Peloponnesus

American  

[pel-uh-puh-nee-suhs] / ˌpɛl ə pəˈni səs /

Also Peloponnese

noun

1. a peninsula forming the S part of Greece: seat of the early Mycenaean civilization and the powerful city-states of Argos, Sparta, etc. 8,356 sq. mi. (21,640 sq. km).

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Other Word Forms

• Peloponnesian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Peloponnesus

< Latin < Greek Pelopónnēsos (representing phrase Pélopos nêsos literally, island of Pelops with sn > nn )

Example Sentences

Starting in about 700 BCE, the Spartans conquered a large swath of territory in their home region of Greece, the southern Greek peninsula called the Peloponnesus.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

My daughter and I silently gazed out over a blue that stretched to the Peloponnesus.

From Washington Post • Nov. 27, 2019

One of the best vacations for both learning and lounging we ever took was to the Peloponnesus, an unspoiled part of Greece, with an initial stop in Athens to visit the Acropolis.

From New York Times • Oct. 31, 2018

The name Peloponnesus, arguably Western history’s most famous peninsula, literally means “Island of Pelopos.”

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2015

Instead, he stayed alone in the bow, brooding for the three days it took them to reach the tip of the Peloponnesus peninsula, the first safe port they could find.

From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby