Byzantine Castle Tour of Mystras

The name is said to derive from the Greek word “mizithra”. That is the name of a Greek whey cheese or mixed milk-whey cheese from sheep or goats or both. It is likely that its original name was “Mizithras” due to the shape of the mountain or the profession of the owner of the hill.

On top of the hill there is a deserted castke, which used to be a brilliant and powerful Byzantine state. Besides this, there are three distinctive zones in the fortress: The Upper City, the Lower City and the Outer city.

In the lower city, the most prominent building is the Metropolis with the emblem of the Byzantine Empire engraved on the floor. In 1449, Constantine XI Palaiologos stood on it and was crowned emperor of Byzantium. He was to become the last Byzantine Emperor. He was killed in the siege and fall of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. The legends about the “Marble King” were linked to Constantine. According to the myth, once Constantine was surrounded by the Turks, an Angel converted him in marble and hid him in a cave. The “Marble King” remains in the cave for centuries until the Angel brings him back to life and gives him his sword to drive the Turks away from Constantinople… Now the Turks are looking for this cave and when they find it, they will build a door so he can’t escape.

Mystras is an outstanding example of late Byzantine culture, which influenced the rest of the Mediterranean world and beyond. The town of Mystras was foundedbin the 13th cent. A.D, after the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusades. The Franks created feudal principalities in Morea, the area which is known today as the Peloponnese, and prince Guillaume de Villehardouin built the Castle in 1249. In the beginning, there was the castle on top of the mountain and the walls.

The city was expanded when settlers from the surrounding plains began to move here seeking refugee from the invading Slavs. About 10 years later, Guillaume II of Villehardouin was defeated and captured by the forces of Michael III Palaiologos, the founder of the Palaiologean Dynasty, who would then reconquer Constantinople from the Latin Empire in 1261.

In order to be released, in 1262 he ceded Mystras along with two other strongholds to the newly restored Byzantine Empire. Mystras became the seat of the governor of the Byzantine territories in Peloponnese and a major piece on the political chessboard of the time. For the next 200 years, philosophers and well-known artists were gathered in the courtyard of Mystras. Among these distinguished intellectuals was Gergios Gemistos/ Plethon, who aroused the interest of the West for the interpretation of Platonic Philosophy and the study of ancient Greek texts, thus contributing to the European Rennaisance.

Mystras remained a living settlement until the 19th cent A.D, when it gradually started to be deserted.