any of three sites in Greece. The most important of them is identified with the modern Pílos (or Navarino, locally called Neókastro), the capital of the eparkhía (“eparchy”) of Pylia in the nomós (department) of Messenia, Greece, on the southern headland of the Órmos (bay) Navarínou, a deepwater shipping channel on the southwest coast of the Peloponnese. It is protected and almost blocked from the sea by the island of Sphakteria (Sfaktiría), which has a summit (Mt. Illia) of 450 ft (137 m). The smaller island of Pílos to the south has a lighthouse and a monument to French sailors who fell at the Battle of Navarino (1827). The ancient historian Thucydides described Pylos as a deserted headland in 425 bc, when Athens defeated Sparta there in a land and naval battle during the Peloponnesian war. The modern town behind the south headland of the bay was built in 1829 by the French.
Much confusion over the proper place-names for Pylos began in the Middle Ages. One of the present alternative names, Navarino, may be derived from a group of Avars (a people of unknown origin and language) who settled there during the 6th to 8th century ad. The Venetians later corrupted the name of their castle, Ton Avarinon, to Navarino. In 1278 the Franks built the Paleo Kastro (Old Castle), which still commands the west channel to the harbour. In 1381 a company of Gascon and Navarrese adventurers took over Pylos. The Turks in 1573 built the citadel at the foot of Mt. Áyios Nikólaos, calling it Neo Kastro to distinguish it from the Frankish structure. From 1498 to 1821 Navarino and its bay were in the hands of the Turks except for two periods (1644–48 and 1686–1715), when it was held by the Venetians. The bay was the scene of a notable naval battle between European and Turkish fleets in 1827, which consolidated the independence of Greece. Local inhabitants prefer the name Neókastro, after the Turkish-Venetian fortifications.
Scholarly dispute over the location of Pylos, the capital of King Nestor described in Homer, may have begun as early as the 3rd century bc. An impressive Mycenaean palace compound that was occupied from about 1700 bc to just before 1200 was unearthed north of present Pylos–Navarino–Neókastro in 1939. This Epano Englianos palace, together with dependent despoiled tombs, appears to match closely the dignity and position of the royal seat as described by Homer. Transcending the Pylos locational controversy, however, was the discovery at Epano Englianos of hundreds of inscribed clay tablets baked hard by the fire that destroyed the palace. The tablets are inscribed in the so-called Linear B script found earlier in the palace at Knossos in Crete, as well as those discovered after 1952 in excavations at Mycenae.
Two other Greek sites of this name are Pylos in Elis, on the Peneus (Pinios) River in the northwestern Peloponnese, and Pylos in Triphylia (near Kakóvatos), once thought to be the site of Homeric Pylos.
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...which was usually supported by columns. Early Greek architecture used the megaron, and it also became an important element in the Classical temple. A typical megaron plan is that of the palace of Nestor at Pylos, where the large main unit apparently served as royal living quarters. It faced onto the usual courtyard, which was entered through a decorative gateway with fluted columns on either...
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traditionally the last king of Athens, but there is some doubt as to whether he was a historical personage. According to the legend, Codrus was the son of Melanthus of Pylos, who went to Attica as a refugee from the Dorian invaders (11th century bc). By defeating the Athenians’ enemies, the Boeotians, Melanthus won acceptance as king of Athens. After Codrus succeeded to his father’s throne,...
any of three sites in Greece. The most important of them is identified with the modern Pílos (or Navarino, locally called Neókastro), the capital of the eparkhía (“eparchy”) of Pylia in the nomós (department) of Messenia, Greece, on the southern headland of the Órmos (bay) Navarínou, a deepwater shipping channel on the southwest coast of the Peloponnese. It is protected and almost blocked from the sea by the island of Sphakteria (Sfaktiría), which has a summit (Mt. Illia) of 450 ft (137 m). The smaller island of Pílos to the south has a lighthouse and a monument to French sailors who fell at the Battle of Navarino (1827). The ancient historian Thucydides described Pylos as a deserted headland in 425 bc, when Athens defeated Sparta there in a land and naval battle during the Peloponnesian war. The modern town behind the south headland of the bay was built in 1829 by the French.
Much confusion over the proper place-names for Pylos began in the Middle Ages. One of the present alternative names, Navarino, may be derived from a group of Avars (a people of unknown origin and language) who settled there during the 6th to 8th century ad. The Venetians later corrupted the name of their castle, Ton Avarinon, to Navarino. In 1278 the Franks built the Paleo Kastro (Old Castle), which still commands the west channel to the harbour. In 1381 a company of Gascon and Navarrese adventurers took over Pylos. The Turks in 1573 built the citadel at the foot of Mt. Áyios Nikólaos, calling it Neo Kastro to distinguish it from the Frankish structure. From 1498 to 1821 Navarino and its bay were in the hands of the Turks except for two periods (1644–48 and 1686–1715), when it was held by the Venetians. The bay was...
Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.
...bc. An impressive Mycenaean palace compound that was occupied from about 1700 bc to just before 1200 was unearthed north of present Pylos–Navarino–Neókastro in 1939. This Epano Englianos palace, together with dependent despoiled tombs, appears to match closely the dignity and position of the royal seat as described by Homer. Transcending the Pylos locational...
in Greek legend, son of Neleus, king of Pylos (Navarino) in Elis, and of Chloris. All of his brothers were slain by the Greek hero Heracles, but Nestor escaped. In the Iliad he is about 70 years old and sage and pious; his role is largely to incite the warriors to battle and to tell stories of his early exploits, which contrast with his listeners’ experiences, shown to be soft and easy in comparison with his own. In the Odyssey he tells Telemachus about the sufferings and trials he and others endured during the Trojan War.
Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.
in Greek legend, son of Nestor, king of Pylos. One of the suitors of Helen, whose abduction caused the Trojan War, he accompanied his father to the war and distinguished himself as acting commander of the Pylians. As the story was told in the lost epic Aethiopis, Nestor was attacked by Memnon (king of the Ethiopians), and Antilochus saved his father’s life at...
