Mount Ithōmē

Ithōmē, Mount, isolated and easily fortified mountain in the plain of Messenia (in the Peloponnese), the rallying point of the Messenians in their struggles for independence against Sparta. In the Third Messenian War, after the great earthquake of 464 BC, the Messenians, having revolted, took refuge there. They were blockaded but did not surrender for a number of years. In 369 BC, when Messenia recovered its independence with the help of the Theban general Epaminondas, a new capital Messenē was founded on the slopes of Mount Ithome.