Pellana

Pellana is an archaeological site approximately 24 km north of Sparta in Laconia, Greece, with remains spanning from the Early Bronze Age through the Byzantine period. Archaeologist Theodore Spyropoulos identified it as the Mycenaean capital of Laconia and proposed the site as the legendary palace of Menelaus and Helen described by Homer. Excavations at the Spilies cemetery (750 m from the village) uncovered a royal tomb from around 1500 BC with a dome exceeding 10 m in diameter. The acropolis on Paleokastro hill was fortified with walls during the 4th-3rd century BC when Sparta faced external threats. Pausanias documented a sanctuary to Asclepius near the Pellanida spring.