Mount Ithome (Greek: Ἰθώμη) or Ithomi, previously Vourkano(s) () or Voulcano(s) (), is the northernmost of twin peaks in Messenia, Greece. Mount Ithome rises to about , about over Valyra, the seat of Ithomi, the former municipality. The other peak is Mount Eva (), , connected to Mount Ithomi by a thin ridge long. Mount Ithome is north of Kalamata on the Gulf of Messenia, east of Pylos, seat of Bronze Age Messenia, and north of Messini, modern namesake of ancient Messene, nestled under the cliffs of Mount Ithome. From the top the whole valley of the Pamisos river can be viewed eastward to Mount Taygetus and southward to the Gulf of Messenia. The site is highly defensible and yet off the main road; in this case, the Kalamata-Pylos road. Etymology Ithome Like most ancient names the etymology of Ithome is not certain. It is also the name of a town in Thessaly, although Reece notes evidence that the one in Thessaly was originally called Thome. Vurkano The pre-independence name Vurcano has had many variants: Vourkano, Voulkanos, Vulcano, Voucano, Boulcano, Dorkano, Voulkani, etc. One of the earliest records of a place called Bulcano is The Domains and Fiefs of the Principality of Achaia, composed for Marie of Bourbon, 1364. The Grand Seneschal of the Kingdom of Naples, Niccolo Acciajuoli, is said to possess Lo Castello de Bulcano (Messene) as a fief. The monastery on top, which dates to no later than the reign of the Byzantine emperor, Andronikos II Paleologus, 1282–1328, was probably known as Vurkano even then. The Archaeological Museum of Messenia dates the name Vourkano to the 10th century. Mavromati Mavromati is segmented mavr-oma-ti, "place of the black eye" from mavros, "dark," and omma, "eye," or ommation, "small eye," a common name for springs. Geography The Homeric village of Ithome was probably on the summit, which is flat. In the Bronze Age, a temple dedicated to Zeus Ithomatas (Zeus of Ithome) existed there. It was torn down and rebuilt as a Christian church and monastery no later than the early 14th century from the same stone. In the 17th century this monastery of Panagia Voulkanou, or Moni Voulkanou, was closed, except for a caretaker, to become known as the Old Monastery. The new monastery was constructed on the lower east slope of Eva. It was a staging point in the Greek War of Independence and also houses a