• originally called Ithome
  • belonged, perhaps, to the Mycenaean kingdom headquartered in nearby Pylos

• rebuilt, as Messene, around 369 B. C. by Epaminondas
  • the Theban general who defeated the Spartans and liberated the helots

• became the capital of the state of Messenia

• excavation, by French archaeologists, began in 1823, but stopped 10 years later

• on-again, off-again digging until 1986
  • when Petros Themelis took over and made Messene an award-winning archaeological site
    • Europa Nostra Awards 2005 and 2011

The excavated site contains, among other things, the following structures:

• from the Classical Era (480 - 323 B. C.)
  • tower
  • propylaea
  • walls

• from the Hellentistic Era (323 - 31 B. C.)
  • stoas
  • fountain
  • bouleuterion
  • gymnasium
  • theater
  • stadium
  • various temples
  • tombs

For more information about the site, see this UNESCO World Heritage page.