Messenia or Messinia is a regional unit in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a prefecture (nomos) covering the same territory. The capital and largest city of Messenia is Kalamata.
The 2004 Summer Olympics Torch Relay took the Olympic Flame across every habitable continent, returning to Athens, Greece. Every city which had hosted, will host, or coincidentally elected to host the Summer Olympics until the 2028 Summer Olympics was visited or revisited by the torch, as well as several other cities chosen for their international importance. The main reason why the torch relay went around the world was to highlight the fact that the Olympic Games were started in Greece and in modern times have been held around the world and then took place in Greece in 2004.
Petalidi is a village and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Messini, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 104.970 km2. Petalidi is situated on the western shore of the Messenian Gulf, 14 km southwest of Messini, 20 km southwest of Kalamata and 25 km east of Pylos. The road Greek National Road 82 passes through the north of the municipal unit. Its population is 1,203 inhabitants, while the municipal unit has 2,555 residents (2021).
The Messenian Gulf is a sea that is part of the Ionian Sea. The gulf is circumscribed by the southern coasts of Messenia and the southwestern coast of the Mani peninsula in Laconia. Its bounds are Venetiko Island to the west and Cape Tainaron to the southeast. The western shores are mostly low-lying, fertile and well-developed, while the eastern shore is dominated by the southern foothills of the Taygetos and comparatively rocky and inaccessible, with few settlements.
Avramiou is a village in Messenia, southern Greece. It was built before 1816; it had 32 families then. During the Turkish occupation, it was a village of Koroni province, and became a village of Messini province and capital of Leukothea Municipality in 1835. In August 1840, Avramiou became a village of Aristomenis Municipality; it was almost destroyed by earthquakes in 1846. The primary school of Avramiou was founded in 1860. Ten years after, Avramiou became the capital of Aristomeni Municipality. Today, it is a community of the municipality Messini. The community contains the villages Drakoneri, Agios Avgoustinos and Avramiou.
The Messinia Football Clubs Association is part of the Greek Football Federation that includes football (soccer) teams in the Messenia regional unit.
The 1997–98 Gamma Ethniki was the 15th season since the official establishment of the third tier of Greek football in 1983. Ialysos Rodos and PAS Giannina were crowned champions in Southern and Northern Group respectively, thus winning promotion to Beta Ethniki. Agios Nikolaos and Pierikos also won promotion as a runners-up of the groups.