Maniots

The Maniots or Maniates (Greek: Μανιάτες) are the Greek inhabitants of the Mani Peninsula (the middle leg of the Peloponnese south of Sparta) located in the regional units Laconia and Messenia, in the southern Peloponnese, Greece. They were also formerly known as Mainotes and the peninsula as Maina. The Maniots are the direct descendants of the Spartans and through the Spartans the Dorians. The terrain is mountainous and inaccessible (until recently many Mani villages could be accessed only by sea), and the regional name "Mani" is thought to have meant originally "dry" or "barren". Etymologically, the name "Maniot" is a diminutive implying "of Mani". Geographically, the peninsula itself is an extension of the Taygetus mountain range. Throughout history, the Maniots have been known by their neighbors and their enemies as fierce warriors, proudly independent, who practice blood feuds – so fierce and savage, in fact, that they have been compared to the Nordic Berserkers. At times they were even referred to as the "super soldiers" of the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and early to mid 19th centuries. Napoleon Bonaparte addressed to them as "Spartan descendants" and Theodoros Kolokotronis (leader of the Greek War of Independence) called them "The Spartans".

Their surnames uniformly end in "-eas" in what is now the Messenian part of Mani, "-akos" or "-akis" in what is now the Laconian part of Mani and the occasional "-oggonas". Last names ending in "-akis" are actually regarded as the oldest in Mani, but they were slowly substituted by names ending in "-akos," which has led to the common misconception that the ending "-akis" is of Cretan origin. The ending "-akis" has Byzantine origin "-akios."

During the early modern period, the Maniots were renowned pirates with Oitylo having the nickname Great Algiers. For the most part, the Maniots lived in fortified villages (and "house-towers") where they defended their lands against the Ottomans and even against the armies of William II Villehardouin.