With an eye to the mythical past, the fascinating present,
but also the impatient future,
the historic Vasilikon Hotel welcomes you
to the heart of Kalamata
>>>
“Celebration of victory” means
the name of Nicoteleia,
who slept with a god and gave birth
to the national hero of Messinia
>>>
Legend has it that the region
of Messinia was named
after its first queen:
the ambitious Messene
>>>
Antilochus fought bravely in Troy,
says Homer, and gave his life
for his beloved father: Nestor,
the wise king of Pylos
>>>
A Homeric beacon of wisdom
rises in time: the long-lived Nestor,
king of Pylos and grandson of Poseidon,
who lived a stormy life
>>>
A glorified hero of the Messinian
Resistance to the Spartans,
Aristodemus was the first to embody
his people’s longing for freedom
>>>
Great-grandson of the demigod Hercules
and brother of the hero Aristodemus:
Cresphontes, as is said, won with his cunning the reign of Messinia
>>>
In the interest of her homeland
was Merope married to Cresfontes,
and she managed to save only one son:
the new primogenitor king
>>>
Already a legend in the ancient times,
Aristomenes did not really reign,
except in the hearts of his people
and in his brave soldiers’ morale
>>>
After being rescued from murderous fate
by his queen mother,
Aepytus stood worthy of duty
and wrote his own History
>>>
A long tradition
of hosting eminent visitors
was inaugurated by King Diocles
of the Ancient Pharae (Kalamata)
who opened his palace to Peisistratos,
son of Nestor, and to Telemachus
who was looking for
his father, Odysseus.
The spirit of the Theban
General Epaminondas
who founded Ancient Messene
guards vigilantly
at the entrance of Vasilikon
all the myths, the heroes, the kings,
and their visitors…
