Laconia (; see also List of traditional Greek place names), also known as Lacedaemonia, is a prefecture in Greece. In ancient Greece it was the principal region of the Spartan state. Throughout classical antiquity the Spartan sphere of influence expanded Messenia, whose inhabitants (the helots) were permanently enslaved. In medieval times it was part of the Byzantine Empire and following the Crusades it was the home of the Byzantine Despotate of Morea, held by the penultimate Greek ruling dynasty, the Palaiologoi. In modern times, Laconia has the legal status of a prefecture, with Sparta its administrative capital. Its main towns and cities are Amyclae, Areopolis, Gytheion, Molaoi, Monemvasia, Mystras, Neapoli and Sellasia. It encompasses Cape Malea and Cape Tainaron and a large part of the Mani Peninsula.
The Evrotas is the longest river in the prefecture. The valley of the Evrotas is predominantly an agricultural region that contains many citrus groves, olive groves and pasture lands and most of all, oranges. It is the location of the largest orange production in the Peloponnese and probably all of Greece. The brand of orange juice named after this prefecture Lakonia is based in Amyclae and sells fresh orange juice entirely from this region.
Taygetus (2,407 m), known as Pentadaktylos (five-fingers) throughout the middle ages, is west of Sparta and the Evrotas valley. It is the highest mountain in Laconia and the Peloponnese, and mostly covered with pine trees. Two roads connect the adjoining prefectures of Messinia and Laconia: one is a tortuous mountain pass through Taygetus and the other bypasses the mountain via the Mani district to the south. The other major mountain is Parnon (1,961 m) to the east.
A stalactite cave in the southwest of the prefecture is located south of Areopolis. This famous cave is called Dirou and is a major tourist attraction.
It is bounded by the Taygetus mountains to the west with Messenia, Arcadia to the north and with the Parnon mountains to the northeast, the Myrtoan Sea to the east and the Gulf of Laconia and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The islands of Cythera and Antikythera lie to the south, but they administratively belong to the prefecture of Piraeus.
The word "laconic" is derived from the name of the region by analogy - to speak in a concise way, as the Spartans were reputed by the Athenians to do.
Climate
The area has hot summers and mild winters in most of the prefecture while in the mountains, especially Taygetus, snow is very common throughout the winter.
Transport
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