Location

Ruins of a small, fortified mountain village at the summit (840 meters) of the pine forested slope of Mount Ziziali (at the highest point of Taygetos in comparison to the other Mani villages). The settlement is located 5 kilometers from Sidirokastro. Most of the dirt roads in this area are relatively smooth, and the mountain landscape is quite different from the rest of Mani.

In the village we can see the church of Saint Constantine (Agios Konstantinos) and the Xanthakos residence, which has been preserved in good condition. At the foot of the hill, where Polyaravos is, there is a spring, a monument to the heroine Anaeiponyfi from the battle of Polyaravos, and farther down is the church of the Virgin Mary (Panagia) of Polyaravos.

History

On August 28, 1826, after a three-day battle in Polyaravos, the Maniots defeated Ibrahim and the 6,000 Turkish and Egyptian soldiers in his army. This victory was very important, because it essentially forced Ibrahim to give up any further attempt to subdue Mani.