Gythio
Laconia's harbour town and the largest town in Mani outer Mani
Gytheio sits at the head of the Laconian Gulf on the east coast of Mani, about 40 km south of Sparta and roughly 26 km from Areopoli. It is the seat of the municipality of East Mani and the largest town on the peninsula, with 4,542 residents at the 2021 census. The town rises in tiers above its harbour, with neoclassical houses and fish tavernas along the waterfront.
In antiquity it was Sparta's port and its shipyard during the Peloponnesian War; later it joined the League of Free Laconians and prospered under Rome, which left the Roman theatre near the acropolis. The town declined after the 4th century and revived in the 19th; the modern port opened in the 1960s.
The islet of Kranai, joined to the shore by a causeway, holds the Tzannetakis tower (now the Historical and Ethnological Museum of Mani) and a marble lighthouse; legend links it to Paris and Helen. Nearby are Passavas castle, Mavrovouni beach and Valtaki beach with the "Dimitrios" shipwreck. Ferries sail from Gytheio to Kythira and Crete.
In antiquity it was Sparta's port and its shipyard during the Peloponnesian War; later it joined the League of Free Laconians and prospered under Rome, which left the Roman theatre near the acropolis. The town declined after the 4th century and revived in the 19th; the modern port opened in the 1960s.
The islet of Kranai, joined to the shore by a causeway, holds the Tzannetakis tower (now the Historical and Ethnological Museum of Mani) and a marble lighthouse; legend links it to Paris and Helen. Nearby are Passavas castle, Mavrovouni beach and Valtaki beach with the "Dimitrios" shipwreck. Ferries sail from Gytheio to Kythira and Crete.