- Cape Matapan
Cape Matapan, also known as Cape Tenaro or Tainaro ( _el. Ακρωτήριο Ταίναρο), is situated at the end of the Mani,
Laconia ,Greece . Cape Matapan is the southernmost point of mainland Greece and of Europe. It separates theMessenian Gulf in the west from theLaconian Gulf in the east.Cape Matapan has been an important place for thousands of years. The ancient
Sparta ns built severaltemple s here dedicated to various gods. Cape Matapan was once the place weremercenaries waited to be employed.More recently a
lighthouse was constructed but it is now in disuse. In March 1941, off the coast of Cape Matapan, a major naval battle, theBattle of Cape Matapan , occurred between theRoyal Navy and theRegia Marina , in which the British emerged victorious in a one-sided encounter. The Battle's main result was to drastically reduce future Italian naval activity in the Eastern Mediterranean.There is a cave at the tip of Cape Matapan that Greek legends claim was the home of
Hades , the god of the dead. As well, on the hill situated above the cave lie the remnants of an ancient temple dedicated to the sea godPoseidon (Νεκρομαντείο του Ποσειδόνα). Under the Byzantine empire, the temple was converted into aChristian church, and Christian rites are conducted there to this day.As the southernmost point of the
Balkan Peninsula , the cape is on the migration route of birds headed to Africa.At Cape Matapan, the "Titanic"
' s would-be rescue ship, the SS "Californian", was torpedoed and sunk by German forces in 1915.External links
*http://www.mani.org.gr/en/villages/an_mani/tain/tain.htm
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