Oinountas the ancient Sellasia , is a former municipality

Communities and Municipalities of Greece

For the new municipalities of Greece see the Kallikratis ProgrammeThe municipalities and communities of Greece are one of several levels of government within the organizational structure of that country. Thirteen regions called peripheries form the largest unit of government beneath the State. ...

 in Laconia

Laconia

Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...

, Peloponnese, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sparti

Sparti (municipality)

Sparti is a municipality of Laconia, Greece. It lies at the site of ancient Sparta. The population in 2001 was 38,079, of whom 15,828 lived in the town itself.-History:...

, of which it is a municipal unit. It was first established in 1840, the seat of administration being Vresthena. It was then re-founded by law 2539/1997 (Kapodistria Plan) in 1998, including a slightly different set of settlements and villages and a different seat of administration, Sellasia. The name originates from the Oinountas, a small river that traverses the municipality, oinos being the ancient Greek word for wine. It covers the area between the northeastern part of the Evrotas valley up to the ridge of Parnon

Parnon

Parnon or Parnonas or Malevo is a mountain range, or massif, on the east of the Laconian plain and the Evrotas valley. It is visible from Athens above the top of the Argive mountains. The western part is in the Laconia prefecture and the northeastern part is in the Arcadia prefecture. The Parnon...

 Mountain.

Sellasia is on the Greek National Road 37

Greek National Road 37

Greek National Road 37 is a south to north highway linking Tripoli with the GR-7/E55 along with GR-33 and GR-74 at the Tripoli Bypass, Sparta and Areopoli in the Mani Peninsula...

 between Sparta

Sparta

Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...

 and Tripoli

Tripoli, Greece

Tripoli is a city of about 25,000 inhabitants in the central part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the capital of the prefecture of Arcadia and the centre of the municipality of Tripolis, pop...

. It is located 10 km N of Sparta, about 60 to 70 km E of Kalamata

Kalamata

Kalamata is the second-largest city of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. The capital and chief port of the Messenia prefecture, it lies along the Nedon River at the head of the Messenian Gulf...

, about 100 km S of Tripoli, 38 km N of Gytheio

Gytheio

Gytheio , the ancient Gythium or Gytheion , is a town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality East Mani, of which it is a municipal unit. It was the seaport of Sparta, some 40 km north...

 and about 50 km N of Areopoli

Areopoli

Areopoli is a town on the Mani Peninsula, Laconia, Greece. The word Areopoli means "city of Ares", the ancient Greek god of war. It was the seat of Oitylo municipality. Areopoli was called Tsimova by the invading Slavs during the 7th century AD...

. The name Sellasia dates back to ancient times.

Subdivisions

The municipal unit Oinountas is subdivided into the following communities (constituent villages in brackets):

• Koniditsa (Koniditsa, Kopelia, Kouremenos)
• Sellasia
• Theologos (Agios Ioannis Theologos, Kalyvia Theologou)
• Vamvakou (Vamvakou, Megali Vrysi)
• Varvitsa
• Vasaras (Vasaras, Veria)
• Voutianoi
• Vresthena

Historical population

Year	Sellasia	Municipality
1981	523	-
1991	487	2,649
2001	524	2,625

Geography

The hills with farmlands dominate the areas while the Evrotas River is to the east. Olive groves and pastures along with some fruits and vegetables are common in the area. The Oenus river is situated near Sellasia It is also has a tributary with the Gorgylus. The Taygetus

Taygetus

Mount Taygetus, Taugetus, or Taigetus is a mountain range in the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. The name is one of the oldest recorded in Europe, appearing in the Odyssey. In classical mythology, it was associated with the nymph Taygete...

 mountains where most of its forests are located lie to the west. Agios Konstantinos and Palaiologos

Palaiologos

Palaiologos , often latinized as Palaeologus, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fourth Crusade, members of the family fled to the neighboring Empire of Nicaea, where Michael VIII Palaiologos became co-emperor in 1259,...

 and ancient walls remained preserved.

History

In ancient times, Sellasia controlled the entrance to Laconia from the north.

During the first campaign of the Epameinondas around 370 BC, before Sellasia was destroyed by the Peloponnesians.

Underneath the city on a surface between the Macedon

Macedon

Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....

ian king, Antigonus III Doson

Antigonus III Doson

Antigonus III Doson was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty.-Family Background:He was a grandson of Demetrius Poliorcetes and cousin of Demetrius II, who after the latter died in battle and rescued Macedonia and restored Antigonid control of Greece...

 and the Achaean League

Achaean League

The Achaean League was a Hellenistic era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese, which existed between 280 BC and 146 BC...

 on the other and Sparta

Sparta

Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...

 under Cleomenes III

Cleomenes III

Cleomenes III was the King of Sparta from 235-222 BC. He succeeded to the Agiad throne of Sparta after his father, Leonidas II in 235 BC.From 229 BC to 222 BC, Cleomenes waged war against the Achaean League under Aratus of Sicyon. Domestically, he is known for his attempt to reform the Spartan state...

 in which he choose to fight between the narrow hills near Sellasia. In 222 BC, Antigonus crushed Cleomenes at Sellasia and took Corinth

Corinth

Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...

 as a reward. Afterwards, Sellasia was destroyed and the population was sold as slaves. In the 2nd century, Pausanias

Pausanias (geographer)

Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...

 mentioned the city.

In 146 B.C. Sellasia became part of the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

. When the empire divided into east and west, it became part of the Eastern Roman Empire now referred to as the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

. Sellasia exchanged hands with the Frankish Empire

Frankish Empire

Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...

 after the 4th crusade in 1204. It passed back into the Byzantine empire after 1260. It was part of the Ottomans

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 after 1460 until it joined an independent Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 after the Greek War of Independence

Greek War of Independence

The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

 (1821 to 1827). The next conflict that Sellasia encountered was World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 quickly followed by the Greek Civil War

Greek Civil War

The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...

. Sellasia's population declined and saw its residents moving to larger towns and cities as well as the developed countries outside of Greece.

The area around Sellasia saw an enormous forest fire that ravaged on August 15, 1988 destroying all of its olive

Olive

The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

, citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

 and other crops around the area. Around tens of square kilometres of land were burnt, about 25 homes were destroyed and 2 people died. Houses were later repaired, and in 1998, olive trees were replanted but remain at half its previous level. The village decided to add a festival dedicated to olives which attracts up to 15,000 people. It features delicacies that includes olives including olive oil, olives and Greek traditional music

Music of Greece

The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek traditional music and Byzantine music, with more eastern sounds...

.
ERT

Elliniki Radiofonia Tileorasi

The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation is the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation. It is a member of EBU.Since 70's ERT is part of the Eurovision Song Contest, organized by EBU...

 broadcasted several documentaries about Sellasia including its history, its geography, the forest fire, and its festival.

Other

Sellasia has a school which is located in the south and the central part, a church, a small post office and a square (plateia

Plateia

Plateia or platia is the Greek word for town square. Most Greek and Cypriot cities have several town squares which are a point of reference in travelling and guiding...

). It is also the birthplace of Panathinaikos' BC owners Pavlos and Thanasis Giannakopoulos and the place of origin of the tennis player Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras

Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....

.

See also

• Communities of Laconia

	North: Karyes Karyes Karyes is a village and a former community in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sparti, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located roughly midway between Tripoli and Sparti. Population 926 ....
West: Pellana Pellana Pellana , was a city of Laconia, on the Eurotas river, and on the road from Sparta to Arcadia....	Oinounta	East: Kastanitsa Kastanitsa Kastanitsa is a village in Arcadia in Greece, on the southern slope of Mount Parnon. It is noted for its production of chestnuts, from which it takes its name, and for formerly being a majority Tsakonian-speaking settlement.-History:...
	South: Sparta Sparta Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...  and Therapnes Therapnes Therapnes , in ancient times Therapne , is a Municipal Unit of the municipality of Sparti within the Regional Unit of Lakonia in the Region of Peloponnēsos, one of 7 Regions into which the Hellenic Republic has been divided by the Kallikratis plan, authorized by Law 3852, Issue 1 of 7 June 2010...