Vatheia ( ; also Vathia) is a southern Greek village on the Mani Peninsula in south-eastern Laconia near the town of Oitylo. It is largely abandoned. Vatheia is known for its hillside tower-houses which overlook the surrounding landscape. North-east of the village is the Sangias range.
Vatheia is linked by road to Areopoli and Kalamata to its north and Cape Matapan (also known as Tenaro and Tenairon) to the south. Farmland and maquis shrubland cover the hillsides. On the hills and mountainsides around Vatheia proper are clusters of abandoned houses, towers and chapels known as the perichora, meaning "environs".
Vatheia is a popular tourist destination, particularly in spring and summer as wildflowers cover the surrounding hills. It also offers examples of southern Maniot vernacular architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries. The nearest villages are Kyparissos, Alika and Gerolimenas to the north-west and Lagia to the north-east.
History
Vathia is first mentioned in 1571 by a Venetian diplomatic mission as casale di Vathia.C. Comis, Πληθυσμός και Οικισμοί της Μάνης 15ος-19ος αιώνας, 2nd edition, Ioannina, 2007, p. 396
In 1618 an unofficial census was conducted by an agent of Charles, Duke of Nevers named Philipe de Lange Châteaurenault in cooperation with a prominent Maniot clan leader named Pietro Medici.op.cit., p.40 The village was recorded as "vatia" with 20 hearths.op.cit., p. 585
In 1700 the Grimani census was carried out for the newly established Kingdom of the Morea.op.cit., p. 48 The Venetians recorded a total population of 212 persons distributed in 54 families.op.cit., p. 599 The reasons for this substantial population growth over the 17th century are unclear.
On 13 April 1805 William Martin Leake passed through Vatheia ("Βάθια" in his text) on the way to Cape Matapan on the coastal road. His journey was briefly interrupted by a band of local armed men. Leake's guides, being Maniots themselves, negotiated passage and informed him that Vatheia has been divided in two warring parties for the past 40 years. They estimated that about 100 men had been killed since the beginning of this clan war. Leake also wrote that Vatheia and its environs consist of three adjacent villages.William Martin Leake, Travels in the Morea: With a map and plans, Vol.I, John Murray publishing house, London, 1830, p. 294-295 Between 1750 and 1900 the main habitations—apart from the village itself—were hamlets controlled by eight Vathia clans and their allies. The four largest clans were the Karabatiani, Michalakiani, Kaledoniani, Koutrigari; these families lived in and around Vatheia proper. The other four clans occupied the hamlets.Yanis Saitas, MANI, publishing house MELISSA, Athens, 2001, p.115
Below follows a list of the clans with their constituent families:Yanis Saitas, Cemeteries and Settlements of Mani in Medieval and later periods: a 2nd contribution, Honouring the Dead in the Peloponnese, proceedings of the conference held at Sparta 23–25 April 2009, edited by Helen Cavanagh, William Cavanagh and James Roy, University of Nottingham, Centre for Peloponnesian Studies, CSPS Online Publication 2 prepared by Sam Farnham, p. 709
Michalakiani Karabatiani Kalidoniani Fidopiastes Koutrigari Athanasiani Stravokefali Michelongones Angelakos Alafakis Kalidonis Fidopiastis-Kokkinakos Koutrigaros Athanasakos Stravokefalos-Panagiotakos Michelakis Androutsakos Andreakos Karakitsakos Balinis Gerakarakos-Vasilakos Georgakakos Mitsakos Giannakakos Gligorongonas Giannoukakos-Pikrologos Kakleas-Mavroeidakos Drakoularakos Kalfakakos Exarchakos-Arfanakos Katelanos Zekakos Koutrouvis Kalapothakos Lagoudis Keramidas Laos Kleftogiannis Mageris Mitsakos-Fikardos Mingiros Xanthakos Xypolitos Patsandonis Panagakos Sbaras Syngikos-Andonakos
On 15 August 1806, representatives of many prominent Maniot clans gathered in Marathonisi to sign an oath of fealty to Andonis Grigorakis, Bey of Mani. The entry for Vatheia was as follows: "Michalakiani, Gerandoniani and Karabatiani and the environs, we abide collectively".Anonymous, Ιστορικαί Αλήθειαι Συμβάντων Τινών της Μάνης, τύποις Φ. Καραμπίνη & Κ. Βάφα, 1858, p. 45 The communal decision to swear fealty to the Bey might have signalled the end of the war mentioned by Leake a year earlier. Furthermore, this is the only known mention of the Gerandoniani clan. The local clan war that started in 1764 was the catalyst in the formation of the clans which dominated the region from the 19th century until its, nearly total, abandonment during the post-World War II years.
Like much of Mani, Vatheia has numerous megalithic remains. These include: Kostakianika Kalyvia, https://dokumen.pub/medieval-and-post-medieval-greece-the-corfu-papers-9781407305981-9781407335506.html Medieval and Post-Medieval Greece: The Corfu Papers 9781407305981, 9781407335506 - DOKUMEN.PUB built on a hillside; and Pachia, https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/uploads/media/hesperia/147050.pdf https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/uploads/media/hesperia/147050.pdf built in the mountainside opposite the hill of modern Vatheia.
Historical population Year Population 1981 60 1991 113 2001 216 2011 33 2021 78
See also List of settlements in Laconia
References