations
	Greece, Australia, Canada, United States
Languages
	Modern Greek (Standard and Maniot Greek)
Religion
	Until c. 10th century: Ancient Greek religion; from c. 10th century to present: Greek Orthodox Christianity
Related ethnic groups
	Tsakonians, Sfakians, Sarakatsani

The Maniots or Maniates (Greek: Μανιάτες) are an ethnic Greek subgroup that traditionally inhabit the Mani Peninsula; located in western Laconia and eastern Messenia, in the southern Peloponnese, Greece. They were also formerly known as Mainotes, and the peninsula as Maina.

The Maniots claim to be the descendants of the ancient Spartans and they have often been described as such.^[1]^[2] The terrain is mountainous and inaccessible (until recently many Mani villages could be accessed only by sea), and the regional name "Mani" is thought to have meant originally "dry" or "barren". The name "Maniot" is a derivative meaning "of Mani". In the early modern period, Maniots had a reputation as fierce and proudly independent warriors, who practiced piracy and fierce blood feuds. For the most part, the Maniots lived in fortified villages (and "house-towers") where they defended their lands against the armies of William II Villehardouin and later against those of the Ottoman Empire.

^ The Bureau: Or Repository of Literature, Politics, and Intelligence. S.C. Carpenter. 1812. p. 36. In this work, the author, giving an account of the conquest made in Greece by the Russians, and of the gallant defence made by the Maniotes (the descendants of the ancient Spartans) against the Turks, describes their invincible spirit with the eloquence of a Demosthenes or a Burke.
^ Harris, W. V.; Harris, William Vernon (2005). Rethinking the Mediterranean. Oxford University Press. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-19-926545-9. Above all, the Maniots, who are said to be the true heirs of the Spartans and 'have always preserved their liberty' (Pococke, 1743, i. 178) serve as an illustration of this continuity. According to Lord Sandwich (1799, 31), '[these] descendants of the ancient Lacedemonians...still preserve their love for liberty so great a degree, as never to have debased themselves under the yoke of the Turkish empire'.

[1] The Bureau: Or Repository of Literature, Politics, and Intelligence. S.C. Carpenter. 1812. p. 36. In this work, the author, giving an account of the conquest made in Greece by the Russians, and of the gallant defence made by the Maniotes (the descendants of the ancient Spartans) against the Turks, describes their invincible spirit with the eloquence of a Demosthenes or a Burke.

[2] Harris, W. V.; Harris, William Vernon (2005). Rethinking the Mediterranean. Oxford University Press. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-19-926545-9. Above all, the Maniots, who are said to be the true heirs of the Spartans and 'have always preserved their liberty' (Pococke, 1743, i. 178) serve as an illustration of this continuity. According to Lord Sandwich (1799, 31), '[these] descendants of the ancient Lacedemonians...still preserve their love for liberty so great a degree, as never to have debased themselves under the yoke of the Turkish empire'.

Maniots information

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