Road station
Messene
Mavromati · Μαυρομμάτι
Messene, at Mavromati in Greece, was founded in 369 BC by Epaminondas as the capital of the Messenian state, in a hollow below Mount Ithome, whose summit served as its citadel; at first the city itself was called Ithome. Its ring of walls, with the almost intact Arcadian Gate and its round courtyard, is the best preserved in Greece. Zeus of Ithome was its chief god, and his priest gave his name to the year. Here the general Philopoemen was held captive in a dark underground treasury. On the map the road from here to Sparta is faint and its start unmarked.