Pefnos
Pefnos or Pephnos or Pephnus ({{langx|grc|Πέφνος}}),{{Cite Pausanias|3|26|2}}-3. or Pephnum or Pephnon (Πεφνόν),{{Cite Stephanus|s.v.}} was a town of ancient Laconia, on the eastern coast of the Messenian Gulf, distant 20 stadia from Thalamae. Nowadays, the village Agios Dimitrios of the municipality of West Mani is near or on the spot that ancient Pefnos existed.{{Cite Barrington|58}}{{Cite DARE|31039}} In front of it, there is a small island of the same name (Pefnos island), which Pausanias describes as not larger than a great rock, in which stood, in the open air, brazen statues of the Dioscuri, a foot high. There was a tradition, that the Dioscuri were born in this island. The island is at the mouth of the river Miléa, which is the minor Pamisus of Strabo.{{Cite Strabo|viii. p.361}} The Messenians said that their territories originally extended as far as Pefnos.
File:Pefnos islet from drone.jpg
File:Egg on Pefnos island.jpg with Leda, proposing that Helen of Troy was born on this island. The statue was inaugurated on August 22, 2020 from the Professor of Archaeology Petros Themelis and the Minister of Culture of Greece Lina Mendoni.]]
File:Pefnos islet and Agios Dimitrios village.jpg
In July 2020 a statue of an egg was placed on the island, depicting the union of Zeus (transformed to a swan) with Leda and proposing that Helen of Troy was born on this island.Hornblower, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NprxCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA142 p. 142]; Lycophron, Alexandra 87. The professor of classical archaeology Petros Themelis and the Minister of Culture and Sports of Greece Lina Mendoni stated that Helen of Troy was born on the island and inaugurated the statue at 22 August 2020.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=August 24, 2020|title=Inauguration of the monument of Dioscuri, on the rocky islet of Pefno, in West Mani|url=https://www.culture.gov.gr/el/Information/SitePages/view.aspx?nID=3432|access-date=|website=Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports - www.culture.gov.gr|language=Greek}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=August 25, 2020|title=The monument of the Dioscuri in Stoupa was inaugurated|url=https://www.in.gr/2020/08/25/culture/texni/egkainiastike-mnimeio-ton-dioskouron-stin-stoupa/|access-date=|website=www.in.gr}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DGRG|title=Pephnus}}
{{coord|36.810909|N|22.294881|E|format=dms|display=title|source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/27401}}
Category:Populated places in ancient Laconia
Category:Populated places in ancient Messenia
External links
- [https://www.google.gr/maps/place/%CE%A0%CE%AD%CF%86%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%82/@36.8108872,22.2926603,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x1361ea677598cc73:0x4dbd16f5c92aab6a!8m2!3d36.8108851!4d22.2948917 Google maps location of Pefnos]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fYLr6Nqa14 Youtube: "The birth of beautiful Helen at Pefnos"] Drone video of the construction of the statue of Pefnos, with English subtitles
- [https://www.facebook.com/Η-γέννηση-της-Ωραίας-Ελένης-στη-βραχονησίδα-Πέφνο-614729455848919 Facebook page of statue of Pefnos in Greek
{{ancientLaconia-geo-stub}}
File:Marble on Agios Dimitrios harbour opposite Pefnos island.jpg