The Methana Peninsula is located in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese. The peninsula is known for its baths and the volcano in the village of Kameni Chora. There are about 30 volcanic structures on the peninsula and the last volcanic activity took place underwater in 1700, in the northern part in front of Methana.
Together with the volcanoes of Milos, Santorini and Nisyros, Methana belongs to the volcanic arc of the South Aegean, which is related to the most important geothermal fields of Greece (Sousaki – Methana – Milos / Kimolos / Polyaigos – Santorini and character Nissou as an active volcano. The Methana Peninsula is located at the western end of this volcanic arc and has significant geothermal potential, but not fully explored [1].
In Methana there are about 60 km of marked trails.
Methana is rich in prehistoric and ancient finds. In the church of Saints Constantine and Helen, 1.5 km from Loutropoli Methana, in 1990, on the foundations of the small church, a prehistoric settlement of the Mycenaean Era of the 14th and 13th c. e.g. Tributes (figurines and jewels) were found in one of the buildings of the settlement, from which it is estimated that it was a place of worship of a prehistoric deity, and possibly of Poseidon. The findings of the excavation are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus. On the hill of Paleokastro, near Vathi, are the ruins of the Acropolis of ancient Methana, with the well-preserved volcanic rock walls and the well-preserved gate, which was built during the 4th to 3rd c. BC, from the time of the Peloponnesian War. From findings it seems that the area was first inhabited since the Neolithic era (5,000 BC). The few excavations carried out on the Acropolis of ancient Methana brought to light fragments of Mycenaean vessels. Also visible ruins of ancient buildings are preserved in the sea, from the sunken city of Methana, including the pier of the ancient port. Among the submarine ancient ruins, there are Byzantine churches, which means that the landslides took place in the first AD. years. According to archaeologists, the ancient city of Methana had about 700 houses.
The Cave of the Pigeons is located on the west coastal road 2.5 km before Vathi. It was discovered in 1973 during the opening of the west coastal road, it is 2.5 million years old, has a length of 250 meters and consists of three chambers. In the first chamber there is a small lake that you may need to inflate to cross. The second is full of rocks and in the third there is water again. In the last two chambers there are impressive stalagmites in beautiful formations. It is said that the cave extends to below the “Throne” plateau.
The castle of Favieros is located in the Strait of Methana, at an altitude of about 80m on the hill and which is a protected historical monument. The last meters of the route to the castle are hiking, through a marked path. Along the route you can find the remains of fortifications. It is a medieval castle with four small turrets at its edges. It was built in 1826, under the orders of Nicolas Charles Favier, a French general, on the ruins of old fortifications built by the Athenians (Nikias) in the 5th century BC, in the Peloponnesian War. General Favieros was the one who organized and commanded the first regular army of Greece, to which the settlement of Taktikoupolis is named.
During the 14th century, a period in which the population of the area had greatly diminished, the Arvanites settled on the Methana Peninsula.
The lyricist Lina Nikolakopoulou and the rebetos Giorgos Batis come from Methana.
The Municipal Unit of Methana belongs administratively to the Municipality of Trizinia-Methana of the Attica Region and has a population of 1,967 inhabitants, according to the 2011 Census. [2]
