WunderPhotos®

This morning, as every morning, I take our dogs for their morning walk on the tracks around our house. As the sun rose above the Taigetos mountains to our East the first rays struck the mountains of Messinia across the gulf to our West illuminating the village of Petalidi and lighting the hills of Ithomi on the right of the picture. It was there in about 369BC that the great Theban general Epaminondas established Ancient Messene as a refuge for the Messinian helots whom he had freed from over 200 years of Spartan slavery. The ruins of this wonderful city can be seen to this day, albeit much modified by the Romans during their later occupation of Greece. The dogs showed not the least interest – I don't know why I bother to tell them these things – even if they are Greek.