Peloponnesus

the main peninsula of southern Greece. The name is derived from Pelops, a hero of Greek mythology. He was the grandson of Zeus and the brother of Niobe. The peninsula comprised Achaia, Elis, Messenia, Arcadia, Laconia, and Argolis. The leading cities were Sparta, Corinth, Argos, and Olympia. A contest between Sparta and Athens for the leadership of Greece, extending from 431 to 404 B. C., is known as the Peloponnesian War. It resulted in the triumph of Sparta and the destruction of the long walls of Athens. The peninsula is now known as the Morea. It is a mountainous region of about 8,300 square miles. See Greece; Sparta; Corinth, etc.