Security and Settlement in the Mediaeval and Post-Mediaeval Peloponnese, Greece

'Hard' History versus Oral History

Abstract

Two recent publications have questioned the hypothesis that insecurity explains the later Ottoman period settlement pattern in the Greek Peloponnese. The present article re-examines the arguments against the demographic retreat hypothesis, focusing particularly on the evidence from a small case-study area, the peninsula of Methana. While previous discussion depended on historical documents, the present study incorporates material cultural and ethnographic evidence. It is argued that simple altitude zonation of settlements is an inadequate indicator of insecurity: the relationship of settlement to geomorphology, and non-settlement elements, such as hidden storage structures and details of house construction, contribute important evidence. However, the understanding of the meanings of all these elements is dependent on local ethnographic sources, especially oral histories. The article concludes that a genuine fear of attack explains the Methana settlement pattern, despite a lack of evidence that the fear was justified.