Photo: Apaleutos25, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Mystras or Mistras, also known in the Chronicle of the Morea as Myzethras or Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated in the Taygetus range, above ancient Sparta, and below a "Frankish" castle, it served as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the 14th and 15th centuries, experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering during the Palaeologan Renaissance, attracting artists, architects, and intellectuals such as Gemistos Plethon. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, was despot of Mystras before coming to the throne of Constantinople.
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The history of the olive oil production from prehistoric times to the early 20th century.
Remains of the temple of Athena Chalkioikos on the top of the Acropolis and a large Byzantine Basilica dated to the 10th century AD. On the south side of the acropolis lies an ancient theater dated to the early imperial period. It preserves the orchestra and part of the cavea. Excavations carried out by the British Archaeological School of Athens gave evidence of decorated shops that served people attending theatrical performances.