KIPARISSA, GULF OF

Modern Greek Klpos Kiparissiaks, broad inlet of the Ionian Sea of the western Peloponnese, Greece, about 35 mi (55 km) in width. Flanking the shallow estuary of the Alpheius, the chief river of the Peloponnese, a series of large lagoons extend southward 15 mi along the shore. Farther south, the mouth of the Ndha River divides the bay shore unequally between the noms (department) of Ila on the north and Messenia on the south. In the latter, the town of Kiparissa lies just inland from its harbour, Parala. The agricultural centre has access to the railway following the shore that links Kalmai and Ptrai. Revived in the 4th century BC by the Theban leader Epaminondas as the port for his famous capital, Messene, Kiparissa and its gulf were both called Arcadia in the Middle Ages.