MAINA (or MANI) and MAINOTES, a district and people of the Peloponnesus, the modern Morea. Maina is the country occupied by the mountain range of Taygetus from Sparta to Cape Matapan, the ancient Taenarum. It is now divided between the modern districts Oetylos and Gythion. It contained over a hundred villages. The Mainotes claim to descend from the Spartans, and probably represent the Eleuthero Laconians deliv ered by Rome from the power of Sparta, as is suggested by traces of ancient Greek in their dialect and by their physical type. They did not become Christians till the 9th century.
Their country being a natural fortress, they were able to defend themselves against the Byzantine emperors, the barbarian invaders, the Latin princes of Achaea of the house of Villehardouin, and the Turks. As their country is also poor and maritime, they were early tempted to piratical adventure. Gibbon has referred to "the inhuman pillage of all that is shipwrecked on their rocky shore." Their neighbours gave their country the name of "Kakoboulia" —the land of wicked counsels. The passes of their mountains and their villages were fortified, so leading to their favourite epithet, Maina Polypyrgos—"many-towered." On the western side are the remains of feudal keeps, erected by William II. de Ville hardouin (1245-1278) and other Latin princes of Achaea. From the 15th till the 17th century they recognized as head chiefs family which claimed to belong to the Comneni of Trebizond.
But the real power was in the hands of chiefs, a turbulent and martial aristocracy. Feuds were enduring and ferocious.
In the 18th century the family of Mavromicheli (Black Michael), in lower Maina, established a general headship after much strife and many murders. The Mainotes rose against the Turks at Russian instigation in 177o and managed to gain virtual independence in 1777. During the Greek war of independence the Mainotes were led by Petros (Petro Bey) Mavromicheli, "the king of Maina," who undoubtedly cherished the hope of establish ing a principality for himself. The freedom of Greece, for which he had fought in his own way, was the ruin of his ambition. He found the new order less compatible with his schemes than the Turkish dominion, and was imprisoned by the Greek president Capodistrias (see CAPO DISTRIA, COUNT), who was in revenge murdered by the Mavromichelis. The family were finally content to become courtiers and officials in the reign of King Otho I. In the 19th century Maina was but little affected by civilization, except so far as navies prevented piracy.