Methoni Castle is one of the most important Greek defensive complexes. The complex occupies the entire southwestern coast of the Peloponnese, with a wonderful natural harbor, which in the Middle Ages was a station on the way of pilgrims to the Holy Place and merchant ships from west to east. The heyday of the castle falls on the period of the first reign of the Venetians (13th-15th centuries)
In ancient times, Methoni was known as Pidas. Homer mentions it as one of the seven cities that Agamemnon offered to Achilles in order to calm him down and persuade him to continue the battle (Iliad, I 149-153). Pausanias (Messinia IV, 35, 1) and Strabo (Geography 8, 359-360) call him Metoni and identify him with the Homeric city. Thucydides' reference to the weak walls of the fortified city in the 5th century is characteristic, the shape and size of which remains unknown to this day.
In Roman times, the city received autonomy from the Emperor Trajan and was strengthened with better fortifications. Pausanias mentions the existence of the temple of Athena Anemotide and the sanctuary of Artemis, meanwhile, coins with the image of its harbor are saved from the city. At the beginning of the Christian era, the port of Methoni flourished as a shopping center and loading ship. In the Middle Byzantine period, a series of seals dating from the 9th to the 13th centuries convey information about the city's government and church workers.
The Venetians first appeared on the historical scene around the 11th century, when they had the privilege of relatively free movement of their goods to the various port cities of the Byzantine Empire, including Methoni. After the overthrow of the Byzantine Empire by the Franks in 1204 (4th Religious Procession), Methoni also tried the dominant role. The reign of the Franks will last until 1206, so Methoni is captured by the Venetians and a treaty signed in 1209 secures his dominance in the city.
During the first Venetian period, life in Methoni was organized according to the interests of Venice.
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The city has fortified itself and developed into an important trade center, as it is defined as a must-have station for all Venetian ships traveling to the Eastern Mediterranean. This prosperous period for Methoni ends in August 1500, when, after a bloody siege, it is conquered by the Turks. The first period under Ottoman rule would last until 1686, when the city was besieged by Morosini and returned to the ownership of the Venetians. In 1715, the Turks became the owners of Methoni for the second time, whose population increased as well as the trade in the port.
During the Greek Revolution, Methoni Castle was not captured by the Greek rebels, despite their repeated efforts due to the resistance of the fortified Ottoman population. In 1825, Ibrahim landed at the port and settled in the castle, which was the base of the Egyptians during his military campaign to the Peloponnese. The Egyptians surrender without a fight in 1828 to the French Expeditionary Force led by General Maison. Then the village moved outside the walls and became the city plan, while the castle, which for centuries was the center of the city's social and economic life, fell silent.
The harbor and castle of Methoni have been for centuries an important geopolitical center for their owners, for trade and transport for tourists in the Mediterranean and for pilgrims in the Holy Places.
Methoni Castle, with an area of 93 hectares, consists of two parts. To the south stretches the city, surrounded by simple walls with towers at regular intervals, while in the northern part, reinforced by a defensive line, the city's fortress develops, where the commander's headquarters is located. The two sections are separated by a low intermediate wall, which is fortified by five towers.
The walls of the fortress are protected by a wide moat and are supported by two bastions that rise on the north side of the castle. In the middle of the same side, the main entrance gate opens, made of rectangular hewn tuff and with intricate jambs. The castle has six more gates, three of which are on the harbor side. Most of the gates open on the ground floor of the tower and are protected by fences and hinges.
The walls of the castle are made of rough hewn stone with strong bonding plaster, they have a jagged structure, accessible through a peridron, which can be accessed through the two inner parts of the castle. The walls were fortified from time to time by towers, most of which have survived at a very low height. Depending on the needs and level of development of the defensive architecture to meet the new requirements of the martial art, the walls are strengthened or rebuilt.
Various buildings have been preserved in the castle. In the central part, known as the "Square of Arms", is the Sacred Temple of the Savior's Transfiguration, a wooden-roofed temple probably built during Venetian rule. Near it and in contact with the western wall, there is a square building with a small pyramidal cover that served as a warehouse ammunition and belongs to the first Venetian period. Along the central passage of the castle, two Ottoman bathrooms are preserved, consisting of several vaulted rooms, each of which had a different purpose (changing rooms, cool room, warm room).
They belong to the first period of Ottoman rule. The base of the minaret from the already destroyed mosque is preserved in a few minutes walk. The mosque was built on the site of a basilica, the outer walls of which were reinforced with props. Maybe we are talking about the church of St. John the Divine.
A special architectural feature of Methoni is Burdzi, a small coastal fort built on a small island in the southern part of the castle. It consists of an octagonal tower surrounded by a low octagonal wall. The tower is built on two levels and is covered with a semicircular dome. On the ground floor there is a quadrangular water tank. The sloping level leads both to the peridrome of the walls and to the tower floor, where a room with cannons around is formed. Inside the walls are openings for logs that would have supported four wooden floors that have now been destroyed. The construction of the fort began shortly before 1500 by the Venetians and was completed by the Turks in the 16th century.
Burdzi was part of the Methoni sea fortress and served for various purposes according to the era: it is used as a post to control the port, as a lighthouse, a prison, as well as a refuge for residents during the siege.
Most of the evidence about the Methoni castle comes mainly from tourists and pilgrims, who used the port as a necessary sea hub during their journey, wrote down their impressions, and artists and cartographers who decided to depict the castle, thereby providing valuable information about the development of its external kind..