The picturesque, big village of Dafni (or Dafnio), belongs to the municipality of Evrotas and has about 1000 inhabitants. It is built at an altitude of 300 metres and is only 20 kilometres from Sparta. Its position, rightly, characterises it as "the eye of Laconia".
Dafni belongs to a group of villages called Bardounochoria. The so-called villages took their name from the river Bardounia, which originates from the springs of Agia Marina (Tseria), Melitini and flows into the plain of Mavrovounio in Gythio. There are two versions of the origin of the name of the village. The first version is a differentiation of the ancient name of the area, Afidnai, (Afidnai-Dafnai-Dafni). According to others, it is said to have come from the many laurels (laurel=dafni) that used to be there. In the ancient city of Afidnai (in the Trochalia area), many findings have been excavated (sculptures, figurines, broken capitals), which testify to its existence around 800 BC. Several of the findings have been accumulated at Dafni Primary School. A typical example is a piece of marble (discovered in 1901), which depicts a representation of the worship of the dead. A similar one is kept in the Archaeological Museum of Sparta. In the same area, the small Byzantine church of Panagia Molemeni is built, dating back to the 13th century. The temple was named so because the hordes of Ibrahim infected it in September 1825. The elegiac poet Tyrtaeus, who lived during the Second Messinian War (645-628 BC), also came from the ancient city. He specialised in war music.
The Lykovouno mountain range is near Dafni (at a distance of 5 km), in the most central part of the Laconian valley of Evrotas. Its peak is called Kourkoutas and has a height of 617 metres. The name of the mountain range comes from a Byzantine castle city that flourished there during the 13th-14th century. According to local tradition, the name Lykovounos means "the mountain of wolves". The hill, riparian of Evrotas and protected by the surrounding mountains Taygetos and Parnonas, had been correctly chosen for the creation of the Medieval settlement.
Fifty metres northeast of the Agios Georgios' church, there is a tower ("vigla"), which, in the past, ensured control of the entire area. The tower is preserved, almost, in its entire height and should have had three floors. The first floor was accessible with the use of a built-in staircase. Finally, war openings can be seen on all walls, while at the highest points, there are murder holes.
During the Frankish rule, the Dafni people lived in Paliodafni. A ruined tower can be seen northeast of the village, known as "Paliopyrgos", relatively close to the Castle of Lykovounos. According to local tradition, the tower was connected to Lykovouno through an underground tunnel. According to another tradition, this tower was inhabited by a Venetian princess, who had planted a unique plant called "Glyicoriza". This plant has been growing only in this specific area since then. According to the construction and the morphological elements, the tower dates back to the Late Byzantine period (14th or 15th century). In contact with the west side of the tower, there was the Agia (Saint) Sophia church, from which only the arch of the sanctuary and parts of its masonry survive today.
Dafni and Lykovouno were two separate villages due to the persecutions that the people of Lykovouni suffered. However, at some point, they moved to Dafni, and so the village began to develop. When the village was moved from the Paliodafni area to Dafni, a large tower was built, known as the "Dafni Tower". There, in 1787, Captain Zacharias Barbitsiotis confronted Albanian bandit Merakos. Emir (Omer) or Emirakos (Merakos as the Greeks called him) was an Albanian officer in the service of Ali Pasha of Ioannina. Merakos was famous for his bravery, so a folk song was written to honour him.
Merakos, to avoid his persecution and arrest by the Pasha of Tripolis, was locked in the Tower of Daphni together with his followers. The Turkish commander of Tripolis assigned the raid of the Tower to Amos Aga (or Mousaga). When the siege did not bring any results, Captain Zacharias took action. Zacharias ordered his people to blow the Tower up, which collapsed and only one of its ramparts remained until 1960. It is said, in fact, that near Zacharias, during the siege of Merakos in the Daphni Tower, Theodoros Kolokotronis, who was then only 17 years old, was also present.
The demolished Tower was taken over by a Turkish Aga named Soulele. Around 1822, Soulele was killed by an ancestor of the Stratakos family, Dimitrios Stratakos. This tower was sold by the descendants of Dimitris Stratakos, Panagiotis and Vassilios to general practitioner Georgios Iatridis.
During the Turkish occupation, life at Lykovouno is evidenced by the many ruined buildings (many of which are fortified). The best-preserved ones dated back to the years after the Revolution of 1821 and were the residences of the Mavromichalis family. The fountain with the Islamic bow and the engraved inscription is also characteristic, which today is, unfortunately, whitewashed.
Lykovouno continued its prosperity during the Post-Byzantine period, where according to tradition, 1000 families lived in the village. During the reign of Otto, Lykovouno was given as a reward to Petrobei Mavromichalis (distinguished chief) for his contribution to the Greek Revolution. The Mavrimichalis family were not willing to share their land with the people of Lykovouni, and for this reason, the second were chased. Most took refuge in Dafni and other villages, such as Xirokambi, Kidonia, etc. In fact, Dimitris Koutrakos tried to prevent this situation but was killed at the "Koutrakos' threshing floor" spot.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the Venetian census of Francesco Grimani states that Lykovouno belonged to the Territorio di Mistra in the Province of Laconia (Provincia di Laconia), with Monemvasia as its capital. Shortly after the creation of the New Greek state, Lykovouno became the capital of the municipality of Kydonia. The settlement was abandoned after 1840 when the municipality of Kydonia was abolished, and most of the inhabitants moved to the village of Dafni in search of better living conditions.
Lykovouno has now been declared a Medieval settlement by the Archaeological Service. Today, visitors can see the mosque's ruins built during the Turkish occupation and the settlement of Ai-Giannis, which existed during the Byzantine times. There, you can also find the church of Ai-Giannis Riganas. Every year on June 24th (a day dedicated to Ai-Giannis – Saint John), a festival is held at the picturesque fountain of the settlement. This festival has been organised for over 70 years so that the people of Daphni do not forget their roots.
The great prosperity of Daphni begins at the beginning of the 20th century. The old Primary School was built in the late 1800s, while the current school was built in 1930 and is located at Pano Plateia or Pano Alonia. In 1967, the new church of Agios Georgios was built on the site of the old church. Also, in 1929, the Cultural Association of the Progressive Daphni people was founded, which actively continues its work to this day.
Daphni is known throughout Laconia for two celebrations with deep roots in tradition:
The Vlach Wedding of Daphni was organised for the first time in the whole Peloponnese in 1963, and it is considered a trademark for the village. Various cultural events are scheduled throughout the Carnival in the village's central square, ending on Ash Monday when the Vlach Wedding occurs. Locals and visitors watch the parade of chariots and traditional customs, such as "the oxen", "the loom", "the bear", "the drunkards", etc.
The Wine Festival in Dafni is a symbol for Laconia. It started in the 1960s on the initiative of Stavros Mylonakos but then stopped. The Cultural Association of Daphni revived this celebration in 2011, and since then, it has been held every year around the end of October. The two-day celebration takes place at the central square of the village and is accompanied by cultural, sports and folklore events, such as the photo exhibition, the pressing (walking on) of grapes, the traditional dances, etc. Let us not forget, after all, that Daphne is famous for the excellent quality of the wine it has been producing - since the Byzantine years.
