Asea, Greece

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2007)

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Greek Wikipedia. (February 2009) Don't speak Greek? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the Greek article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|el|Ασέα Αρκαδίας}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Asea Ασέα
Location
Asea
Coordinates	37°25′N 22°16′E / 37.417°N 22.267°E / 37.417; 22.267Coordinates: 37°25′N 22°16′E / 37.417°N 22.267°E / 37.417; 22.267
Government
Country:	Greece
Region:	Peloponnese
Regional unit:	Arcadia
Municipality:	Tripoli
Municipal unit:	Valtetsi
Population statistics (as of 2001)
Community
- Population:	223
Other
Time zone:	EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
Postal code:	22027
Telephone:	2710
Auto:	TP

Asea (Greek: Ασέα, before 1927: Κανδρέβα - Kandreva^[1]) is a village and a community in Arcadia, Greece, in the Peloponnese peninsula. Asea is situated on a hillside at about 800 m elevation. It is 2 km northeast of Athinaio, 11 km east of Megalopoli and 14 km southwest of Tripoli. Asea was the seat of the municipality of Valtetsi. The community Asea consists of the villages Asea (population 167 in 2001) and Kato Asea (pop. 56). Although Asea has only about 200 permanent inhabitants, its natural beauty and archeological sites attract weekend and summer visitors.

History

Ancient Asea occupied a hilltop site and is believed to have been settled by the late Early Helladic period. Evidence suggests that this was destroyed by fire and that the site was reoccupied during the Middle Helladic (MH). Remains consist of much Black Minyan pottery of various types and a number of graves. The lack of evidence later than the late MH period could result from abandonment of the site at that time or just from natural erosion.^[2]

Asea is said to be named for Aseatas, son of the Spartan king, Lykaon, however it may have been established as early as 6000 BC. Its treasures are kept in archaeological museums in Tripoli, Nafplio, and Athens. The ruins of the ancient city still stand, most notably doric temples dedicated to Poseidon and Athena, and they indicate that Asea was once a prosperous city. According to Pausanias, the two temples were erected by Odysseus after his return to Ithaca. Inhabitants of Asea fought in the historic battles of Plataies (479 BC) and Mantineia (362 BC). City coins have been found dated 196 BC. Asea took part in the founding of the city of Megalopoli.

Population

People

Asea is the birthplace of Nikos Gatsos, a well-known twentieth-century poet. Nikos Gatsos was born 1911 and died in 1992. He was buried in Asea.

See also

• List of settlements in Arcadia

External links

• A web page for Asea village
• Asea on the GTP Travel Pages

References

1. ^ Name changes of settlements in Greece
2. ^ The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. 1973. pp. 125, 126. ISBN 0-521-08230-7, ISBN 978-0-521-08230-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=FF5-7JVj4jYC&pg=RA1-PA125&lpg=RA1-PA125&dq=asea+greece+ancient&source=bl&ots=GbmcThmf9N&sig=e1FrCY1k7oDGiHFCUjZmdzerbL0&hl=en&ei=_ofcSfXmOtW7jAe3i92WDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3.