Klenia, Korinthia

Klenia (Κλένια) Korinthia

Klenia or Klenies is a village in the Municipality of Corinth and belongs to the Municipal Unit of Tenea.

Origin of Name

The origin of the name Klena-Klenia is not known for sure. Some researchers believe it comes from the name Cleon, an ancient city whose ruins survive to this day about eight kilometers northwest of Clenia near Ancient Cleones, others that it is of Slavic origin and others that it may be Slavic, but due to Albanian mediation or that it is the ancient name of the Cleons, which was changed to take on a meaning in the Slavic language.

Arvanites had not settled in the village and it is not excluded that the name Klenia is a corruption of the name of the Ancient Cleons, given that Slavic agricultural toponyms do not exist in the entire current region of the village, which reduces the possibility of Slavic settlements.

History

Byzantine period

The presence of Byzantine shells on the south side of Kato Agiannis hill (cemetery) of Klenia where it seems to have been moved from the hill "mountain", the smallest nucleus of the city of Tenea and where the unique in the area of ​​the ancient city were found 7th century AD) as well as in Pano Agianni, shows that in the southern part of the ancient city there was human activity during the Byzantine period, but we can not conclude about the size of the existing settlement and, moreover, if he was a continuation of the ancient city. It is possible that it was not even a settlement but just a few farmhouses.

Middle Ages

The center of life in the Middle Ages was in present-day Agios Nikolaos, 1.5 km southwest of ancient Tenea. It may be possible, therefore, that some of the inhabitants of Tenea remained and then moved a little further west, to Agios Nikolaos (Pigadaki), but there are no sources or archaeological findings to confirm, with the certainty that Klenia existed as a settlement for a long time. before Frankish rule. Two years after the conquest of Acrocorinth in 1212, Clenna, along with twelve other comets, is mentioned in a letter from Pope Innocent III. The medieval settlement had developed around the well (Pigadaki) more to the north and less to the south. We could estimate the length of the settlement based on findings found in the area, from north to south at least 400 meters and from east (small stream, west of the last house of the current village) to the west at least 300 meters.

To the question of which of the two medieval settlements of Klenia, that of ancient Tenea or that of Agios Nikolaos (Pigadaki) was the main settlement, so it must be identified with Clenna of Innocent III, the answer clearly leans in favor of the second (Agios Nikolaos). ), because human remains are much more and covered a much larger area than the first. Apparently the smoothness of the soil and the existence of water contributed to the prosperity of this important Byzantine settlement.

Venetian domination

We are in the second Venetian occupation, we know from Venetian sources the situation that prevailed in the area. After the fall, the human activity was transferred once again, mainly to the mountainous area of ​​Agionori, where the village of Stefani was founded. This also happened in the middle Byzantine period, but at least during the 12th century, we saw that lowland settlements such as Clena were flourishing, while in Santa Claus there were also small scattered Byzantine installations. Now the movement of the population in the above mountainous area has taken place on a larger scale, while also with the arrival of the Venetians a small reverse movement from the mountains to the plains may have begun.

In general, the population in the region and throughout the Peloponnese was small and the Venetians were forced to take settlement measures. As a result, many dozens of families from Chania, Crete, settled in today's Kato Klenia (possibly Plaka), under the source of Turkish tsiflikada estates. It seems that these settlers withdrew when the Turks came again, who with the campaign of 1715 for the recapture of Morea, particularly strained the area.

Turkish rule

With the reappearance of the Turks, the estates returned to their hands and the ownership of Turkish feudal lords in fertile lands of the village again shows that the Greeks had no choice but to move to higher barren places. One of them was the upper Klenia. Pano Klenia must not come from its settlements up and down Agianni (Teneas) because the latter is too small to be identified with the important Clenna of Innocent III. Most likely, the Turkish-occupied Klenia comes from the medieval settlement of Agios Nikolaos and not from the much smaller one of Agiannis, although it is closer to Pano Klenia. Therefore, the name Klena must have existed in Pigadaki, then it was transferred to Pano Klenia and then to Kato Klenia.

The upper Klenia was built on sloping and uneven ground on the eastern slope of Nifitsa. The village is now about one and a half km from the medieval Clenna (Pigadaki), it was closer to the entrance of Kleisoura of Agionori, from where the well-known Kontoporeia passed, but the suburbs and the height of the village discouraged the Turkish cavalry. approach.

The inhabitants of the church were in the church of Mouskoufitsa (Zoodochos Pigi) built in 1800, which survives to this day.

Revolution 1821

During the Revolution of 1821, Clenia became a theater of military operations, as it was located near the entrance to the Agios Ioannis closure. So when, after the destruction of Dramalis in Dervenakia and Agionori, the remnants of his army in Corinth desperately sought a way out, in all directions, a large number of Turkish troops under the able Delhi Ahmet tried to capture Klenia in order to secure it. passage to Nafplio but also to procure food. The Turks managed to defeat the Greeks and occupy the village, repelling the guard at the castle of Agionori but only for a while. At the critical moment, the most numerous guard of Agios Vassilios, guarding the other strait, Agios Sostis, came to the aid of the persecuted Greeks, who managed to capture Mouskoufitsa as well as the drum at the top of the village and repel all the Turks from the village. , who had significant losses. This battle had a special feature: it took place in the village, Pano Klenia, so the topographic details given are valuable for the now abandoned settlement. The battle of Klenia, along with others, such as Vasilikon, Perachora, etc., contributed to the further weakening of the remnants of Dramalis' army, his death and the dissolution of the army.
After liberation
With the establishment of the Greek state, things are changing. In 1834 the municipalities were founded and Klenia together with the villages of Chiliomodi, Agionori and other smaller ones, belongs to the municipality of Agionori, with 683 inhabitants. The second municipality in the area was that of Kleonon, based in Agios Vassilios and included the villages of Stefani, Kontostavlos and Bousbardi with 553 inhabitants. In 1840 the two municipalities merged into one, "Kleonon", based in Chiliomodi. In 1843 the population of Clenia was almost equally divided into two settlements, Pano Clenia had 123 and Kato Klenia 130 inhabitants.

Modern times

The existence of the two settlements now requires the use of the plural (Klenies), which remains to this day even though the upper settlement has been deserted. The residents of Pano Klenia are very thin, some remain stubborn for decades in their place. The last few remaining will leave it for the lowest settlement after the middle of the 20th century, which will henceforth be called simply Klenia.
Sources

Study of Michael S. Kordosi (Medieval and Modern Klena-Klenia, Historical-Geographical Studies no. 5)

Municipal unit Tenea
Community Agionori
Agionori (Αγιονόρι, το)
Community Agios Vasileios
Agios Vasileios (Άγιος Βασίλειος, ο)
Community Klenia
Klenia (Κλένια, η)
Community Koutalas
Koutalas (Κουταλάς, ο)
Mapsos (Μαψός, ο)
Spathovouni (Σπαθοβούνι, το)
Community Stefani
Stefani (Στεφάνι, το)
Community Chiliomodi
Chiliomodi (Χιλιομόδι, το)

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