Kiparissía, Gulf Of

Kiparissía

Gulf of Kiparissía, Modern Greek Kólpos Kiparissiakós, broad inlet of the Ionian Sea (Modern Greek: Ióvio Pélagos) of the western Peloponnese (Pelopónnisos), Greece, about 35 mi (55 km) in width. Flanking the shallow estuary of the Alpheius, the chief river of the Peloponnese, a series of large lagoons extend southward 15 mi along the shore.

Farther south, the mouth of the Nédha River divides the bay shore unequally between the nomós (department) of Ilía on the north and Messenia (Messinía) on the south. In the latter, the town of Kiparissía lies just inland from its harbour, Paralía. The agricultural centre has access to the railway following the shore that links Kalamáta and Pátrai. Revived in the 4th century bce by the Theban leader Epaminondas as the port for his famous capital, Messene, Kiparissía and its gulf were both called Arcadia in the Middle Ages.