Asopos

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Asopus (Greek Ασωπός ( m. sg. ) ) Is a village in Laconia in the Peloponnese. By 2010 Asopus formed a separate parish. It was formed in late 1996 in the wake of the Greek community reform of the rural communities Papadianika, Asopus and Finiki, 1997, the country was incorporated municipality Demonia. With the administrative reform in 2010 Asopus was incorporated into Monemvasia, where it has since formed one of five municipal districts.

Location

Asopus is located on the eastern coast of the Laconian gulf between the communities Molai and Vies on the Laconian peninsula, the eastern of the three into the Ionian Sea projecting "fingers" of the Peloponnese. Eastern neighboring town Monemvasia. The northern municipality has at the level of Molai share, to the south and east the terrain is mountainous and rises to 520 meters above sea level ( Chavalas ) to. The coast is the Xyli peninsula in front, enclosing a natural harbor with the same named bay at Plytra. Further south is located north of Cape Archangelos a more sheltered cove. In the Middle Ages, the population has largely retreated inland from the coast, so that the larger villages now lie in the interior, Asopus, Papadianika and Finiki in the plane, Demonia in the southern hill country.

History

On the territory of the municipality were found traces of two ancient cities with the name Kyparission and Kyparissia that no longer existed already in late antiquity. Kyparission, a founding achaiischer colonists seems to be the oldest settlement in the municipality, the younger, presumably founded by residents of the Messenian Kyparissia, is mentioned in Homer, and is north of the peninsula Xyli suspected in Bozas.

The origin of the ancient city Asopus one suspects around the time of the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Dorians. Probably the town was named after a nearby river because Asopus was the name of several Greek rivers whose waters healing power was granted. The personification of these rivers as a river god Asopus was considered mythical helpers of the god Asclepius. The inclusion of Asklepios sanctuary " fifty stages " (9 km) from Asopus away in a place called Hyperteleaton whose position is suspected in a ravine south of the present Finiki, seems to support this thesis.

Pausanias mentions Asopus as one of the 18 cities of the laconic Cities of Erythrolakonier going about the extraction of purple from purple snails. From his description, the position of the coastal town Plytra results as probable position of this ancient city. Undersea ruins of a beach town of Kokkines south of Plytra have fueled speculation that the city was in a severe earthquake sunk 375 AD.

The city must still have been quite important in Roman times and still have existed even in the Byzantine period as a bishop 's seat. At the time of the Peloponnese in 1461 conquered by the Ottoman Empire, Asopus was already an insignificant village.

Obviously, the inhabitants of this village moved into the early modern period because of the frequent pirate raids on the coast further inland and founded back off the coast of a new village, which was initially the name Kalyvia (Greek Καλύβια ). After the conquest of Crete by the Ottomans Cretan refugees settled in the municipality and named the village after the Cretan city Viannos Kondevianika (Greek Κοντεβιάνικα ). 1910 took the place of the ancient name Asopus.

The name of the village Finiki to go back to a trading post of the Phoenicians (Greek Φοίνικες, Finikes ) from the ninth century BC. Until the conquest by the Ottomans, the inhabitants lived in the settlement Krisa and withdrew only after the settlement of the coast by the Turks in the village higher up back.

Demonia originated during the Ottoman period by settlers from various places and destroyed from the island of Kythira. Papadianika was founded during the Greek - Turkish war in 1821 by Cretans and named after the family Papadakis, whose members dominated the village.

Even under the old name Kondevianika ( Κοντεβιάνικα ) the place in 1912 as a rural community ( kinotita ) was recognized and in 1940 officially renamed Asopus. 1996 Finiki and Papadianika incorporated and raised Asopus to township ( dimos ), Demonia was incorporated in 1997.

Economy and infrastructure

The residents of the community traditionally live off the land. In particular, the cultivation of olive trees for table olives and production of olive oil and citrus plantations characterize the image. Other agricultural products of the community are tomatoes, melons, vegetables and grapes are processed into wine in private for personal use. The livestock industry is represented mainly by the goats. In addition, the fishery will be investigated.

The second major economic factor, tourism has been established. Although the municipality has no outstanding attractions that draw many beautiful beaches in the summer bathing tourists to the community. The coastal towns Plytra and Archangelos are equipped with several hotels and holiday apartments and have the appropriate tourist infrastructure. In the natural ports of the two places consist mooring facilities for yachts. Also plays a role in the Agro tourism.

Community structure

The rural communities were independent until 1996 with the incorporation in Asopus to municipal districts; since 2011 they form villages with local representatives in the municipality Asopus. The inhabitants numbers in parentheses are taken from the results of the census of 2011.

• Local community Papadianika Papadianika ( Παπαδιάνικα, 1657 )
• Karavostasi ( Καραβοστάσι, 38)
• Plytra ( Πλύτρα, 211)

• Asopus ( 1023 )
• Glyfada ( Γλυφάδα, 8)

• Demonia ( Δαιμονία, 346)
• Archangelos ( Αρχάγγελος, 33)
• Paralia ( Παραλία, 85)

• Finiki ( Φοινίκι, 416)
• Krisa ( Κρισά, 23)