There is a Greek village in Mani, on the Peloponnesian peninsula, called Neochori where residents boast that they are true descendants of the Spartans.
While Maniots claim their ancestors were natives to the southeastern part of Peloponnese even before Sparta became a famed city-state, the ties between Sparta and Mani have been continuous since historical antiquity.
Ancient Maniots were both slaves and landowners who paid fifty percent of their agricultural products as a tithe, or tax, to Sparta. In the wealthier areas of outer and lower Mani, the landowners had helots (slaves), as well.
The close ties of ancient Maniots and Spartans are also demonstrated by the common worship of certain deities. The Spartans not only respected the traditional religious ceremonies of the Maniots but also adopted them.
Sparta descendants of Neochori
In a recent BBC report in the Neochori village of Mani, former coffee shop owner Giorgos Oikonomeas—who never left his birthplace—claimed that the villagers were true descendants of the brave Spartans.
“If you want to get a taste of what life would have been like in Ancient Sparta, look no further,” he told the reporter. “We are as Spartan as can be.”
To further drive the point home, the 86-year-old Maniot, whose physique still suggests that he could jump onto the battlefield at any moment, served the reporter a lalangi, a crispy strip of dough deep-fried in olive oil. READ MORE...
