Maniots

The Maniots or Maniates (Greek: Μανιάτες) are the inhabitants of the Mani Peninsula, Laconia, in the southern Peloponnese, Greece. They were also formerly known as Mainotes and the peninsula as Maina. Maniots are described as descendants of the ancient Dorian population of the Peloponnese and as such related to the ancient Spartans. The terrain is mountainous and inaccessible (until recently many Mani villages could be accessed only by sea), and the regional name "Mani" is thought to have meant originally "dry" or "barren". The name "Maniot" is a derivative meaning "of Mani". In the early modern period, Maniots had a reputation as fierce and proudly independent warriors, who practice piracy and fierce blood feuds. For the most part, the Maniots lived in fortified villages (and "house-towers") where they defended their lands against the armies of William II Villehardouin and later against those of the Ottomans.

Names

The surnames of the Maniots uniformly end in "eas" in what is now the Messenian part of Mani, "-akos" or "-akis" in what is now the Laconian part of Mani and the occasional "-oggonas". Last names ending in "-akis" are actually regarded as the oldest in Mani, but they were slowly substituted by names ending in "-akos," which has led to the common misconception that the ending "-akis" is of Cretan origin. The ending "-akis" has Byzantine origin "-akios."