{"id":68946,"date":"2024-02-09T20:38:30","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T18:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/greece\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T05:41:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T02:41:49","slug":"kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/","title":{"rendered":"Kranai Island: One of history’s most illegal couples hide there"},"content":{"rendered":"

The small island of Kranai, also known as Marathonisi Island, in Gythio has a greater reputation compared to its size. There, according to Homer, Paris and the beautiful Helen hide when he decides to leave King Menelaus and before leaving for Troy! Legend has it that the island takes its name from the helmet that Paris forgot (in their panic). And that’s how Kranai was born, apart from a great love.<\/p>\n

\n

Vathia: The tower town in Mani that belongs to four families<\/a><\/h4>\n
\n

Kranai Island: Great history in a few square meters
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Kranai<\/picture>
A narrow strip of land 150 meters long connects the islet with Gythio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why is it worth visiting, since you have, of course, reached Gytheio? Certainly, what Homer mentions is a motive, but it is not the only one, as from the island of Kranai the traveler can get a panoramic taste of the beauty of Laconia, but also visit the tower Tzannetakis Grigorakis, which today operates as a museum<\/p>\n

Tzannetakis Grigorakis Tower: Its History<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Tzannetakis<\/picture>
The Tzannetakis Grigorakis Tower<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Tower of Tzannetakis Grigorakis is a traditional building dating back to 1829, with an area of 875 sq m. It has been declared a listed monument as it was the residence of the chieftain and third bey of the Bey of Mani, Tzannetakis Grigorakis. He took part in the Revolution of 1821 and led his army in the reconquest of Monemvasia. Today, the Museum of Mani is housed there.<\/p>\n

The bridge, lighthouse, and church<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"The<\/picture>
The historic lighthouse on Kranai Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since 1898, Kranai has been united with the city of Gythio by a narrow strip of land 150 meters long. On the island of Kranai, the lighthouse of Gythio is located. With a height of 23 meters and built in 1873, it transports the visitor to other eras. If you walk on the islet, you will find the small church of Saints Peter and Paul.<\/p>\n

Stop at Monemvasia<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Going to Gythio or returning from the beautiful city of Laconia, it is worth making a stop at the castle town of Monemvasia. The traveler will have the opportunity, even within a few hours, to walk in the alleys of the special city and promise himself that he will return there soon. \u00a0See our detailed travel guide to Monemvasia<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Travel to Greece \u2013 Google News \u2013 Follow us<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Lagadia in Arcadia: The \u201changing\u201d village of Petra!<\/a><\/p>\n

Mikro Chorio of Evritania: the generosity of nature<\/a><\/p>\n

Ancient Corinth: The richest city in the ancient world<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow exploringGreece.tv on \u00a0Instagram<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Facebook<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The small island of Kranai, also known as Marathonisi Island, in Gythio has a greater reputation compared to its size. There, according to Homer, Paris and the beautiful Helen hide when he decides to leave King Menelaus and before leaving for Troy! Legend has it that the island takes its name from the helmet that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":68944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"Great history in a few square meters","format":"standard","video":"","gallery":"","source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"template":"3","single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"0","layout":"no-sidebar-narrow","sidebar":"sidebar-article","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"topbottom","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"0","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"0","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"150","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"2","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"0","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"3","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post":"0","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","sponsored_post_name":"","sponsored_post_url":"","sponsored_post_logo_enable":"0","sponsored_post_logo":"","sponsored_post_desc":"","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"8813","hide":""},"jnews_override_counter":{"override_view_counter":"0","view_counter_number":"0","override_share_counter":"0","share_counter_number":"0","override_like_counter":"0","like_counter_number":"0","override_dislike_counter":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"jnews_post_split":{"post_split":[{"template":"1","tag":"h2","numbering":"asc","mode":"normal","first":"0","enable_toc":"0","toc_type":"normal"}]},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7888,8813,8193],"tags":[4223,8186],"class_list":["post-68946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ancient-interest","category-laconia-en","category-peloponnese-en","tag-gythion","tag-sightseeing-laconia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKranai Island: The island in Laconia with the long history | Exploring Greece TV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kranai Island: The island in Laconia where according to Homer, Paris, and the beautiful Helen hid when he decided to leave King Menelaus.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kranai Island: One of history's most illegal couples hide there\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The small island of Kranai, also known as Marathonisi Island, in Gythio has a greater reputation compared to its size. There, according to Homer, Paris\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Exploring Greece TV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ExplorinGreece\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-09T18:38:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-19T02:41:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/lakonia-nisi-kranai.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"812\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ExploringGrTV\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ExploringGrTV\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"geo.placename\" content=\"\u0391\u03b8\u03ae\u03bd\u03b1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"geo.region\" content=\"Greece\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kranai Island: The island in Laconia with the long history | Exploring Greece TV","description":"Kranai Island: The island in Laconia where according to Homer, Paris, and the beautiful Helen hid when he decided to leave King Menelaus.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kranai Island: One of history's most illegal couples hide there","og_description":"The small island of Kranai, also known as Marathonisi Island, in Gythio has a greater reputation compared to its size. There, according to Homer, Paris","og_url":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/","og_site_name":"Exploring Greece TV","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ExplorinGreece\/","article_published_time":"2024-02-09T18:38:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-19T02:41:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1220,"height":812,"url":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/lakonia-nisi-kranai.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Newsroom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ExploringGrTV","twitter_site":"@ExploringGrTV","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Newsroom","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/"},"author":{"name":"Newsroom","@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/007c4bb94903f8caf2f96c9f78f1afe9"},"headline":"Kranai Island: One of history’s most illegal couples hide there","datePublished":"2024-02-09T18:38:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-19T02:41:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/"},"wordCount":442,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/lakonia-nisi-kranai.jpg","keywords":["Gythion","sightseeing Laconia"],"articleSection":["Ancient Greece","LACONIA","PELOPONNESE"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/","url":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/","name":"Kranai Island: The island in Laconia with the long history | Exploring Greece TV","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/lakonia-nisi-kranai.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-09T18:38:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-19T02:41:49+00:00","description":"Kranai Island: The island in Laconia where according to Homer, Paris, and the beautiful Helen hid when he decided to leave King Menelaus.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/lakonia-nisi-kranai.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/lakonia-nisi-kranai.jpg","width":1220,"height":812,"caption":"\u039b\u03b1\u03ba\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u03b1: \u039d\u03b7\u03c3\u03af \u039a\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03ac\u03b7"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kranai Island: One of history’s most illegal couples hide there"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/","name":"Exploring Greece TV","description":"Popular destinations for Greek travelers","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Travel ideas for visiting Greece","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Organization","Place","NewsMediaOrganization"],"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/#organization","name":"Exploring Greece TV","url":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/","logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#local-main-organization-logo"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#local-main-organization-logo"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ExplorinGreece\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ExploringGrTV","https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@ExploringGreeceTV","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/exploringgreece\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/GetToKnowGreece"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/about-exploringgreece-tv\/","ownershipFundingInfo":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/about-exploringgreece-tv\/","ethicsPolicy":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/data-protection-policy\/","address":{"@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#local-main-place-address"},"telephone":[],"openingHoursSpecification":[{"@type":"OpeningHoursSpecification","dayOfWeek":["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday","Sunday"],"opens":"09:00","closes":"17:00"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/007c4bb94903f8caf2f96c9f78f1afe9","name":"Newsroom","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d99399fd5a087c4721302f46b7c11d74216d185f25c4ece5db5603d5862822c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d99399fd5a087c4721302f46b7c11d74216d185f25c4ece5db5603d5862822c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d99399fd5a087c4721302f46b7c11d74216d185f25c4ece5db5603d5862822c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Newsroom"}},{"@type":"PostalAddress","@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#local-main-place-address","streetAddress":"\u03c5\u03c8\u03b7\u03bb\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 37","addressLocality":"\u0391\u03b8\u03ae\u03bd\u03b1","postalCode":"13231","addressRegion":"\u0391\u03c4\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b7","addressCountry":"GR"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/greece\/peloponnese-en\/kranai-island-one-of-historys-most-illegal-couples-hid-there\/68946\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/exploring-sumbol.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/exploring-sumbol.png","width":518,"height":425,"caption":"Exploring Greece TV"}]},"geo.placename":"\u0391\u03b8\u03ae\u03bd\u03b1","geo.region":"Greece"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68946"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75442,"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68946\/revisions\/75442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exploringgreece.tv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}