Araklovon Castle

About

Araklovon (Greek: Ἀράκλοβον), rarely known with the variant Oreoklovon (Ὀρεόκλοβον) and in French as Bucelet and variants thereof, was a medieval castle of the Byzantine era located in the region of Skorta in the southwestern Peloponnese in Greece.

History: The castle was built already in Byzantine times, and was of strategic importance as it lay at the mouth of the mountain pass (droungos) leading from the coastal plains of Elis to Skorta and the interior of the peninsula. The origin of the Greek name is unclear and has been much debated, including proposals that it means "mountain cage", or linking it with Herakles, although no sanctuary of his is known to have existed in the area. Similarly, the Western name in its various forms (Bucel[l]et, Bucello, Polcellecto, Porcelle, Bucel[l]etto) is of unclear origin. At the time of the arrival of the Crusaders under William of Champlitte and Geoffrey of Villehardouin and the onset of their conquest of the Peloponnese in 1205, Araklovon was held by Doxapatres Boutsaras. The Crusaders tried to storm the castle, but failed. The Aragonese version of the Chronicle of the Morea then records that the Crusaders left part of their forces to...