Mani Travels in the Southern Peloponnese

by Leigh Fermor, Patrick; Gorra, Michael

• ISBN13: 9781590171882
• ISBN10: 1590171888
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-06-06
• Publisher: NYRB Classics

Summary

The Mani, at the tip of Greece'sand Europe'ssouthernmost promontory, is one of the most isolated regions of the world. Cut off from the rest of the country by the towering range of the Taygetus and hemmed in by the Aegean and Ionian seas, it is a land where the past is still very much a part of its people's daily lives. Patrick Leigh Fermor, who has been described as "a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Graham Greene," bridges the genres of adventure story, travel writing, and memoir to reveal an ancient world living alongside the twentieth century. Here, in the book that confirmed his reputation as one of the English language's finest writers of prose, Patrick Leigh Fermor carries the reader with him on his journeys among the Greeks of the mountains, exploring their history and time-honored lore. Maniis a companion volume to Patrick Leigh Fermor's celebratedRoumeli: Travels in Northern Greece.

Author Biography

Patrick Leigh Fermor was born in 1915 of English and Irish descent. After his stormy schooldays, followed by the walk across Europe to Constantinople that begins in A Time of Gifts (1977) and continues through Between the Woods and the Water (1986), he lived and traveled in the Balkans and the Greek Archipelago. His books Mani (1958) and Roumeli (1966) attest to his deep interest in languages and remote places. In the Second World War he joined the Irish Guards, became a liaison officer in Albania, and fought in Greece and Crete. He was awarded the DSO and OBE. He now lives partly in Greece in the house he designed with his wife Joan in an olive grove in the Mani, and partly in Worcestershire. He was knighted in 2004 for his services to literature and to British–Greek relations.

Table of Contents

Introduction	vii
Preface	5	(143)
1 South from Sparta	9	(12)
2 The Abomination of Desolation	21	(12)
3 Kardamyli: Byzantium Restored	33	(18)
4 The City of Mars (Areopolis)	51	(15)
5 Lamentation	66	(12)
6 Into the Deep Mani	78	(15)
7 Dark Towers	93	(10)
8 A Warlike Aristocracy and the Maniots of Corsica	103	(28)
9 Change and Decay. The Cocks of Matapan	131	(17)
10 The Entrance ro Hades	148	(14)
11 Bad Mountains, Evil Council and Cauldroneers	162	(26)
12 A Nereids' Fountain	188	(10)
13 Gorgons and Centaurs	198	(32)
14 Confabulation in Layia: Cyprus and Mrs. Gladstone	230	(12)
15 Ikons	242	(38)
16 An Amphibian Matriarchy and a Maniot Poet	280	(18)
17 Up the Laconian Gulf: Animals and Winds	298	(18)
18 Short Summer Nights	316	(12)
19 Castles and the Sea	328	(9)
20 Lacedaemonian Port	337	(12)
Index	349