Definition
The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek : Πελοπόννησος) is a large peninsula and region in southern Greece , forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth . The peninsula has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Its modern name derives from ancient Greek mythology , specifically the legend of the hero Pelops who was said to have conquered the entire region. The name Peloponnesos means “Island of Pelops”.
Mainland Greece's (and Europe's ) first major civilization , the Aegean (or Mycenaean ) civilization, dominated the Peloponnese in the Bronze Age from the stronghold at Mycenae in the north-east of the peninsula. During classical antiquity, the Peloponnese was at the heart of the affairs of ancient Greece, possessed some of its most powerful city -states and saw some of its bloodiest battles .
It was the site of the cities of Sparta , Corinth, Argos and Megalopolis, and was the homeland of the Peloponnesian League. The peninsula was involved in the Persian Wars and was the scene of the Peloponnesian War of 431 BC-404 BC. It fell to the expanding Roman Republic in 146 BC and became the province of Achaea.
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