Poulithra as a name comes from a corruption of the ancient name Polichni (Tsakonian Poulichra).
The ancient harbour, more spacious and safer than today's, extended where the marsh is today, north of Vigla Hill where there are ancient retaining walls.
In medieval times, a square tower - observatory (5m side, thus the name of the place name is interpreted) was built at the top of *Vigla*.
Vigla has been identified by Constantine the Roman with the ancient Polychna of the springs. The name, of course, refers to a town and not a comma.
The history of Polihna in ancient times is connected with the history of Prasias (Prasias: ancient city where today the port of Leonidion, Plaka, is located). With the descent of the Dorians (1000-950 BC) and the creation of the Doric kingdom of Argos, the area of Kynouria and therefore Prasias and Polihna were part of it.
In 547 BC the Spartans detach Kynouria from the domination of Argos and thus Prasies and Polichna are the ports of Sparta on the Argolic.
After the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, Philip of Macedonia ceded to his allies the Argives along with other regions and Kynouria up to Zaraka.
In 228 BC, Prasia and Polihni were included, as well as Argos, in the Achaean League.
In 219 BC the Spartans with Lycurgus as king conquered Polichni and Prasia and put them back under their rule.
In 196 BC the Romans defeated the king of Sparta, Navi, and entrusted Argos with the supervision of the Laconian coastal cities.
From 195 BC, Prasia and Polichni participate in the Community of Lacedaemonians and then from 22 BC in the Community of Eleutherolaconians, which consists of 18 and later 24 cities (including Marios).
With the raids of the Slavs in the Peloponnese (mid 7th century) we have disasters and the settlement of Slavic populations in Laconia, resulting in the Greek population moving to the mountainous areas for safety. Also with the raids of the Arabs (90ς century) the coastal populations continued to move inland, where they founded new settlements on the slopes of Parnon, Orionta and Prasto, to return to the coast after the liberation from the Turks in 1821.
The original cradle of the current inhabitants of Poulithra is the village of Kounoupia, which appears in Venetian censuses of 1700 and 1704. The villages of the district of Kounoupia were part of the Province of Mistra. In the years of the Greek Revolution the villages of Poulithra, Peleta, Pigadi and Houni were referred to as Kounoupochoria.
With the declaration of the Revolution, they formed the same military corps and set out against Monemvasia, which was besieged by the Chacons and the Spartans. After the fall they headed for Tripolitsa and joined the other Chacones and the corps of P. Giatrakos, contributing to its liberation.
The village in its present form was created around 1850 and the inhabitants began to cultivate olives and carob trees.
With the B.D. of 9/11/1834 the Municipality of Selinoundos was founded with the seat of Kosmas where the Kounoupochoria were also included.
By the Decree of 28/11/1863 the capital of the Municipality of Selinoundos was defined as Kosmas from 1/4/ - 31/10 and from 1/11 - 31/3 Poulithra.
By the Decree of 21/7/1890, the Municipality of Selinoundos was divided into two parts, forming the Municipality of Mari with the communities of Kounoupia, Houni, Mari, Peleta, Tsitalia and the capital Poulithra.
By the Decree of 18/8/1912 the Municipality of Marios is abolished and the communities of Pouliithron, Mosquito, Peletes, Pigadioi and Tsitalia are founded.
When it was founded, Koutoupia included Mari and Houni, and in 1915 Tsumos, which was detached from the community of Peletes, was annexed to it. Tsoumos (Pyrgoudi) was annexed to Poulithra by the Decree of 26/9/1919.
Mari became the same community with the B.D. of 8/7/1931.
Poulithron area: 23.500 acres
Population of Poulithron :
Census/ Residents
1920: 665
1928: 524
1940: 128
1951: 600
1961: 710
1971: 602
1981: 430
1991: 458
2001: 600
2011: 414
The large fluctuation is due to the fact that depending on the time of the census they are censused in the villages where they spend their holidays (Peleta or Mosquito) or their work requires it.
A boys' school was founded in Poulithra at the end of the 19th centuryth century. Due to the movement of the inhabitants from Poulithra to Peleta during the summer months, the school had two seats. From 15/10 to 25/5 Poulithra and from 26/5 to 14/10 Peleta. In 1903 a girls' school was also founded in Poulithra.
The buildings of:
- Helen Hardouvelis,
- Konstantinos Kontorupi,
- Evangelos Tsebelis,
- Eleni Efstathopoulou.
(Government Gazette 450/B/4-8-1983, 453/B/8-8-1983 and Government Gazette 314/B/28-5-1982).
